sciam.com — "In the face of a growing number of deaths and cases of HIV linked to drug abuse, the Portuguese government in 2001 tried a new tack to get a handle on the problem?it decriminalized the use of... street drugs. The theory: focusing on treatment and prevention instead of jailing users would decrease the number of deaths and infections."
Apr 7, 2009 View in Crawl 4
kimvictoriaApr 8, 2009
It's puzzling that alcoholism is treated as a health issue while an addiction to heroin or cocaine is treated as a criminal issue, when alcohol is up there as one of the most addictive drugs..and it is legal. You know what else is legal? Nicotine, which is the most addictive drug, period. Many people are aware of the destructive behavior that alcohol can lead to, but the Prohibition of alcohol (which was ended by FDR in the thirties) only made these harms infinitely worse. Criminal activity soared, providing any scumbag who wanted to make a quick buck an opportunity to profit from Prohibition. The parallels are quite obvious if one looks into them. Here's something to think about: Who REALLY benefits from drug prohibition? It sure as hell aren't kids, who have easy access to any drug they want, because what kind of dealer is going to card the people that buy from him or her? If you have money, you are a customer. It doesn't matter if you're 13 or 35 years old. To answer the question, it is the DRUG CARTELS!!!! Wake up people. Did anyone see the recent quote from Joaquin Loera, one of the most prominent drug lords in Mexico? It goes: "I couldn't have gotten so stinking rich without George Bush, George Bush Jr., Ronald Reagan, even El Presidente Obama, none of them have the cajones to stand up to all the big money that wants to keep this stuff illegal. From the bottom of my heart, I want to say, Gracias amigos, I owe my whole empire to you." (<a class="user" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-henry-sterry/mexican-drug-lord-officia_b_179596.html)">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-henry-sterry/m ...</a> I mean, if that doesn't tell you what a failure this War on Drugs has been, and how this country has lost its focus on what is justice, then I don't know what will. The Economist, a conservative leaning and highly respected publication, recently publicized their support for the legalization of all drugs as the "least bad solution." (<a class="user" href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13237193)">http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm? ...</a> It's a very good article, I suggest everyone to read it!!
riggsta26Apr 8, 2009
I like weed and mutha f**kin turtles!
jfreemanApr 9, 2009
"Drug legalization removes all criminal penalties for producing, selling and using drugs; no country has tried it."What do you mean no country has tried it? Drugs haven't been illegal forever; it's actually a relatively recent phenomenon, and look where it's gotten us: more drugs, more addicts, more convicts, more violence, more disease than ever before. It's costing us a fortune just to shoot ourselves in the foot with these laws!Legalize it like it used to be.
damackApr 15, 2009
The irony is drugs have existed for thousands of years in all manner of communities and there have never been more drug related problems than now.It's a shame common sense never prevails but you won't be seeing drug decriminilisation, an athiest in the whitehouse or an end to the war for resources(aka war on terror) anytime soon.
esuperchickenApr 17, 2009
Lets do it!