It's because no one wants to assume responsibility for their own actions. They feel the need to whine to other people to make others do what they want.... Then they have the audacity to bitch when they wake up one morning and find all their freedoms got shafted. Sorry folks, but WHAT THE FU*K did you think was going to happen!? Just because the drug is legal doesn't mean you gotta do it. FFS, you need some examples of some similar subjects?
1a. Drinking in Europe = legal at wtf ever age. People are taught to respect alcohol at a young age. Alcohol abuse levels are quite low.
1b. Drinking in America/Canada = legal age 21. Alcohol abuse all over because we're taught it's wrong, etc.
2a. Sex and such matters are expressed very openly in Europe. Basic TV stations 'soap operas' would be considered pornography in the United States. Rape cases, sexual abuse, sex crimes, etc. are low.
2b. Sex is the ultimate taboo in North America. Rapes cases, sexual abuse, sex crimes, etc. are NOT low.
IMO, there is no debate over whether drugs should be legalized or not. Of course they should be legal. The simple fact is, police forces need money, politicians need clout, religious officials need fire and brimstone and rather than educate people about the truth (I don't mean scare tactics bullshit like DARE, etc.) drugs will remain illegal. Don't think for a delusional second that the reason marijuana is illegal has anything to do with its 'bad' qualities. Go ask your local pharmacologist roughly how much money the 'legalized drug industry' (aka pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Wyeth, Bayer, and so on), would lose if marijuana were to be legal across the board. Suddenly people wouldn't be paying billions of dollars annually for anti-depressants. Pfizer alone makes 20 billion dollars a year.....and perhaps 30% of their product line could be replaced by smoking pot. No more Zithromax, no more Xanax, no more Zoloft, no more Celebrex. No more Geodon. And that's just Pfizer. So you see, regardless of whatever upsides may exist to certain drugs that are illegal, this nearly 1 TRILLION F*&KING DOLLAR A YEAR business sure as shit isn't going to allow any of that precious income to fritter away. Them permitting the lawmakers they have in their pockets to legalize marijuana and certain other drugs is as likely as them to extend a kind hand to the elderly (especially those on fixed incomes) to absorb some of the absurd costs for the medications necessary to keep them alive. (*cough* most of which could be replaced by smoking pot *cough*)
Have a nice day folks. Go, bureaucracy, go....
QUOTE (Dalriada @ Jan 31 2008, 10:14 AM)When I agree with a ban on drugs (which is different than agreeing with the current campains against drugs), I have more heroin or cocain in mind. and as far as I know, the addiction (both physical and psychological) is far stronger than tobacco.
Uh, no. Go do a teeny bit of research and you'll notice you're wrong on all fronts.
"Tobacco is as addictive as heroin (as a mood & behavior altering agent).
* Nicotine is:
o 1000 X more potent than alcohol
o 10-100 X more potent than barbiturates
o 5-10 X more potent than cocaine or morphine
* A 1-2 pack per day smoker takes 200-400 hits daily for years. This constant intake of a fast acting drug (which affects mood, concentration & performance).. eventually produces dependence.
Pressures to relapse are both behaviorally & pharmacologically triggered."
"Possible withdrawal symptoms (after stopping tobacco use):
* Irritability, anger, hostility, anxiety, nervousness, panic, poor concentration, disorientation, lightheadedness, sleep disturbances, constipation, mouth ulcers, dry mouth, sore throat-gums- or tongue, pain in limbs, sweating, depression, fatigue, fearfulness, sense of loss, craving tobacco, hunger, and coughing (body getting rid of the mucus clogging the lungs).
* Symptoms may last from a few weeks to several months. After withdrawal subsides... urges for nicotine (for the effects of the drug) occur in response to all kinds of cues to smoke or chew."
(Taken from
http://www1.umn.edu/perio/tobacco/nicaddct.html)
Also;
"I would like to thank this nations leading expert on addiction, Jack Henningfield for pointing out that nicotine is more addictive than heroin, alcohol, or cocaine. A true voice uncorrupted by tobacco money. I would also add that tobacco has a far higher death rate (33%?) than either heroin, alcohol, or cocaine. Yet, addiction criteria alone does not determine the nicotine (or illicit drug) health threat.
The body of scientific evidence now indicates that harm associated with both heroin & nicotine is the result of contaminates in the drug delivery devices. Other than addiction itself neither nicotine nor heroin pose significant behavioral or toxicological threats (given the use of safe/effective drug delivery devices).
The result of this scientific understanding, in the interest of public health, has led to the current over the counter sales of safe high purity nicotine chewing gum and soon to be OTC nicotine patches. On the European front, heroin prescription programs are having great success in both England & Switzerland.
The issue of alcohol/cocaine addiction, use, and harm is a little more complex than posed by nicotine/heroin addiction. Alcohol and cocaine addiction are causative of both behavioral & biological problems. However most daily users of either alcohol or cocaine have no problem regulating usage at levels that do not cause behavioral or biological harm. The effect of daily light/moderate alcohol consumption being relaxation & lowered risk of heart disease. The effect of light/moderate cocaine consumption being the equivalent of prescription ritalin (increased levels of dopamine), ie increased attention span, less impulsive behavior, and better ability to focus on desired tasks. "
(Taken from
http://www.lycaeum.org/drugwar/hening.html)