Legalization of Drugs

I imagine the "vested interests" are the ones currently benefitting from having it be criminal activity - law enforcement, prison systems (fewer inmates means fewer jobs), and trial lawyers.

I don't think so. Prisons are overcrowded and they can't fund / staff them properly. And the overcrowding is largely due to drug laws.

[ladymoreta]

That's a good point. The cynic in me says there's somebody profiting from having that many prisoners, though...

[oceanchild]

Bail bondsmen also probably profit from the criminal process. And they lobby like crazy.

Just from our experience here in Denver, I can assure you that there are people out there who think marijuana is on the same plane as heroin and cocaine. And I do think that the generally unsympathetic nature of the advocates hurts their cause.

So all of you who want to legalize marijuana, do you also want to legalize cocaine and heroin and meth? Just curious.

[SoonerTexan]

To me, the difference is that tobacco and alcohol can be used in moderation without significantly impairing your judgment (Lord knows that isn't always the case with alcohol at all, but at least the potential is there). Of course prescription drugs are a whole different ballgame, but at least they aren't widely available. My question earlier was completely honest--I really don't know how "high" someone can actually get off pot (well, besides spending time with a particular friend, but he was usually wasted anyway, so it is hard to really tell. Would legalizing it mean people driving or watching their children "just a little bit high?"

[ides]

Seriously - u can't die from pot. If u have too much you fall asleep. Cassy was right on.

[SoonerTexan]

Cassy--my point was that I really didn't know if a glass of wine or two was equal to just a little bit of pot. Like I said, I have very little experience with it. Besides previously mentioned friend, the only other contact with illegal drug use was my uncle when I was quite a bit younger and I don't know what exactly he was using, or maybe if legalization would have even affected his behavior. He spent a year in rehab and it almost destroyed his family and his marriage. What I do know is he left/put my young cousins in dangerous situations multiple times when it got bad. My guess was that the overall addiction and drug seeking behavior caused a lot of that, but that is why I ask. The way my aunt and parents described it was he just didn't care about his children for periods of time.

[SoonerTexan]

Sorry--I should have been more clear. What I was trying to say is does marijuana have a "tipping point" like alcohol and can you easily control it by intake or are you in a very vulnerable state to begin with. But I guess you already answered that. Should have paid more attention to DH's neighbors in college, could have been insightful

[diggitydot]

A couple glasses of wine and I'm on my ass. A couple tokes off a doobie back-in-the-day, not so much. Theoretically.

[scrub-jay]

Marissa: Wine has a standardized, measured and predictable amount of alcohol. Each plant may differ in the amount of THC.

[MarissaNicole]

Marissa: Wine has a standardized, measured and predictable amount of alcohol. Each plant may differ in the amount of THC.

Along these lines... I think having marijuana illegal allows that any amount in a driver's system equals a DUI...would it be possible to have measure the amount of THC in the blood in terms of DUI?

[scrub-jay]

Along these lines... I think having marijuana illegal allows that any amount in a driver's system equals a DUI...would it be possible to have measure the amount of THC in the blood in terms of DUI?

I don't have any experience with drug test development, so my comments are purely speculative. There must be a way to measure standard amounts in the system because there are various ways to absorb THC. After this is identified, then standard, quick-tests would need to be developed. The problem with that is the current blood tests detect the chemical's presence up to a month later. Breathalyzers work due to the volatility of ethanol, this would not work in this case. IMO - I dont mind DUIs for anyone under the influence of anything mind altering.

[DCJenn]

Greetings from the front lines of drug treatment!

OK- first, in terms of complete destruction of a person's life, they ALL have the potential. Alcohol is a nasty, nasty substance for those with addiction. In fact alcohol is the #1 cause of preventable birth defects. Only detoxing from alcohol can kill you. You may want to die with the other detoxes but you won't. (See "Ray" for a really awesome pretty true to life depiction of a heroin withdrawal. Not pretty)

Second- as more and more prison systems are becoming for-profit entities, there's a TON of money to be made off the state and the Feds. Don't think for a minute that there is anything altruistic about any prison system. Do you honestly think that it's a coincidence that the criminalization of illegal immigrants also happens to be in states where most of the prisons are for-profit? I think not.

If you had access to clean needles and an adequate supply of heroin, you could pretty much live a regular life. I have clients who work, go to PTA meetings, go to school, etc. It's the acquisition of an ILLEGAL substance that requires that they do whatever they need to do to get the fix. Drug Dealers are business people. Don't ever forget that. Ruthless, horrible business people. Drug addiction alters the brains chemistry and it becomes more like a chronic need (diabetes is probably the closest example) than a high. Most people don't get high after a certain point, they keep shooting up because they get really, really sick if they don't.

Honestly, the substance I'd actually make illegal is cigarettes and everyone can have at the rest of the stuff. Standardized formulations of drugs would do a lot to prevent overdose and death. It's hard to survive injecting heroin that's been cut with rat poison. (and that's a really stupid dealer- who wants to kill off their customers)

Cocaine is actually not all that addicting- it's more habit-forming and crave inducing than addicting. And as the crack babies of 1985 have amply demonstrated, there's not much damage done in utereo, either.

In the big scheme of things in terms of absolute destruction though- it's my favorite- alcohol and we all saw how successful making that illegal was!

Jenn

PS- We just did a study of how much money we've saved the city and the county by opening our sobering and detox and channelling them though that instead of ERs and acute care settings and the jails.

[scrub-jay]

Jenn - Thanks for piping up, I was really interested in what you had to say.

[fluffhead]

One point about MJ in particular is the negative impact on the economy - if you remove the social stigma and increase usage, there will be the tendency to be less productive (I know this is not true for all pot smokers, but the stereotypes do come from somewhere).
I still think it's a violation of constitutional rights to keep it illegal, but that's one reason it probably stays illegal.
Plus the makers of synthetic THC would take a big hit (heheh).