Should Drugs Be Made Legal??

It would be better to legalise drugs if, and only if, it was handled properly.

A registration system, so users are known and as such if they commit a crime under the influence of a drug they will be punished more harshly, for abusing the system, it would also help with keeping tabs on how much drugs are being consumed by people and so it would be obvious if they spent over their means that they were stealing from somewhere.

Total personal liability. It would have to be totally clear that its your own risk, and there would need to be no way someone could sue the government if they OD or suffer ill effects.

If they could also ensure the drugs are 'safe' (in terms of nothing added that isn't mentioned) then thats another bonus, jobs could be created in manufacture, distribution, registration, etc. So it would hugely benefit the economy in terms of jobs and the tax on the drugs, also less strain on the gardai and emergency services.

So it becomes simply a personal choice, closely monitored, cutting out the dealers, running druglords out of business, basically stopping a lot of organised crime, while monitoring the people who commit petty crimes like mugging and theft to fund their habit, so that its more obvious who's committing the crime.

The only argument against legalisation is that people will abuse drugs or think they're safe because they're legal. But we're not stupid. There would be health warnings. If you choose to take drugs you risk the consequences of addiction or health problems. Simple.

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

No, and drink and fags should go too.

And we should all be forced to go to church every sunday!

People are free to make whatever choices they like in life. I smoked for 8 or 9 years and quit of my own free will because I didn't want to smoke anymore. I drink occasionally because I like unwinding and having a laugh.

You only live once, and I'd rather live til I was 50 and enjoyed my life than lived til I was 90 and not experienced life.

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

List 3 good things that keeping drink and fags will do.

There's no good reason that the sale and advertising of fags to still be legal IMO, but as for keeping drink legal, it enables people to a have fun in a particular manner which is not possible otherwise. It's not "sad" or "pathetic" and it only becomes that way when it's overused, but just because some people might overuse it doesn't mean it should be illegal. We all should be considered responsible adults capable of making our own choices and our laws should reflect that.

I've thought about this issue a lot, and I come up with different ideas all the time of how a system with drugs legalised would work. I think that alcohol has got to be regulated properly first before any other drugs are legalised. When the other drugs are legalised they would have to be very strictly regulated(at first, anyway. I personally think that the shockingly low amount of damage the drugs would do to society would naturally cause a relaxation in strictness of regulation). Information leaflets on how to use drugs correctly and sensibly would be distributed freely. If done correctly it simply wouldn't be as bad as anti-drugs people make out.

I pointed out in another thread that the question is moot:

Dr. Hesselius wrote:

Possession of cocaine cannot be legalised in Ireland since Ireland is a signatory to the single convention on narcotic drugs. Indeed, without a unilateral withdrawal from the convention (and all other associated and dependent agreements), practically no country can legalise cocaine possession.

It's a pointless discussion. The majority of "drugs" fall under the schedules of this treaty and hence cannot be legalised, regardless of whether some people think it's a good idea.

No stay illegal too many harmful effects.

I fully support legalising drugs. The only qualms I would have would be that it is unethical to legally allow citizens to take socially destructive drugs like heroin, crystal meth etc. Yet, I think that keeping these illegal would simply encourage more to take the drugs if others had been decriminalised.

Consider prohibition in Chicago in the 1930's. It did not work, end of. Alcohol is a highly damaging drug, but crime rates increased with prohibition. I think this speaks for itself.
If drugs were to be legalised they should only be available from pharmacies and existing headshops in Ireland could apply for a licence to sell. Advertising or branding of drugs would be outlawed. Drugs would only be available to the over 18's and HEAVY penalties inflicted on those caught selling to minors, or acting as couriers for minors. this may sound stupid, but I think a drug licence for consumers should also exist. Drugs require a lot research before consumption and a standardised exam, just like our driving tests would minimize health risks and make buyers aware of addiction potential.

Condensed, here are my arguments in favour of legalisation, feel free to disagree:

Source of revenue for government

[*]Huge decrease in street crime and could go to almost eliminate gang violence
[/LIST]

• Decrease in Hepatitis and HIV (clean needles)

• Many drugs are less harmful than alcohol or cigarettes, it is unfair that these should be illegal

• Drugs could be standardised and hospitalisation, deaths etc due to impure drugs would be minimised

• Freeing up of Garda resources, create desperately needed space in prisons

• The government could ensure users are responsible and informed about drug use, which is often not the case at present.

I don't believe that legalization would increase the number of people taking drugs. Access to drugs is easy for most. Illegality is highly unlikely to deter someone from using drugs, IMO

By the by, I always hear statistics that the vast majority of prison officers and Gardaí favour legalisation, anyone in said professions able to confirm?

Timans wrote: »

Drugs are awful things to some. There is different reactions by different people. 1 in 10 users of Cannabis may debelop some form of mental illness. 1 in 5 users of ecstasy may suffer a heart attack. These of course aren't exact figures but what I am trying to portray is that there is an element of chance in the use of drugs. Some may suffer dadly consequences and therefore I think that they should not be legalised as no amount of "control" or "management" can stop the risk for some.

Life is full of risks. Tbh, just because a tiny minority might suffer ill effects from taking drugs doesn't mean they should be illegal.

Also, please don't make up statistics. There is an element of chance in the use of drugs and we acknowledge that, but it's nothing close to the stats you've just made up there. 20% chance of a heart attack from taking E? You might want to check out the death toll from E induced heart attacks over the last 10 years, or indeed ever.