http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1918725,00.html?cnn=yes

Did a search and could not find any other threads regarding this topic.

Quote :

"Quietly and with little ado, Mexico last week enacted a law to decriminalize possession of small amounts of all major narcotics, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and crystal meth. Anyone caught in Mexico with two or three joints or about four lines of cocaine can no longer be arrested, fined or imprisoned. However, police will give them the address of the nearest rehab clinic and advise them to get clean. "

Quote :

" Indeed, while using small amounts of drugs may now be fine, selling drugs is still illegal. The law clearly states any person dealing narcotics will be sent to prison. Any place that sells drugs will be liable for punishment, a provision that is likely to prevent the opening of any Amsterdam-style "coffee shops" in the country."

Isn't this contradictory? You can't sell the drugs but it is ok to have them in possession? To me the government is sending mixed signals.

I'm also concerned that our government is not speaking out against this measure.

Thoughts?

8/26/2009 8:56:17 AM

Speak out?!

We should encourage it and take it even further.

How do people not realize that this prohibition bullshit is what creates gangsters and drug cartels? Your body is your body, if you use drugs responsibly you should not be punished for it. If you go out and cause problems, you should certainly be punished. IF YOU STEAL SOME TYLENOL AND TELL THE MANAGER OF THE STORE, "FUCK YOU, THIS BITCH WILL NOT SHUT UP AND I'MMA STEAL THIS" THEN MAYBE YOU DESERVE TO BE PUNISHED. Note that we already have a system set up to allow people to legally use the worst drug known to mankind, alcohol. This same system would work with any drug, but for some reason people categorize alcohol as a "non-drug" because of its legal status in this country. If you use it responsibly though, no harm comes to others and you should NOT be punished for that.

Similarly, if you use another mind altering drug responsibly, what the fuck reason is there to punish you?! Why should the government waste time and money punishing someone who has caused no harm?! If you go out and get in a wreck due to being intoxicated on whatever substance or even simply due to your cell phone, then you'll be punished accordingly. If you sit in your home and get lightly intoxicated, causing no harm, then you should be left alone. You've done nothing wrong, yet much of society (Because it's cool I guess) would be screaming for you to be imprisoned. A "good Samaritan" will seriously go tell the police that they think they might have smelled "drugs" near a home and think that they've done some wonderful deed. Of course, the good Samaritan then goes home and has a beer or two.

It's also worth noting that alcohol is pretty much the king of judgment impairment, yet it's the legal drug. It can also be lethal in doses just a bit above recreational levels, unlike many illegal drugs. These ridiculous and overbearing drug laws create the market that has led to the formation of countless gangsters and drug cartels that waste our time and money. Nature seems to seek out intoxication, it's not just a human thing and to try to control it is ridiculous. It is like trying to control sex or anything other natural drive, it simply doesn't work.


I actually do understand where the government is coming from with these laws btw. When you sell drugs, you ARE harming others in many cases and often you're creating an addiction to make money, which is sick. But many businesses do this legally, so again, it's just one of those things that people think is acceptable to do legally but not acceptable to do illegally. I think the government should sell certain drugs in something similar to ABC stores. You'd be much more likely to have clean drugs that were properly synthesized (Or grown).

Apparently even modern moonshine still has high levels of lead in it because of the solder used in the still's piping and this is why you should always buy legal alcohol. If the government would sell legal marijuana and other drugs, it would put a huge dent in the illegal drug market and would allow them to more easily control distribution. It would remove a lot of the need for gangs to target children at school with drugs and shit because it would take them out of the drug market. I just see lots of benefits and no disadvantages because people who want to use a given drug or drugs are going to use them and people who don't want to use a given drug or drugs aren't going to use them IMO, regardless of their legal status.

8/26/2009 9:09:37 AM

small amounts of news fucking [old]

8/26/2009 9:33:29 AM

i don't see how this will help without fully legalizing the production of (at least some) drugs

8/26/2009 9:34:30 AM

^that was where I was going with this.

Legalize it? Fine. But put an infrastructure in place to control it if you're going to consider narcotics legal.

To SaabTurbo - gg on the tylenol, I forgot about that - the mgr never found out though. I think legalization of some drugs would help out a lot of the problems that countries have controlling them. I think we need to draw the line somewhere though. Heroin for example, due to its extreme addictive nature, should never be legalized in my opinion. People can not control their urges, and it becomes something more than just "Its my body, I can do what I want to with it." Sure, its you're body, but when you lose self-control, then its a problem. Yea yea, nicotine is the most addictive substance on the planet bla bla and its legal bla bla. I fully support scrubbing nicotine from cigarettes, to keep them from being so addictive. If they could take away the addictive nature of heroin, fine, throw it out there on the streets too.

I just think if a govt is going to legalize it, they need to also put in the infrastructure to control the sell of it, legally.

8/26/2009 9:45:42 AM

message_topic.aspx?topic=574349

8/26/2009 10:18:28 AM

Another reason for the ambivalence is that the new law is predicted to have little effect on the Mexican street. Police officers would rarely arrest people caught with small amounts of drugs anyway, although they would often use it as an opportunity to extract handsome bribes.

It doesn't seem like Mexico did this because they're being progressive towards drug use.

8/26/2009 10:42:41 AM

I think the idea is that drug users will be more willing to come forward with information about dealers/etc... now that there is no longer any threat of a fine or jail time. Of course, there is still the threat of being decapitated by a drug cartel

8/26/2009 10:59:52 AM