Do you believe in drug legalization?
927683
Yes it would probably solve part of the problem.  Because legally constituted businesses could take control of the drug trade then the mafias behind the drug traffic would have a hard time subsisting.
20882
Yes, all drugs should be legal.\n\nMaking drugs legal would mean that they could be better controlled, or maybe even taxed.  The tax could be used to help people get off hard drugs.\n\nIn my opinion, governments should not have control over something an individual does to themselves.
387318
Well of course, by criminalizing the drug trade you force it to organize along certain guidlines, even if you legalize the drug trade it would then still be organized by the government. Im an American and the government is the biggest drug dealer i have ever seen.
24032
Yes, marijuana should be legalized.  If you were to put the stats together, you would see that many, many more rapes, murders, thefts, assaults, fatal car crashes, deadly occupational accidents, and various other crimes have been committed under the influence of alcohol.  Recently, a young man was arrested for murdering his mother. His line of defense was that he was under the influence of Marijuana.  Marijuana does not make one aggressive in the least. Anyone that does or has smoked will testify to that. Marijuana has a relaxing effect, not to mention its medicinal benefits.  As for prostitution, it should also be legalized. It is THE oldest profession in the WORLD. You cannot put a restriction on ones body.  The only way to stop it would be to eliminate one of the sexes. Just my guess, but there would probably be a drop in sex crimes and sexually transmitted diseases if prostitution were to become legal.  THE ONLY REASON NEITHER OF THESE THINGS ARE LEGAL, IS BECAUSE OUR GOVERNMENT CANT FIGURE A WAY TO CONTROL OR TAX THEM. (Like cigarettes and alcohol. Which by the way is two very high contributors to our mortality rate here in America.)  Hence the war against them.
673804
Legalize/tax/regulate recreational drugs..pulls the profits out of the hands of the cartels, taxes pay for rehab and education, no more turf wars over who can sling rocks on a street corner.
1025970
No. Drugs should remain illegal.
137646
I have rethought my position on legalization of marijuana. I think it should be legal under certain guidelines and locals.\n\nThe first reason it should be legalized it will mellow out the liberals. They are way to shrill.\n\nReason number two, if a liberal is high they won't care about voting and we can easily elect conservative representative, congressmen, and president. Conservatives will never again have to deal with R.I.N.O.s if this happens. Imagine if there was no Arlen Spector or John McCain.\n\nReason Three assuming that only liberals and libertarians are for the legalization of drugs they can fight amongst themselves, and we conservatives have a way to sure up our power\n\nThe Previsos\n\nmarijuana would only be legal in Blue States. If you are caught with marijuana in a red state you get a trial and immediately executed after the trial, no appeals. The reason for this is to get potheads out of here and since it seams as if the Blue states want to legalize it let them.\n\nIf someone who is high robs, steals, or causes an accident after THC is detected in their system ALL their possessions become the property of the estate of the victim. (applies to all fifty)\n\nIf they have children, the children are removed from the home and are never returned (applies to all fifty)\n\nThe only treatment for those who want to quit smoking marijuana will be the intake of tobacco products, or beaten with a bong. Paid for by the offender (the way they train dogs not to make messes on carpets) Again all fifty.\n\nIf this works for marijuana I would propose the same for all illicit drugs. But no one would accept this proposal so I will have to continue my opposition to this and ALL illegal drugs.
718157
I agree that weed should be legalized but it Will never happen as long as the pharmaceutical companies have the F.D.A and lots of politicians in their back pocket as for BuSh he prefers whiskey and cocaine over weed
846354
As long as there is a law against it, something must follow the breaking of the law. I feel the law needs to be changed and make it legal, however a small fine or working in the community would meet my needs.\nNOTE I am not a person who has ever used and illegal drugs, but I do think the laws reach out too far.
