Why recreational drugs should be legalised.

[_pyromancer_]

If we banned everything that's bad for people or hard to give up, there'd be no cakes, no cola, no mountain climbing, no speedboats, no bike races, no horse riding

Comments

[ifimust]

While I agree with a lot of what you say - I don't think organised crime would go away. I think it would just move into new areas - as it did when prohibition ended in the States. I don't know what areas, mind you but I somehow don't see it all just fading away into legitimate enterprise...

[alixandrea]

I agree wholesale with everything you say, apart from the organised crime bit. I also agree with ifimust that it would probably just move into a different area. Although I also believe that it would probably be greatly diminished. Especially if other areas were similarly legalised and regulated...

[goddessofchaos]

Cakes and mountain climbing may be bad for people, but they don't make people mentally unbalanced and potentially dangerous. I'm not saying that all drugs do either, but a lot of drug users commit criminal acts and antisocial behaviour not just to get money for the drugs, but because the drugs make them not care about their actions. Use of drugs can trigger mental illness (I believe there's a strong case for marijuana use making people more prone to schizophrenia) and do we really need more people suffering mental illnesses?

[deeper_than_red]

Cakes and mountain climbing may be bad for people, but they don't make people mentally unbalanced and potentially dangerous.Except when you look at the physiological and psychological impact of sugar dependency. Much of the danger is to the person that uses the cake, but it can make people very unbalanced. Unchecked and damaging intake of sugar (a massive part of cake) can lead to diabetes and when unchecked can result in danger for the diabetic and others as some become more aggressive before a "coma". Furthermore, endorphine "highs" are very commonly reported after sports and exercise and the post high dip can result in depression and anxiety. I've witnessed first hand an exercise fanatic become more dependent on hitting the gym and displaying classic addiction symptoms when unable to go, including violence and aggression. So I would suggest that yes, they can in some circumstances affect the psychological make up of someone prone to be affected by these changes and make them more dangerous. Mostly to themselves, but it can cause

[deeper_than_red]

No, we don't need more mentally ill people, but by legalising and properly controlling drugs in the same way as alcohol, we are offering a certified level of quality that wouldn't have the rat poison in it or the other nasty stuff that messes up the body and we'd put it on a level with the other insidious drugs that we are allowed to consume until we do go mental and die, but also, if we know what is in each batch, we can gain much better insight in to the effects of the compounds and work out the best ways for treating people when those who inevitably overdo it do so

[kev36663]

passing through