Should drugs be legalised?

[Louise]

not just talking weed here, im talking all class As including Heroin, Ecstacy

 

reasons for or reasons against?

 

lets keep it real & serious so no posts get deleted

 

just some info .....................

 

Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 - Maximum Penalties

 

Class A Possession = 7 years imprisonment or a fine, or both. Supply = Life imprisonment or a fine, or both.

 

 

Class B Possession = 5 years imprisonment or a fine, or both. Supply = 14 years imprisonment or a fine, or both.

 

 

Class C Possession = 2 years imprisonment or a fine, or both. Supply = 14 years imprisonment or a fine, or both.

 

Drugs and the law

 

 

It's not an offence to possess cannabis seeds, but it's illegal to grow them.

 

It's not an offence to pick magic mushrooms, but it's illegal to brew, dry or cook them.

 

Coke, ecstasy, LSD, magic mushrooms, heroin and speed (if prepared for injection) are all Class A drugs. Possession could get you seven years in prison.

If you're done for supplying, you could get a life sentence.

 

Even if you're just getting a couple of extra pills for your mates, in the eyes of the law, you're supplying.

 

If you're going on holiday this year it's worth thinking about the penalties abroad which can be very severe - smuggling drugs can lead to life imprisonment in Cyprus and Greece and up to 20 years in Italy, Portugal, Tunisia and Turkey. This really isn't a risk worth taking.

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another post has been hijacked so thought id start a new one squeak

Edited May 26, 2004 by Louise

[Lisa]

in a word, nope

[Jessica Rabbit]

Ermmm, a bit of a tricky one. It all depends on what you're definition of a crime is. I personally think laws should be there to protect people and their property, in which case drugs should be legalised, as technically you are only harming yourself by using them.

 

Of course there ia the argument that HARD drug use (crack, heroin etc) leads to other crimes such as theft, but if Heroin were legalised so that it could be prescribed to addicts then there would be a much better chance of rehabilitation for them and much lower crime rates.

 

Some of my friends from uni were out in Camden not that long ago, they came out of the pub and saw a prostitute with a client on the street. The bloke said to the prostitute 'I'll give you £20 for a blowjob' and then pissed all over her. My mates chased him down the street but he ran off. They took the woman back to their flat to let her have a shower, gave her some clean clothes etc, and she was honest with them and told them she was a heroin addict, but she lived in waterloo and her medication was in Camden, she hardly ever has enough money to travel there and so is just stuck in a catch-22 situation. There are just not enough resources to help addicts, if heroin was legalised then perhaps we could do something to help people like this.

Edited May 26, 2004 by Jessica Rabbit

[russelldust]

All drugs should be legalised and made available through legitimate sources. Fully taxed they would be able to pay for proper therapy for the very small percentage of people who become addicted.

 

 

[Lisa]

yeh, good post Jessica, I agree with what your saying, but I think Heroin should remain banned, as you say, only perscrpition form, for addicts.

[Lisa]

QUOTE (russelldust @ May 26 2004, 15:27)

All drugs should be legalised and made available through legitimate sources. Fully taxed they would be able to pay for proper therapy for the very small percentage of people who become addicted.

would it be a small percentage though russell??

[LiquidEyes]

Pretty sensible suggestion really Russ. The only problem is perception - what government is going to run the risk of being seen to "go soft" on something as controversial as drugs, where (like a lot of more important issues) the majority of people are quite simply misinformed / small-minded.

 

Call me idealistic, but I don't think anybody should EVER be criminalised for doing something that is neither immoral nor harmful to society. What is the role of the law?

[Louise]

QUOTE (Lisa @ May 26 2004, 15:28)

QUOTE (russelldust @ May 26 2004, 15:27) All drugs should be legalised and made available through legitimate sources. Fully taxed they would be able to pay for proper therapy for the very small percentage of people who become addicted. would it be a small percentage though russell?? highly doubt it, alcohol is legal but look how many people have been waiting to have rehab over the years

[Louise]

also due to tax & testing of the drugs would this raise the price? if so, wouldnt that cause more problems with crime ?

Edited May 26, 2004 by Louise

[Lisa]

QUOTE (Louise @ May 26 2004, 15:35)

QUOTE (Lisa @ May 26 2004, 15:28) QUOTE (russelldust @ May 26 2004, 15:27) All drugs should be legalised and made available through legitimate sources. Fully taxed they would be able to pay for proper therapy for the very small percentage of people who become addicted. would it be a small percentage though russell?? highly doubt it, alcohol is legal but look how many people have been waiting to have rehab over the years exactly Lou.

[russelldust]

QUOTE (Lisa @ May 26 2004, 15:28)

QUOTE (russelldust @ May 26 2004, 15:27) All drugs should be legalised and made available through legitimate sources. Fully taxed they would be able to pay for proper therapy for the very small percentage of people who become addicted. would it be a small percentage though russell?? yes it would. I give people more credit than the State- booze is freely available and only a very small number of people actually become alcoholics... it would be no different with class A's

[russelldust]

Andy- I agree that no government would dare to be seen as soft on drugs...

 

read 'High Society' by Ben Elton for brilliant satire on the reality of the 'War on Drugs'...

 

it depresses me but at some point I think the dam will break. I hope that the ecstasy generation has a different attitude when it gets into power (and before anyone says well what about the children of 60's? The fact is that the number of regular drug users now is many many times higher than it was in the 60's... by and large that was a London phenomenon)

 

Louise and Lisa- as a proportion of the population the number of people who are alcoholics is tiny...

 

(I will look out some stats if I can)

[Lisa]

Fair enough russel, not disputing you, however, heroine & crack cocai are IMO & understanding a hell of alot more adictive than alcohol

[Dawn]

Unfortunately there would always be a black market if drugs were legalised, same with cig's, with anything in fact ... if you want something cheap enough be it legal or otherwise you can find it out there, right or wrong.

 

If you have a real problem with 'any' drug (legal or not) you can seek and 9 times out of 10 get the help you need, although this in it'self can be abused horrendously.

 

It's all (IMO) down to the individual, if they want the help or if there being forced to seek help.

[Louise]

QUOTE (russelldust @ May 26 2004, 15:40)

QUOTE (Lisa @ May 26 2004, 15:28) QUOTE (russelldust @ May 26 2004, 15:27) All drugs should be legalised and made available through legitimate sources. Fully taxed they would be able to pay for proper therapy for the very small percentage of people who become addicted. would it be a small percentage though russell?? yes it would. I give people more credit than the State- booze is freely available and only a very small number of people actually become alcoholics... it would be no different with class A's taken from AA site   QUOTE AA was set up in American in 1935, by two recovering alcoholics who found that talking about their problems helped them stay sober. Today there are over 88,000 groups, and over 2,000,000 members in 134 countries worldwide. AA began in Britain on 30th March, 1947. AA is a fellowship of men and women, alcoholics who help each other, and maintain sobriety by sharing experiences and giving each other support. Members try to stay sober staying away from one drink, one day at a time.         taken from men & addiction site   QUOTE Alcohol Alcohol is thought to cause around 33,000 deaths per year in Britain, with one in four hospital admissions being related to alcohol. Drinking is implicated in 60 per cent of suicides, 40 per cent of domestic violence cases and 39 per cent of domestic fires.       now say its just a small amout that can get addicted

Edited May 26, 2004 by Louise