538629
I think all drugs should be legalized, and I havent touched anything harder than alcohol in the last 10 years. If the US legalized everything, here are some of the advantages:\n\n1) They would tax it. Hopefully this would get them to ease up on some of the other things that are taxable. Additionaly maybe we could work off some national debt, use the money for medical and scientific research and other benificial things.\n2) Crime would go down. Many crimes are committed (ie armed robbery, breaking and entering, etc...) are commited to raise money for drugs. Since the government would be the ones selling and pruducing the drugs, there would no longer be drug dealers on our streets, forcing them to find other means of income. \n3) We would weed out a lot of society. My theory is that within the first 6 months of legalization, we would eradicate many of the junkies, simply due to overindulgence. Many of them would simply OD due to having a vast supply of their favorite drugs. \n3) I think there would actualy be a reduction in drug use. Many people use drugs for the simple reason that they are something that is illegal. \n4) We would free up prison space for actual violent offenders. More than half of the prison system today is filled with people who just had felonious amounts of drugs on them, as opposed to killers, rapists, child molestors, etc...that we allow to walk free. \n\nThats just a few of the reasons i believe they should be legalized. Of course we would also have to have strict rules and regulations for use. Some jobs would have to be exempt from these legalizations for obvious reasons, such as doctors, public engineers, professional drivers, and others that would have a reasonable potential for affecting others lives in a negative way. \n\nOk, thats long enough. Theres a lot of other things that i would say, but ill leave some space for others to answer.
488866
No, and ill tell you why. Long ago when drugs were actually legal and many of our forefathers used them everyone started using them. This was the time when slavery had just been abolished. They started outlawing drugs using the excuse that black men were using drugs and raping all the white women. I think that they still use stupid excuses these days, like it supports terrorism, etc. Give me a break. sorry, sometimes the things in politics really confuse me.
440540
Drugs kill far fewer people than high fat diets and smoking. The traditional notion that everyone will become drug addicts if they are legalised is ridiculous and paranoid. The main barrier to legalisation is the fact that no-one wants to be the political party to take that step, as it is a sure fire way to lose the vote of the middle classes.\nUnfortunately whilst the issue remains entrenched in politics, there an be no serious debate only sloganeering and hyperbole.\nMeanwhile drugs are being scapegoated for the real issues of poverty and poor education that blight the areas where they   are most widely used
631126
I don't know if I qualify as Smart People or not, but...\n\nI disagree that it will soon be legalized.  There was a ballot initiative that passed here in my very liberal hometown of Columbia MO that decriminalized pot, and there was such an outcry from the community that it's almost certain to be repealed this November in the general election.\n\nHowever, I do believe that it SHOULD be legal.  It can be taxed and regulated, and then we'll have fewer people getting killed over it.  I agree...if you want to kill yourself by smoking tobacco, you're allowed to.  If you want to kill yourself by destroying your liver with alcohol, you're allowed to.  If you want to fry your brain smoking pot, you ought to be allowed to.\n\nPerhaps legalizing it would help weed out (no pun intended..ok, maybe it was) the "dumb people" that you speak of.
200499
Yes.  I depends on the drugs and where you are.  Some drugs are legal when used in certain ways, usually when prescribed by a doctor.  Also, some countries are much more relaxed about their drug laws or enforcement practices.\n\nOr are you just trying to be funny?  Ha! Ha!
58876
I definately think that marijuana should be legalized for medicinal use.  By legalizing it for medical use, it's not as if it would be street legal.  Not only would it help cancer patients such as your friend, but many other people who suffer from many other ailments, MS, ADD, ADHD, just to name a few.  I most definately think it should be lealized.
1053792
Well due to the dominant conservative ideology we have in the country, I don't believe that we can ever legalize drugs. Conservatives see legalization as a means of condoning its practice and use. Despite eliminating the flow of money towards organized crime, and essentially ending the "war on drugs," the decriminalization of substance abuse and legalized sales of drugs is seen as a ineffective solution.
972129
Yes it is true.\n\nBefore there were laws against drugs, drug users were not criminals