I am strongly in favor of the legalization of drugs for the following reasons:

1. Why not have the hundreds of millions of dollars people spend on drugs each year stimulating the national economy instead of funding international militant organizations?

2. People ought to be allowed to choose their own health and lifestyle choices, not have them dictated by some self-righteous authority.

3. It's a common myth that drugs cause crime. However, it's the black market created by the fact that drugs are illegal that cause crime, not the drugs themselves. Thus, legalizing drugs would actually reduce crime (drasically).

4. I don't believe in victimless crimes anyway, and no, victimizing yourself doesn't count.

5. I don't like my tax dollars being spent imprisoning people who aren't a threat to anyone and were simply addicted to a substance when they were too young to really know any better.

6. You can't regulate drugs if they're illegal, and the impurities in unregulated drugs make them all the more dangerous. If drugs were produced by large corporations and monitored by the government, the problem of impurities would be greatly reduced, if not eliminated.

7. The actual health problems caused by most drugs are greatly exaggerated by the propaganda being put out by the media.

8. If drugs were legal, it would help faciliate useful research into how best to mitigate their bad side-effects as well as what constitutes a safe dosage, what drug interactions people should be aware of, ect...

9. For many young children, drugs have a "mystique" which tempts them to try them. Legalizing drugs would be a step towards eliminating this "mystique."

10. Enforcing drug laws costs billions, and I do not see any benefit being produced whatsoever.

Finally, I don't think there should be age restrictions on them, but that's because I don't believe in age discrimination under ANY circumstances. It's inherently wrong, just like racial discrimination or gender discrimination. Besides, if we've learned anything from alcohol and cigarettes it's that age restrictions don't work. Why spend resources fighting a futile battle?

Cheers,

Arbiter

Legalize! It's the only option. But: education is very important!

-illegal = cool. People who reject society often use drugs
-illegal = money. Criminals make tons of cash
-illegal = bad quality. No government control
-illegal = high prices. High prices means crime

Illegal or legal, people will experiment anyhow. So if you legalize you can

a) lower prices and include taxes
b) watch quality
c) have good views about druguse in society
d) educate
e) reduce crime to a minimum

Strong arguments by both of you. But the questions remains: Should there be a difference between "soft" and "hard" drugs?
One the one hand it will be very hard to find an accurate line between those two types, on the other hand supper-addictive, definitely life-threatening drugs like Heroin simply cant be put on the same level as marijuana...At least morally...

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quote:

Originally posted by TranceGiant Strong arguments by both of you. But the questions remains: Should there be a difference between "soft" and "hard" drugs?

No, that's what education is needed for. People will know what they're dealing with and besides, how will we separate "hard" and "soft"?
However, I think there should be an age restriction: +16 (with parents approval) or +18.

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I am for legalizing all of the softer drugs (weed etc) but will minimal age restrictions. I mean having a 4 year old smoking would just be bad. As far as the "harder" drugs like heroin and coke, I've never used em, but from what I understand there very addictive and not all that safe, so I'd hesitate to legalize them.

quote:

Originally posted by Maaz No, that's what education is needed for. People will know what they're dealing with and besides, how will we separate "hard" and "soft"?

very simple, drugs like heroïne and cocaïne are hard-drugs. I guess you can also look at how fast you are addicted to the drug...

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quote:

Originally posted by Blik very simple, drugs like heroïne and cocaïne are hard-drugs. I guess you can also look at how fast you are addicted to the drug...

In that case, alcohol should be on top

quote:

Originally posted by TranceGiant Strong arguments by both of you. But the questions remains: Should there be a difference between "soft" and "hard" drugs? One the one hand it will be very hard to find an accurate line between those two types, on the other hand supper-addictive, definitely life-threatening drugs like Heroin simply cant be put on the same level as marijuana...At least morally...

As long as education is sufficient to ensure that people understand the risks they undertake by choosing to take "hard" drugs, I have no moral issue with allowing them to make that choice. The individual should be responsible for such decisions, not the government.

quote:

Originally posted by jploveparade In that case, alcohol should be on top

but you can die very easily from coke and heroïne, especially when you aren't addicted to it. It is a lot more difficult to die from alcohol

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quote:

Originally posted by Blik but you can die very easily from coke and heroïne, especially when you aren't addicted to it. It is a lot more difficult to die from alcohol

That's not what the health ministry says

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If the UK laws on drugs were based on the danger and/or the number of deaths attributed to the particular drug then MOST currently illegal drugs would be legal and the two main legal drugs(Nicotine and alcohol) would be illegal. Both of the two main legal drugs are a major addition to the drug deaths in this country. There has to be a major revamp of the drug laws in the UK and across the world. People should have the right to do what they want to there bodies as long as it doesnt affectr others. Alcohol does affect others in numerous ways. Violence, drink driving, etc. Howver numerous illegal substances dont have these dangerous social side effects.