War On Drugs has now cost the US $1 Trillion

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iLZNYd6C9SGpa2oeiZIqT-HKVrCQD9FMCM103

Personally I want drugs to be legalized already. I don't want my taxes going to this junk anymore, nor do I think that drug users should be in prison.

Your thoughts?

Can we just legalize weed now this is just getting stupid.

Highlights of the War on Drugs:

• Trillions of U.S. Taxpayer money spent.
• Thousands of inner-city youth put in prison for long sentences, due to mandatory minimum.
• Drugs are as prevalent as they've ever been, people think that the drug problem has decreases, that isn't true.

Yeah, we need to legalize this stuff already...

a trillion couldn't save the life of a 15-year old addict, who'll die quick IF he's lucky. seriously, guys... get a perspective.

It's worth it guys, trust me.Guppy507

[QUOTE="Guppy507"]It's worth it guys, trust me.Fuzzy_Bear123

[spoiler] I'm being completely sarcastic :P [/spoiler]

Yeah, we need to legalize this stuff already...

SgtKevali

Prohibition does nothing to stop the problem. It just makes it worse. Unfortunately no politician has the ***** to actually do something about it and legalize these things.Tauruslink

[QUOTE="SgtKevali"]

Yeah, we need to legalize this stuff already...

II_Seraphim_II

[QUOTE="SgtKevali"]

Yeah, we need to legalize this stuff already...

II_Seraphim_II

The drug gangs wouldn't go anywhere even if you did legalize drugs. They'd most likely go into other organized crime.

[QUOTE="II_Seraphim_II"][QUOTE="SgtKevali"]

Yeah, we need to legalize this stuff already...

SgtKevali

The drug gangs wouldn't go anywhere even if you did legalize drugs. They'd most likely go into other organized crime.

Only one trillion?

While i think some drugs need to stay illegal I think they should just legalize marijuana already. Its not like it impairs you any more than alcohol can.

[QUOTE="Guppy507"]It's worth it guys, trust me.Fuzzy_Bear123

[QUOTE="Fuzzy_Bear123"][QUOTE="Guppy507"]It's worth it guys, trust me.F1_2004

Only one trillion?

muller39

WOW is all i can say reading alot of the replies here they should stay illegal, the world would fall apart it everyone was going around taking class a/b drugs and the death rates would shot up. Right now in scotland someone has been selling drugs with i think anthrax in, if everyone one could be making money off it god knows what **** would be put in the stuff to make it last longer. Really people think about the problems it would create over the benfits it would have for the drug users.

The incentive for legalizing ALL drugs (not just marijuana) is this: people who want these drugs are obtaining them very easily anyway. The government is spending a lot of money trying to get these drugs out of people's hands, and is basically failing. If we were to legalize these drugs, the government could then tax them, recuperating the losses from this so-called "war" on drugs, and the situation would remain largely the same. Rehabilitation programs would still be in effect (as they are for alcoholics), and maybe certain laws can be enacted so that druggies are still penalized for being, for lack of a better term, too addicted (similar to current alcohol laws, basically). I think it works out for all parties, in the end.

EDIT: I should note, this is purely from an immoralistic, economical point of view. People will moralize endlessly about how we shouldn't be remembered as the society that tolerated this type of thing (same usually applies to abortions and prostitution), and that God will punish us for our sins, etc. Those people shouldn't be regarded, in my opinion.

Right now in scotland someone has been selling drugs with i think anthrax in,

Duckyindiana

The incentive for legalizing ALL drugs (not just marijuana) is this: people who want these drugs are obtaining them very easily anyway. The government is spending a lot of money trying to get these drugs out of people's hands, and is basically failing. If we were to legalize these drugs, the government could then tax them, recuperating the losses from this so-called "war" on drugs, and the situation would remain largely the same. Rehabilitation programs would still be in effect (as they are for alcoholics), and maybe certain laws can be enacted so that druggies are still penalized for being, for lack of a better term, too addicted (similar to current alcohol laws, basically). I think it works out for all parties, in the end.

RiskAverseStock

[QUOTE="Duckyindiana"]

Right now in scotland someone has been selling drugs with i think anthrax in,

RiskAverseStock

You really think that!!! It would not stay the same more and more people would get hooked on the crap.Duckyindiana

1.) What makes people want to take drugs in the first place?
2.) What are the pros and cons of banning these drugs?

The first question has a lot of answers, and often depends on the drug in question. In the case of soft drugs, the mind-altering effects are well-documented, and this state of being "out of mind" is often worth whatever risks are included. From anecdotal evidence, the reason people choose to take drugs that will obviously screw you up, is because they're already so screwed up as it is -- whether it's because of prior addictions, economic turmoil, depression, etc. In the case of soft drugs, the harms are similar to those of drugs already on the market, and perhaps even less (marijuana will screw you up less in the long run than alcohol). In the case of hard drugs, banning them would only be fixing a symptom of a problem, not the cause of it.

