Legal Heroin? Are you kidding me?
Read this article:
Legalized Drugs in Mexico?
Are you kidding me? Number one, it's a horrible idea. Number two, who will carry around such small amounts? How will this ever be enforced?
I wonder how many of those legislators have ever seen and held a crack baby. How many have spent time in a home where the children live off of food and clothing from the local food bank yet the parents can somehow, in their poverty, afford a flow of drugs to feed their habits? What number have daughters that have been date-raped as a consquence of their drink being laced with Ecstasy?
If this is actually brought to fruition the political fallout with the US will be very interesting, to say the least. Might we have problems with people crossing the border the other way to get a legal fix? It doesn't seem too far fetched. I am just grateful that I'm a couple thousand miles away from the border because my students (they're the ones that brought my attention to this) were WAY too excited about the idea.
posted by Tam @ 1:12 PM
4 Comments:
You know, I am actually for the legalisation of drugs. I understand that the idea here is to make it so that the police can focus on larger issues, which seems reasonable. I really don't think there is much to be gained by locking up addicts.
However, I think that we should legalize drugs, period. They should be sold at government centers. If they were sold cheaply (at cost or for a very small profit) then it would eliminate the street drug market. Have you ever bought from a dealer? I have, and they are always pushing you to try something new so that you will buy more from them. Makes good business sense to do this. I think this is one major way that people get hooked on new drugs. Also, you could more carefully regulate who (pregnant women) is buying drugs and have the system set up to support their baby when it arrives. I'm not for locking up pregnant women who do drugs, but if you are, this provides an easier way to do it. Finally, I think that these centers should have addiction counselors available to talk to customers at all times. You could even make a session a requirement for buying drugs.
I think it should be obvious to anyone that the war on drugs is not being won. The system we have now isn't working. Maybe Mexico's new system won't work either, but I can't fault them for trying something new.
I'm not sure who wrote the comment, so I can't be sure that you'll see my response, but I just can't support the legalization of drugs.
I understand the arguments- that you can control it, that the government can sell it cheap to help clean up the streets and purge the crime that comes with drug trafficking. You can keep tabs on who is seriously abusing substances, etc.
I can see the points being made but I wholeheartedly disagree with the concept of legalization. It would encourage the use of drugs and send the message that they're not only completely acceptable, but completely ok.
Also, who will determine what usage is acceptable? Will it be like medications where you are prescribed amounts to curb addictions? What cocaine or heroin user is going to only use a small dose? I believe being able to buy drugs at low prices will encourage addictions.
Also, I am unconvinced that having counselors available will help people out of their addictions. I don't go to the grocery store to seek help on how to buy healthy foods- I go there to buy food. If there were a health consultant available I'd be far more concerned with buying my food than them telling me how to make sure I stay away from what's not good for me and what amounts will keep me healthy.
I can see on all sides that we do have a problem. Drug pushing is a problem (though, if anyone gets themselves into a situation where a seller is pushing new drugs onto them, that person made a choice to enter into that lifestyle and needs to take responsibility for themselves and their choices. It's not only the drug-pusher's fault) and we do have the issues of filling our jails with petty criminals on possession charges. The situation needs to be addressed. I don't have the right answer, but legalizing drugs will always be the wrong one.
First of all, I would like to thank you for your respectful and thoughtful response.
My thought on the drug counselor vs. health food consultant is that, no, neither one will make you change your behavior. You have to decide to do that. However, suppose you had decided that you want to eat better. You go to the grocery and there is the health consultant. Wouldn't that make it easier for you to follow through on your good intentions? I feel that it would have the same result with drug addicts.
I actually don't think that you should limit how much people get. Doing that will only allow people to buy and sell on the street. I certainly agree that you don't just suddenly, innocently, end up in a situation where your dealer is pushing drugs. However, the fact is that it does happen and it is one of the problems with our current system.
Finally, the argument that legalizing it says that it is "OK". . . . I think that we already say that some pretty awful things are OK. I believe that alcohol and tobacco kill more people annually than any illegal drug, and nobody is looking to outlaw them. Furthermore, tobacco is physically harmful to those around the user (secondhand smoke). The only illegal drug I can think of that might have this affect is pot. Others can be emotionally damaging to those around the user, but so can alcohol. I just can't buy that saying meth is ok is any worse than saying alcohol is ok. And I drink!
As I said earlier, the current system is not working. I don't think that tinkering with a broken system is an effective way to bring about change. I think that, if we really want to end the drug problem that we certainly have in this country, then we have to change the system.
I also want to thank you for taking the time to comment and have this discussion- especially in a civil manner!
As for your rebuttal, I actually thought of what you said- if the grocery store provided a health consultant, would I go to them? Maybe. But then again, if I were 900 pounds and I wanted to buy Oreos and bacon then that's just what I'd want to buy and I would avoid the consultant. And isn't the 900 pound person the one that the consultant is there for the most, in a sense? But I can concede the point that maybe having the counselor in a drug center would get someone that might never seek out help on their own.
As for your point about tobacco and alcohol, I completely agree that they are harmful substances. If I had it my way they'd be illegal. I do think they're being legal sends the message not only that they're ok, but the advertising and celebrity use of them sends the message that they're cool. That you're missing out without them-- especially alcohol.
Finally, I feel that it would be an ethical dilemma to sell drugs the way you're talking about. Could you honestly sell $100 in crack to a woman with clearly malnourished and poorly dressed children lined up behind her? I couldn't. Maybe there are people who could, but I think it's wrong. Doing something wrong can ever make the other wrongs right.
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