Subject:
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Re: If you oppose drug legalization, you support terrorism!
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Wed, 6 Feb 2002 16:13:03 GMT
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Viewed:
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309 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Ross Crawford writes:
> Maybe you're right, Chris. I just can't get past seeing a friend's family
> breaking up because they were always arguing about money, when they had a
> combined tobacco habit of about $200/w.
Wow! How much do cigarettes cost? Isn't that like what it would cost to have
three lit simultaneously, 24 hours per day? I suspect that they had deeper
problems of which smoking and arguing were merely symptoms. It is a shame to
see any family torn apart, but I would be hard pressed to rule that tobacco was
the culprit.
> Sure, criminalising tobacco wouldn't
> have helped. It's interesting that he's now kicked the habit (she still
> smokes though).
I read somewhere many years ago that it's easier for men to stop...I don't know
at this point if it was a study or an opinion, but if so, it's interesting.
> So I guess what really bugs me about most recreational drugs is I've never
> seen them have a positive affect on families.
I think I could break the effects of alcohol down into both positive and
negative effects. I am pretty sure that I have succesfully used alcohol in
fairly small doses to take the edge off of a stressful day when I come home
from work, thus making myself more pleasant for my family. I have also seen
people use too much and get in the way of their family participation.
But even if you're right, I don't think that "positive family effects" should
be the criterion for whether a thing is legal.
> I guess that doesn't mean they
> never do, though. But happy families seem to be pretty rare these days, and
> you have to wonder if that's a significant factor in the increasing violence
> (including terrorism).
How do you define happy families? They don't seem rare to me. I mean, I seem
to be surrounded by them.
> Should cocaine (etc) be legalised? I really can't see it making much
> difference. Maybe the drug lords will make less money for a while, but is it
> worth it if the drugs do nothing positive anyway?
What I see is that prohibition isn't doing anything good and is doing plenty
bad. (e.g. corrupting cops, taking law enforcement away from helping people,
making drug lords rich, causing addicts to become criminals, etc.) So why have
it?
> Note that I'm speaking as someone who's experience of recreational drugs is
> limited to caffeine, alcohol & grass (which I haven't used for >10 years).
> They all make you feel good for a short while, but I'm convinced they all
> have bad long-term effects. As you say, that doesn't mean they should be
> illegal though.
I think that each of those chemicals has bad long (and short) term effects when
used to excess. Medicine pretty much says that alchol in fair moderation is
better to have than to be without. Why assume the opposite for marijuana,
caffeine, or even cocaine?
Heavy pot smokers run the risk of damaging their lungs, so why not take THC
orally? Caffeine -- and even amphetamines, have a valid role as temporary
stimulants. My mom attributes her success in college (with a job and little
boy) to her addiction to speed for a semester.
Something else that just occurred to me is that we might see more benefits from
these substances if we took a more rational view of them as potential tools.
Instead of teaching our kids lies and ignorance about drugs, why not teach when
and when not to use them for certain effects and teach safety too? Then we'd
be more likely to see how their use could produce benefit.
my $.02,
Chris
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Should recreational drugs be illegal?
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| (...) was (...) Thats AU$. At $7 a pack, that's about 2 packs a day each, though he was smoking more than she was. Not hard for chain smokers. Tobacco is addictive. If you become addicted it's hard to stop even when you have no (other) need for it. (...) (22 years ago, 7-Feb-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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