Should drugs be illegal in a free country?

Uthur

If we're going to allow people to consume nicotine, alcohol and fatty, unhealthy foods, shouldn't we allow people to do drugs as well?

Should the government be in the business of telling adults what they can put into their bodies? I say no - I want to be to be treated like an adult and be allowed to make my own choices!

Surely cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy are harmless enough to be legalised for adults at least?

that is an awful retarded statement!you seem like a troll!

Uthur

Deleted User wrote:

that is an awful retarded statement!you seem like a troll!

Well that is an awful trolling statement, you seem like a retard! Touche!

so you reckon that its ok for lads up in cities to be total druggies injecting themselves sponging off the state not looking after their children and the government to legally allow this!!

Uthur

Deleted User wrote:

so you reckon that its ok for lads up in cities to be total druggies injecting themselves sponging off the state not looking after their children and the government to legally allow this!!

People who do drugs aren't all 'total druggies'.
People who do drugs aren't all spongers.
People who do drugs aren't all neglecting their kids.

Most people who do drugs are perfectly responsible citizens.
The irresponsible ones will exist even though drugs are illegal - just
as they do today. Edit: Turning these people into criminals only
fills up the prisons and makes things worse for everyone.

Your response is alarmist and crude.

biko

Promising start on this thread Fight, fight!
Oh, my 2c: Nicotin and alcohol are dangerous drugs but but they are legal, still...
Alcohol related illnesses keep a big share of Irish hospital beds occupied from self inflicted accidents, fighting, drunk driving idiots plowing down people etc etc. Different forms of nicotin induced cancer and edema occupy another big share. Best would be if we could have a drug free society but what the chance of that? People need to blow of steam and at least alcohol will keep the birthrate up, as opposed to pot smoking...
Btw, it's not a free country, it's parlamentary democracy

penguincakes

Personally I would like to see all drugs (yes all) legalised in a "free country" - but it wouldn't work in the current system.

Problem with it at the moment (as I see it) is that people depend on the government and authorities to keep them nice and safe - which is fair enough in some regards as that's what it's supposed to be there for. Were all drugs suddenly legalised there would be (most likely) an uprising in drug usage, as (some) people would figure "Well if They say it's ok to use...", as well as the simple sudden availability of something that wasn't easy to get before.

This would most probably lead to increase in road deaths due to people who are, perhaps, tripping thinking that getting in the car and driving is a doddle but forgetting how to or getting distracted halfway there. As well as overdoses and other various things. It would inevitably (well almost so, I haven't gone over every fine detail but it seems very likely that it would) lead to an increase in addiction to the stronger drugs and so an increase in rehab patients, an increase on people on the Dole, and a concurrent decrease in financial wealth of the country, perhaps even eventual collapse of the system if enough people stopped working or being able to work, and general "The country going straight to hell". This seems, to me, a reasonable assumption or line of thought (yes others are possible but other changes would be needed).

In a truly "free country", the way I envision the meaning of the words, there is not such a reliance on the government - perhaps there is not even a government. The phrase indicates to me an "every-man-for-themself" philosophy of life - of course people will form communities, and gangs, etc, but perhaps there would still be a government-formed policing agency, or more probably a community-based one, to fight the elements undesirable in the community.

The difference here, in relation to drugs, is that people do not rely on the government to make the choices on what is allowed and not allowed, and hence will not be reliant on the government to scoop them out of the depths if things go wrong - therefore they would consider their drug usage a lot more and how it will affect their life, and that of those around them, more than they might have if they had a state-funded rehab clinic to fall into, or free money falling into their hands.

So in a "free country" (extremely idealised and full of other issues which I won't bother going into), drugs would be legal (well technically there would be no real laws except those the people of a group decide for themselves) and people would take it upon themselves to keep their usage under control or face the full consequences. Indeed, much as we have it now, except the current system makes the possible consequences extremely complicated, and difficult to deal with.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

isn';t this the third or fourth thread on this topic this month?

even I'm getting sick of it at this stage

anyway, it isn't going to happen.
Criminals we are, and criminals we will remain.

as well as the simple sudden availability of something that wasn't easy to get before.

uh, drugs of all types are very easy to get in nearly every town in Ireland already. Especially to under agers, drug dealers not usually bothering to check ID.

Indeed

Several reasons for closing this thread

Sigh