Drugs

[Space05us]

What does the "War on Drugs" accomplish that an aggressive ad campaign coupled with rehabilitation (and easy access to it) cannot?

I agree that there are a lot of illicit recreational drugs out there that can wreck a person's life, and often do. Even our legal drugs do it. But why are they illegal? It can't be for the simple fact that they are bad, alcohol is bad, tobacco is bad, caffeine is bad, even sex has been shown to have negative side effects (each of those things are also addictive). A lot of sports can lead to serious injuries, taking a hike in the park can lead to being mauled to death by a wild animal or falling off the trail, breaking your leg and dying from gangrene or dehydration.

I understand that some people get so badly addicted to drugs that they cannot control themselves any longer. Why not put them trough rehabilitation fifteen times instead of locking them up in a university for criminals?

If a person wants to use drugs why should we take away their freedom simply because it's not the social norm?

On top of being a joke our "War on Drugs" helps increase demand and street price for the drugs that fund governments and groups that we consider "terrorist".


I'm not really sure how to word what I am asking other than to ask a very vague, and seemingly naive, question.

Why are illicit recreational drugs illicit?

Why is it ok for the government to tell us we can't get high on one drug but it's ok to get high on another?


And as a bit of a joke; why don't we have fields of poppies growing in Nebraska with our current national debt as high as it is?

[Pekka]

THINK OF ALL THE CHILDREN! You are a sick maniac, I hope they arrest your dope smoking self for being irresponsible drug fanatic"!

[Kidlicious]

The goal is prevention. You have to show kids that there is a connection between using drugs and ending up in prison or in other situations.

There's a campaign going on against meth right now that is very good. It's coming to Oklahoma. It's an hour show that they are playing on all the tv channels. It makes meth use look very bad so that kids won't want to start using it.

This is what has to be done because kids don't connect using those dangerous drugs with the bad results that come with it until it's too late and they are addicted.

[Verto]

Marijuana's illegality is based on racism and ignorance. Why it remains illegal in the US, I don't know. The benefits we would reap by legalizing marijuana and expanding the growing and use of hemp are astounding.

I don't have too much of a problem with drugs like cocaine, meth, etc being illegal, but I agree the focus should be on rehabilitation, and not simply jailtime for drug users.

[Space05us]

Originally posted by Pekka
THINK OF ALL THE CHILDREN! You are a sick maniac, I hope they arrest your dope smoking self for being irresponsible drug fanatic"!

I'm drunk, I'm scared enough not to touch other ****. Though I have considered trying mushrooms, acid, and marijuana for their perception altering effects.

I haven't tried them though because I don't feel like going psychotic (just yet). The other one is the most heavily tested for drug in the country and I'm trying to get a job.

[Pekka]

Have you ever heard of flashbanks? Once you do ACID, it will be embedded in your METABOLOSM forever. In your CELLS man, in your CELLS!

You will die in agony and pain, or jump off the roof if you take that crazy drug. Mushrooms, same story, jarimuana, there is no safe drug so you will die in agony and pain and hallucinating, you will probably hurt other people while "fighting the devil".

Yes you deserve to be arrested, molested and locked up!"

[Space05us]

Originally posted by Kidicious
The goal is prevention. You have to show kids that there is a connection between using drugs and ending up in prison or in other situations.

There's a campaign going on against meth right now that is very good. It's coming to Oklahoma. It's an hour show that they are playing on all the tv channels. It makes meth use look very bad so that kids won't want to start using it.

This is what has to be done because kids don't connect using those dangerous drugs with the bad results that come with it until it's too late and they are addicted.

Why do we need to support killing in third world countries in order to show kids that using drugs can end poorly? We could increase the number of anti-drug programs taught in schools. As well as increasing the anti-drug ads and programming on tv and on the interent. We could even sponsor celebrities to be clean if we wanted.

For meth all you have to do is show them sores people get from that stuff. If they have half a brain they wouldn't touch it anyway.


Maybe more studies need to be done on why people use drugs to begin with. As well as how and why people become addicted. But since the drugs aren't even allowed to be released to researchers we are left in the dark on that subject.

[Seedle]

Originally posted by Verto
Marijuana's illegality is based on racism and ignorance. Why it remains illegal in the US, I don't know. The benefits we would reap by legalizing marijuana and expanding the growing and use of hemp are astounding.

I don't have too much of a problem with drugs like cocaine, meth, etc being illegal, but I agree the focus should be on rehabilitation, and not simply jailtime for drug users.

Very true. I seem to recall that marijuana was made illegal as an excuse to kick Mexicans out of the country.

As for why drugs stay illegal, there are many reasons.

a) People vote for politicians who are tough on drugs.
b) Creating anti-drug legislation/bureaucracies is a nifty way to "make an impact" and/or funnel money to your constituency.
c) Americans (and maybe other countries, but I only know America) are all about negative reinforcement, and not positive reinforcement. Better to punish than to prevent. I think it's at least partially a power thing.
d) People are stupid. They are (at least partially) against legalizing drugs because they believe it will cause an increase in crime and drug use. When you point out how Prohibition actually increased the cachet of drinking, and created a vibrant black market for criminals to exploit, people can't see the similarity between prohibiting alcohol and prohibiting drugs. Similarly, when you point out how countries that have laxer or non-existent laws against minors drinking, have minors that tend to drink more responsibly, they can't process it.
e) You generally only hear the horror stories about drug use, you don't hear about the people who use and don't fall apart. Granted, for some of the drugs, there aren't many, if any, who can use for a lengthy period of time and keep it together, but a lot of people seem to be able to smoke pot and remain functional...

