Ex-Blink 182 drummer critically injured!

[roninriot]

Amsterdam has marijuana sold in cafes! But that's an exception!

 

[daryl]

drugs are baaaad, mmkay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-AfOhyn_S4&feature=related

 

[blank]

Are hard drugs really banned because they're deadly? For every one person who has been harmed with illegal drugs, there are dozens of people who have used illegal drugs and were not harmed. For every one person who has been harmed by illegal drugs, there are 1,000 people who harml themselves by deliberately choosing these harmful lifestyles...

* Being overweight
* Smoking cigarettes
* Eating high-fat/high-cholesterol diets
* Eating too much meat
* Participating in dangerous sports/activities
* Drinking alcohol
* Eating too much sugar
* Eating too few fruits/vegetables
* Drinking too much coffee
* Getting little/no exercise
* Too little sleep
* Overwork and stress-related problems
* Anti-social/seclusionist behaviour

Why don’t the prohibitionists advocate banning all of the above harmful lifestyles? The prohibitionists tolerate people who hurt/kill themselves with tobacco, alcohol, poor diet, or no exercise, but they refuse to tolerate people who harm themselves with cocaine. Why? Inconsistent! Illogical! Irrational!

The real reason why marijuana, cocaine, LSD, and other drugs are illegal: Lifestyle control! Prohibitionists fear that if drugs are legalized, the “drug culture” will spread to the rest of society. Nobody can force others to use drugs! Adults must take responsibility for their own health! Because the prohibitionists have decided that drugs are wrong for them does not give them the right to force their lifestyle on others. Prohibitionists want government to play the role of parent. Prohibitionists believe they must babysit adults. Prohibitionists are the lifestyle police!

In the last 25 years, per capita alcohol and tobacco consumption has decreased significantly. This was accomplished by education and treatment, not by threat of punishment! Drug use/abuse would drop significantly if we spent our resources on education and treatment instead of law enforcement. No rational person would call for imprisonment of smokers and drinkers in order to reduce tobacco and alcohol use. But that method is exactly how we try to reduce drug use. The savings to be had in ending the drug war could easily pay for all the drug treatment and education programs we need. The drug war is a failure! Education and treatment work!

Uh..yea.
Let's legalize heroin, cocaine and ectasy. Great idea.
Comparing alcohol and tobacco to hard drugs is pretty ridiculous.
If you fail to see the single huge flaw in your indirect suggestion of simply legalizing hard drugs then, well i have not much to say.
As for other drugs(like marijuana, lsd, etc), well, if one really wants the world to be a better place, then banning all drugs is necessary, our modern world anyway. The hard truth is that people can become dependent on any and all types of drugs, and all drugs used constantly can only harm you, physically, psychologically or both.
It's not as simple as a lifestyle "choice". For example, someone at a party might take ectasy for the first time and really enjoy it. He might decide to try it again later, "Just another time, I've only done it once anyway and nothing has happened to me". His mind is fixated on the enjoyment he's getting from the drug, as opposed to him dying from an overdose or becoming a drug addict.
Each and every one of us is like that, we're all curious as hell, and if it's so easy to get and everyone is doing it, we'll think "Why not do it?". We might enjoy every single second we're on the drug, but would you die earlier for that enjoyment? Maybe you would, but not everyone would. Now you might say "But it's their choice to take it!", well that's true, but do you think that people really comprehend dying from an overdose or dying earlier before they take drugs?

Personally though, I think (almost)anything in moderation is fine. I'm glad that the government makes it harder to get drugs.

 

[rottenramone]

visa, your argument is pretty flawed. yes, hard drugs are banned because its deadly.

each substance has varying degrees of effect and the harder drugs will create a dependency on abusers. illegal drugs have already caused many social problems, so imagine legalising it. no drug user would ever admit to being addicted to drugs.

you're arguing over the freedom to choose, then i say its pretty dangerous isn't it? don't think society as a whole knows what they're doing sometimes.

 

[widdly]

The fact that drugs are illegal creates more social problems than the drugs themselves. Drug related crime and violence is a direct result of the illegality. If drugs were available in a regulated manner, this crime and violence would disappear. Police resources would be freed to pursue the perpetrators of crimes with victims, instead of chasing down harmless drug users. By leveling a tax on the narcotics, in much the same way alcohol and tobacco are taxed, there would be revenue available to implement medical treatments for drug related health problems.

Without drug trafficking as a source of revenue, organized crime would be crippled. There is speculation that drug trafficking is also a source of revenue for terrorist groups.

If certain drugs were legal in Singapore, it would enhance Singapore's position as a tourist destination. It would throw off Singapores reputation as a Nanny state and a conservative backwater. They could market Singapore as the Amsterdam of Asia. We already have geylang lor 12 and orchard towers covering the sleazy side, now we just need to be able to order a fat joint with our kopi-o.

 

[vickomaniac]

so you're telling me, that if drugs are legalised, you want to bring over foreign crackheads, just for revenue?
Then what do crackheads do when they're high? not very sensible things im sure.
you want to bring over people, and let them have free reign when they're not entirely themselves?

 

[lucadia]

I couldn't absorb all of why tobacco is legal and why cocaine is not. Generally my opinion of why tobacco and alcohol is legal is:

The gahmen has a list of deadly substance(tobacco, cocaine etc etc) that they don't want their citizens to take.
BUT banning ALL of them isn't gonna solve the problem as it would increase trafficking like someone who has mentioned. So they refer to the "Deadly substance popularity poll" and realised alcohol and tobacco are the top 2 and legalize it and banning everything else. So now tobacco and alcohol takes up basically the entire market share which is perfect to slap on tax AND BAM! instant billions.

 

[widdly]

so you're telling me, that if drugs are legalised, you want to bring over foreign crackheads, just for revenue?
Then what do crackheads do when they're high? not very sensible things im sure.
you want to bring over people, and let them have free reign when they're not entirely themselves?

Yeah that's the idea. I'd imagine the 'crackheads' might enjoy doing not very sensible things like dancing in darkened rooms with light shows and repetitive electronic music.

 

[vickomaniac]

if thats in why not ask the tourists to come over now since the facilities are already available?

 

[widdly]

if thats in why not ask the tourists to come over now since the facilities are already available?

That's true. And why go to a night club when you could go to a Saturday afternoon tea dance?

 

[mus]

Here's an update on Travis Barker,

Travis Barker and DJ AM Expected to Make Full Recovery After Jet Crash

 

[mrekoj]

Here's an update on Travis Barker,

Travis Barker and DJ AM Expected to Make Full Recovery After Jet Crash

finally something related

 

[mus]

Thanks mrekoj. I'm glad that they're going to be okay .