Change of position - All drugs should be legal
January 12, 2016 at 10:04 am
(This post was last modified: January 12, 2016 at 10:05 am by Dystopia.)
I used to think only weed should be legalized because it is a light-drug, but then I changed my mind. Just hear me out... There's two fundamental arguments to legalize weed in particular, and drugs in general:
- The argument from free choice --> People should be free to put what they want in their bodies, provided they don't violate or endanger the rights of others. Obviously, this doesn't mean that you cannot be punished socially for the consequences of taking any drug. For example, if I'm high on cocaine and go to work, do dumb things and get fired, I don't have a right to complain
- The argument from safe consumption and rehabilitation - It's better to regulate and allow people to safely consume any drug they wish, because there will always be users for every drug around and people interested in knowing, experimenting and consuming certain types of drugs. Additionally, it's worth trying tor rehabilitate people who want to quit and have addiction problems.
Now, there's a frequent argument for weed legalization that says weed is not as bad as tobacco and alcohol and therefore it makes sense to legalize it. Regardless of the truthfulness of the former statement, it is not relevant how bad a drug is, but whether or not people will consume it. Aside from that, it's an argument that only takes into account weed in cultures like the US and forgets in places like Europe you smoke weed and hashish mixed with tobacco as a norm, so it's almost inevitable that if you smoke weed/hash you will end up smoking some tobacco.
Ultimately, all drugs have recorded ill effects on people and it depends on the individual, genetics and the amount you take. Heroin can be addicting and ruin lives, but it's also a very powerful drug that suppresses physical, psychological and pain caused from social phobias - That's why it is so addicting.
The taxes argument is not my concern because additional revenue is merely a bonus and should not be the main concern of legalizing drugs.
People should be allowed to, within regulations of safe production, freely trade and sell drugs; and if there's enough people willing to invest, we should be able to have areas or places where people can go to if they want to consume drugs, without violating the rights of those who don't.
I find it hypocritical that people who claim to be anti-drugs are capable of drinking coffee, take sleeping pills and drink a glass of wine during dinnertime. It's just contradicting. Alcohol is a drug, and so is tobacco, and so is coffee.
I believe that prohibition on these substances grants to much power to the State, and someday any argument claiming "public health" can be used to restrict any behavior the government finds harmful to oneself. It's not the government and its representatives' place to dictate how much people can harm themselves.
- The argument from free choice --> People should be free to put what they want in their bodies, provided they don't violate or endanger the rights of others. Obviously, this doesn't mean that you cannot be punished socially for the consequences of taking any drug. For example, if I'm high on cocaine and go to work, do dumb things and get fired, I don't have a right to complain
- The argument from safe consumption and rehabilitation - It's better to regulate and allow people to safely consume any drug they wish, because there will always be users for every drug around and people interested in knowing, experimenting and consuming certain types of drugs. Additionally, it's worth trying tor rehabilitate people who want to quit and have addiction problems.
Now, there's a frequent argument for weed legalization that says weed is not as bad as tobacco and alcohol and therefore it makes sense to legalize it. Regardless of the truthfulness of the former statement, it is not relevant how bad a drug is, but whether or not people will consume it. Aside from that, it's an argument that only takes into account weed in cultures like the US and forgets in places like Europe you smoke weed and hashish mixed with tobacco as a norm, so it's almost inevitable that if you smoke weed/hash you will end up smoking some tobacco.
Ultimately, all drugs have recorded ill effects on people and it depends on the individual, genetics and the amount you take. Heroin can be addicting and ruin lives, but it's also a very powerful drug that suppresses physical, psychological and pain caused from social phobias - That's why it is so addicting.
The taxes argument is not my concern because additional revenue is merely a bonus and should not be the main concern of legalizing drugs.
People should be allowed to, within regulations of safe production, freely trade and sell drugs; and if there's enough people willing to invest, we should be able to have areas or places where people can go to if they want to consume drugs, without violating the rights of those who don't.
I find it hypocritical that people who claim to be anti-drugs are capable of drinking coffee, take sleeping pills and drink a glass of wine during dinnertime. It's just contradicting. Alcohol is a drug, and so is tobacco, and so is coffee.
I believe that prohibition on these substances grants to much power to the State, and someday any argument claiming "public health" can be used to restrict any behavior the government finds harmful to oneself. It's not the government and its representatives' place to dictate how much people can harm themselves.
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you
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