Quote:
Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale
At least now for the most part users of the worst drugs are forced into hiding by the law and by stigma. I don't know how I'd feel knowing that walking down the street in broad daylight that anyone passing by might be high/wrecked, broke, and looking for a fix.
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Although drug use is stigmatized, the idea users are not walking around in broad daylight is laughable. People are going to find their fix no matter what time of day it is. If you know what to look for, and are actively looking for it, I can guarantee walking around downtown within 15 minutes you'll find someone whose high.
As far as legalization goes, I fully support it, and I say that as someone who hasn't smoked weed in almost a year. Making drugs illegal unnecessarily securitizes what should be a public health issue. I'm not trying to say drug use isn't harmful, it certainly can be. Even weed can be, I lament many wasted evenings spent getting baked and watching tv. But that was my choice to get high and it didn't affect anyone else besides having a positive effect on business for the 7/11 around the corner!
Portugal provides an excellent example of how effective decriminalization is. Since Portugal decriminalized all drugs in 2000, drug use in every category has declined. The number of youths smoking weed has declined more than any other EU country. The number of new AIDS/HIV and Hepatitis cases has declined significantly. The number of deaths due to drug overdose has also declined. The number of addicts seeking out treatment has increased, with most saying that the reason they didn't seek out treatment before was due to fears of arrest. Fears about drug tourism turned out to be completely unfounded. In short Portugal's experience with decriminalization has been an overwhelming success and should be the model for the rest of the world.
Heres a link to a study done by the CATO institute that backs up all of my claims.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/wtpapers/gr...whitepaper.pdf