The drug war and prohibition

[comrade_cyanide444]

Alright everyone. I've been gone for a while, been consumed in school and such (I apologize). However, a lot's been bugging me lately. I hate labeling myself, but I do very much support Libertarianism.

Is it me, or is the drug war really pointless (at least against soft drugs that have little to no addictive potential). Why are we pursuing it? Should it be continued. I'm sure that there's been some thread on this, but I really want to get a good opinion and some good arguments on the pro and anti side. So discuss. Please!

As for my opinion:

I believe it is man's right to do what they wish with themselves. Considering that soft drugs like psilocybin and cannabis are quite non-addictive and rarely cause severe issues (and also have quite the medicinal potential, from neuroprotective effects on brain cells in the substantia nigra (Alzheimer's) to anti-cancer properties due to the phenolic structure). In my opinion, if you commit a crime while under the influence, you should be charged for the crime. If you are under the influence of hard and clearly addictive drugs (actual chemical dependence that may or may not severely impair daily activity), then you should be charged only for the crime and sent to rehab.

This thread is mainly to get your opinions on the matter, although feel free to discuss it.

Oh and by the way, this isn't really about the whole logistics of legalization. Simply which side you are on and who you stand by.

[Veg_Athei_Socialist]

Legalize all drugs. The drug war is a waste of time and money. Throwing people in jail for using drugs doesn't make society a better place. What you do with your own body is your own personal business. Punishing people when they're not hurting anyone just doesn't make sense. Users if they want to should have the option and ability to be rehabilitated if they want to and should have access to good medical care.

[Property Is Robbery]

Legalize all drugs. The drug war is a waste of time and money. Throwing people in jail for using drugs doesn't make society a better place. What you do with your own body is your own personal business. Punishing people when they're not hurting anyone just doesn't make sense. Users if they want to should have the option and ability to be rehabilitated if they want to and should have access to good medical care.
Right there with you, legalize or at least completely decriminalize so if someone is found doing dope or coke, they can get help if they so choose. And while a lot of people think drugs should be banned because they are detrimental to the revolution, I think that's bullshit, and an egalitarian state (an oxymoron in itself) would be horrible if drugs weren't decriminalized, and people who did them couldn't receive help and instead were jailed.

[¿Que?]

On the one hand, I believe that people should be free to do whatever they want to their body. On the other hand, I've seen people self-destruct on drugs. So, while I am against the drug war, and for legalization, I think there should also be a better sytem to get people off dangerous drugs.

[ken6346]

100% no? I'm proud of you guys; I think I'll be happy here :)

There are dangerous drugs, yes. But all the "war" does is stigmatise users and ensure that the drugs they do get a hold of are filled with impurities. So I agree with El Vagoneta. There are a number of drugs which are less addictive and infinitely less harmful than legal drugs like nicotine, alcohol and caffeine. I can see no reason as to why these drugs should be illegal.

[Robocommie]

I'm strongly opposed to hard drugs, but the fact is that the drug war is not helping things, it's only making things worse, and there's far better ways of handling it than more enforcement of draconian laws that put poor people in prison and make plutocrats more money. Drug addiction must be handled through treatment, not punishment.

That this failure of a drug war continues is largely because it does make so much money to the wrong people.

[Ligeia]

If legalization cuts off the drug market for cartels and gangs operating all over the american continet, it gets my vote.
But there should be a focus on treatment and purity standards,...overall, a broader distribution of health related information as well as well thought out regulations of some sort.

On the reasons why there's a drug war:
The US weapon's industry provides weapons to the drug cartels and the mexican miltary (like 90% of all firearms and equipment).
There are also U.S. banks that do money laundering for the drug cartels.
Apart from those benefits,...a higher violence rate or criminal infiltration/corruption makes a country (e.g. Mexico) more unstable and better to handle in terms of economic policies for foreign investments or general (neoliberal) policies.
And if (illegal) drug supplies are kept high on the consumer side (e.g. in the U.S.) this can be beneficient for simple distraction but also for the prison system.
Some industries are definitely benefiting from this.

[La Peur Rouge]

I'm for legalizing all drugs (especially cannabis), but people need to be educated about them. Rehabilitation programs should also be easy to get in to for people who find themselves abusing drugs and want/need to get help.

[¿Que?]

...
There are also U.S. banks that do money laundering for the drug cartels.
...
Yo yo, spill the beans. Which banks, specifically?

[Ligeia]

Yo yo, spill the beans. Which banks, specifically?
Wachovia and Bank of America.
Read this article. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-29/banks-financing-mexico-s-drug-cartels-admitted-in-wells-fargo-s-u-s-deal.html)

[Mannimarco]

I hate communists and socialists who support anti-drug legislation. What's the point in attempting to create a societ where man no longer oppresses man if you're going to shoot people or imprison them because of their lifestyle decision. A socially backwards socialist society would be worse than a capitalist one.

People should stop clinging to their bourgeois moralism. It holds back progress, costs lives and doesn't accomplish anything. Away with superstition.

[¿Que?]

Wachovia and Bank of America.
Read this article. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-29/banks-financing-mexico-s-drug-cartels-admitted-in-wells-fargo-s-u-s-deal.html)
Thanks, that's really important for people to know. You rock dude...

[Stranger Than Paradise]

The War on Drugs has been used by America to justify a number of things. I'm talking mainly about marijuana here. To justify and label Mexicans and African Americans, to justify action against those in opposition to the Vietnam war, to relate to Communism and Russia.

[comrade_cyanide444]

Well to expand my opinion, I'm pretty anti-hard drugs. But again, you should not be imprisoned for being on drugs. If you murder someone high on coke or meth, then you should be charged with murder and offered rehab (with the option to refuse it).

I also think that driving or working while intoxicated is annoying as hell, and affects people across the nation. But what you do to live your life is yours. Morals have expanded WAY too much, and now morals are more political and discipline based (usually off of Judaeo-Christian ideals).

Anyone read that one paper Gramsci published about how bourgeois discipline is mechanical and inefficient? That makes a lot of sense.