I'm sure there are others, but that's just what I can pull out my butt.

Does anyone else find it interesting that the push to legalize pot is seemingly gaining momentum (albeit a very small amount) while the push to eradicate tobacco is gaining strength? Oh, yeah, in America, sometimes forget this is an international board.

[Solomwi]

Originally posted by Kidicious
The goal is prevention. You have to show kids that there is a connection between using drugs and ending up in prison or in other situations.

There's a campaign going on against meth right now that is very good. It's coming to Oklahoma. It's an hour show that they are playing on all the tv channels. It makes meth use look very bad so that kids won't want to start using it.

This is what has to be done because kids don't connect using those dangerous drugs with the bad results that come with it until it's too late and they are addicted.

Oklahoma's being trying things like that, specifically targeted at meth, since I lived in OKC nearly 10 years ago. Looks like it's done a world of good.

On your larger point, wouldn't it be better to find more effective ways to alert kids to the inherent negatives of drug use, rather than create artificial negatives to attach to drug use?

[Seedle]

Originally posted by Solomwi

Oklahoma's being trying things like that, specifically targeted at meth, since I lived in OKC nearly 10 years ago. Looks like it's done a world of good.

On your larger point, wouldn't it be better to find more effective ways to alert kids to the inherent negatives of drug use, rather than create artificial negatives to attach to drug use?

This would require parents/teachers/authority figures to be honest to kids and treat them as human beings, not puppets. Not going to happen. Also, as I said, if you don't create negatives, and agencies to execute those negatives, you can't suck money and power towards you.

It's a specific example of the general problem in U.S. ideology, at least as I see it and experience it. Educating, empowering, and giving responsibility to people is frowned upon. (though given lots of positive lip service) This is because empowered, educated, competent people don't need those in power monitoring there every move. If people don't need the people in power, they people in power don't have a job. So restriction and control are the preferred methods of achieving goals, rather than education and freedom.

[C0ckney]

whether drugs are legal or illegal, it's clear that you are going to have large numbers of people using drugs, often in a dangerous way. therefore, it becomes a question of how you deal with that.

the way we deal with it at present plainly doesn't work. it spends our money criminalising people using recreational drugs, whilst at the same time offering very little help to problem drugs users and no solutions to the issues they create. except of course locking them up in overcrowded prisons, where drugs are rife and the programs to help people are woefully inadequate. in short, it costs a fortune to achieve next to nothing.

what would be a more sensible approach in my view would be to legalise all drugs and use some of the enormous amount of tax revenue from the same to do a number of things. offer honest, high quality education for young people about drugs. tell them about the good and the bad and leave them make their own decisions. offer proper support and rehabilitation for those with a drug problem.

of course this wouldn't be a magic bullet, but it would be a significant improvement on the present situation. naturally it won't happen, because most people, and practically all politicians, are wedded to the "drugs are BAAAADDD!!!!!11" mindset and unable to see past that.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Solomwi

Oklahoma's being trying things like that, specifically targeted at meth, since I lived in OKC nearly 10 years ago. Looks like it's done a world of good.

On your larger point, wouldn't it be better to find more effective ways to alert kids to the inherent negatives of drug use, rather than create artificial negatives to attach to drug use?

This is something new that works. The old way didn't work very well.

Seriously, it's been used in other states successfully, so keep your fingers crossed.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Space05us
Maybe more studies need to be done on why people use drugs to begin with. As well as how and why people become addicted. But since the drugs aren't even allowed to be released to researchers we are left in the dark on that subject.

This program has done studies on why kids start using meth. More importantly they've done studies on what keeps kids from using them. That's why it works.

[Solomwi]

Originally posted by Seedle


This would require parents/teachers/authority figures to be honest to kids and treat them as human beings, not puppets. Not going to happen. Also, as I said, if you don't create negatives, and agencies to execute those negatives, you can't suck money and power towards you.

It's a specific example of the general problem in U.S. ideology, at least as I see it and experience it. Educating, empowering, and giving responsibility to people is frowned upon. (though given lots of positive lip service) This is because empowered, educated, competent people don't need those in power monitoring there every move. If people don't need the people in power, they people in power don't have a job. So restriction and control are the preferred methods of achieving goals, rather than education and freedom.

Well put. I started to add a more specific point about entrenched interests having a lot to lose if the Drug War ended to your list, but decided it fell close enough
to your #2.

Kid, I only lived there two years, and saw several new ways tried. If this one works, it will be about damn time. Been down to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge yet? Nothing grand, but it's an interesting little day trip.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Solomwi
Kid, I only lived there two years, and saw several new ways tried. If this one works, it will be about damn time. Been down to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge yet? Nothing grand, but it's an interesting little day trip.

Is that where they have the big cats? I think I've heard of that but haven't been. I'll check it out. Thanx.