To answer the second question, the benefits of banning this stuff is that theoretically it will make it harder to get. This is true, to a degree, but people will get these drugs anyway, if they really want it. Addicts, after all, are defined by the fact that they will go through any lengths to get what they need for the next hit or whatever. The cons, on the other hand, are largely economical and basically end in a lot of wasted money that's been used to clean up something that still isn't clean. It's a losing war.

WOW is all i can say reading alot of the replies here they should stay illegal, the world would fall apart it everyone was going around taking class a/b drugs and the death rates would shot up.

Duckyindiana

I concur. Just not to be hypocrites we should also ban alcohol and smokes.

You've got to remember that the "war on drugs" isn't just banning weed; a huge percentage of that sum also includes foreign military intervention - often by private militia - in countries that are more or less in a state of civil war thanks to the drug trade.

Legalising e.g. heroin or cocaine in America would do nothing to end that hostility (unless we're talking about a campaign to seize control of drugs production in countries like Afghanistan and Columbia too).

Wow, what a waste of one trillion... I recomment watching Penn and Teller's Bull**** on the war on drugs.

if it becomes legal, us government will lose way more money...the stuff is illegal for a reason. and that is for the gov to make money...

Right now in scotland someone has been selling drugs with i think anthrax in,Duckyindiana

That sounds like a terrible way to retain customers.

after browsing for a bit this is what I came across..

Personally I want drugs to be legalized already. I don't want my taxes going to this junk anymore, nor do I think that drug users should be in prison.

Your thoughts?

Fuzzy_Bear123

Can we just legalize weed now this is just getting stupid.

kidsmelly

Yeah, we need to legalize this stuff already...

SgtKevali

People who use drugs have a little care or thought of other people.. social problems would still exist.. physical violence, public intoxications, disorderly conduct, all of these things would go hand in hand with allowing people legal access to drugs. The crime rate in the United States would stay relatively the same. You'd still be paying the same amount of taxes. The drug cartel wouldn't go any where because they'd be able to produce a tax free product. Where as approved drug companies would have to pay numerous taxes to the government.. and the consumer themselves would have to pay taxes apon purchase.

So, yeah.. it's a nice idea to say.. lets just legalize drug use.. it'll solve the problem. Well, not really. It'll just make new ones.

Only marijuana should be legalized. Not all drugs. That is just stupid.

blame the agencies that allow it to come through customs

$121 billion to arrest more than 37 million nonviolent drug offenders, about 10 million of them for possession of marijuana. Studies show that jail time tends to increase drug abuse.

That there is exactly why pot should be legal. That is ridiculous that we spend that much just to arrest stoners.

Only marijuana should be legalized. Not all drugs. That is just stupid.

C3Le5tiaL

what's just as stupid is that Marijuana, especially 'Kush', is considered a class ofdrug on par with Heroin. It's just as hard!!!

lol Kush just gets me sleepy if I overdo it, i don't start aching and fiending for it like they'd make you believe with this classification

drugs ought to be legalized. People own their own bodies, they can do whatever they want with them. fatamericandude

[QUOTE="fatamericandude"]drugs ought to be legalized. People own their own bodies, they can do whatever they want with them. EMOEVOLUTION

Yet, if I make the choice as an adult to want to smoke a plant in the comfort of my own home and enjoy the effects of it, I shouldn't be in danger of doing prison time. Sure any legalized drug use needs to be regulated, as other controlled substances already are, but the money being spent to fight a losing battle against it needs to stop.

[QUOTE="fatamericandude"]drugs ought to be legalized. People own their own bodies, they can do whatever they want with them. EMOEVOLUTION

Um, most of the war on drugs is not centered around weed. You want to legalize heroin and cocaine?

I think all drugs should at least be decriminalized. I don't care what you think of drugs and drug users, NOBODY should be arrested and faced with criminal charges for simple possession of any drug. All that does is leave a stain on your record that makes it hard to get a good job. Most people inevitably fall back into drugs and end up selling to sustain their habit since they can't get a real job. It's a sad cycle that helps no one and costs everyone, and it needs to be stopped. I think Portugal's current drug policy is working well. All drugs are decriminalized, but certain users who are clearly out of control and have a major problem with addiction are sent to REHAB, not prison, where they get care and help to detox them and teach them to live without heroin. So far, heroin usage rates have gone down I believe. pis3rch

gotta love US. swat teams killing puppies, men getting killed over toothpaste, and money being thrown down the toilet due to war on herbs.

I know. That still doesn't mean that people who choose to use it should be arrested, sent to prison, and forced into a cycle of use and dealing with no real hope of getting out. Large scale dealers, yes, but the users? I don't believe that arresting addicts helps anyone. They need actual help, and they aren't going to get that help in a prison cell. Hence what I said earlier about Portugal.....they have all drugs decriminalized (including, gasp, heroin), and usage rates are going down. Addicts get the rehab they need and can detox in a safe environment. pis3rch

Legalize all drugs.(as some suggested.

Hell no, Crack and Meth need to be purged.

Though I still can find no reason why weed was baned. Tobacco and alcohol are way worse.