Drug policy in Australia is too like american policies. Let me elaborate on how American-style laws regarding drugs are harming our society. They are devastatingly ineffective on reducing drug use and deterring people from using drugs. I have seen the drug community in my own city. It's like not asking us to torrent. We're just gonna do it all day everyday irregardless of the 'consequences' (which simply never amount!). Drugs whether they be cigarettes, sugar, caffeine, weed, ecstacy, heroin etc are being taken everyday irregardless of the state. Prohibition leads too a black market which produces dangerous products for consumers. Heroin is supposed to be completely clear like water. Heroin bought on the street is black or brown and contains a lethal cocktail of chemicals that doesn't get the user high at all. Drugs produced in a legal context wouldn't have this defect. Prohibition also leads too 'Drug Gateways'. Weed is always labelled a gateway drug. Well it is, because it is illegal! If your buying weed from the crack addicts down the street. Your kids go down there and buy weed and the dude sais "hey man you wanna try meth?" and boom! Your kids hooked on drugs because relatively harmless substances and harder drugs are all coming from the same dealer. It also leads too cigarette smoking in children, young teens go and start smoking joints rolled with tobacco and weed, or smoke from a chop bowl that's been mixed by adult smokers. That tobacco craving becomes jet fuel behind marijuana binging and they end up becoming either dependent on pot OR addicted to cigarettes OR both! Children are abused by prohibition. Dealers will incorporate YOUR children too help them sell drugs and run there business. Kids are taught too deal drugs as a way of making money and earning status for themselves. Teenage girls are often 'caged' with hard drugs too a dealer that wants too have sex with them. Massive amounts of money enters the drug domain where it is used by powerful gangs too help them commit other crimes. Hire lawyers and buy whatever they need too stay on the highest level of the drug tree. That's the problem. Here i believe are ways we could reduce the amount of damage drugs and drug policies are currently doing: Legalise all drugs. There should be a legal avenue too attain all the 'common' drugs of today. Ones that people are using habitually. Weed, Ecstacy, Acid, Heroin, Crack, Meth etc.. Not every combination of drugs and drug ever discovered but everything 'some' people would seek out anyway if it wasn't legal. End the corporate component behind alcohol. It should be plain packaged just like cigarettes are going too be. It should also be illegal to advertise alcohol just as it is cigarettes. Alcohol is a complete and utter scourge on Australian society even if beer chuggers don't want too admit it. Plain packaging should be in place for all drugs within reason. There should be no advertising of any drug. <-(This includes sugar!!! Sugar is a drug that ruins lives just like any other.) Hard drugs such as Heroin, Crack, Meth should be available in rehabilitation centers. People using these high impact drugs should be offered medical care and introduced to rehabilitation care onsite. Reasonable interviews are done with all addicts seeking a hit. They should be put on a government register. The drugs offered should be free or off a nominal fee. The drugs offered should be in a safe dosage and of a consistent quality. (Something they won't OD on) Yet it should satisfy there cravings and need for the drug. It is possible too sell but illegal too advertise many common drugs. Weed, alcohol, mushrooms, acid, ecstasy etc.. They are of a considerable price (heavily taxed) this money is used too launch honest campaigns about drug education. This money is also used too research drugs and there effects, this will help us better classify them. (Our understanding of alcohol and tobacco far exceed that of illicit drugs because we can't study them!) Regulations including age will obviously apply. Regulations on public intoxication will also apply. Reasonable hours and availability will be set and regulated at venues that distribute the drugs. Please comment and share your ideas on what we should do about Australia's drug problem.
Chief there is no easy answer to this problem. Hard to argue any of your points as they are an alternative view I may not share but nonetheless respect out of the fact that you care enough about the problem to start this thread. My mother in law would say let them die. She is a bit hard. Easy to say until it is one of your own. However I would hate to think that the surgeon about to do my brain surgery was just outside sucking on a doobie. I don't think legalising hard drugs is the answer. My opinion only. However watching my Mum go through emmense pain during her slow demise certainly made me think differently about medical legalisation. The problem being if you legalise things like heroin, crack, meth, etc. Drugs that are hard to kick. You may find that it becomes the in thing with the younger set and then where does that leave you with a young population where half of them are dependant on an already overburdened health care system, and totally useles to society in general. Like I said. No easy answer.
Ludacris! You don't become a brain surgeon by smoking pot. Responsible people aren't going too take any kind of drug at work. People in mundane jobs might. Dishwashers, cleaners, dry cleaners etc. But who cares? They are going to take these drugs anyway. The only difference would be money isn't moving into the hands of gangsters. And legalising harder drugs like heroin and meth wouldn't lead to abuse because of the way we would distribute them. Your not going too go out, find drugs in one of the most drug dealer ridden societies you can imagine. Then go to the government clinics. Fail a urine test. Give them you ID and get on the government register. Then spend the rest of your life getting high in a building with a tonne of doctors and rehabilitation specialists. It won't be alluring. It would have a very "Hey i'm gonna go get really sick and spend the rest of my life in a hospital" stigma too it. Kids are only going too give into hard drugs if they can access them easily. Which at the moment they can. Parents can't watch there kids after school. Children today are socially more powerful then ever. They all talk too each other every day on the internet, and none of them get in trouble for dealing drugs. "Omg my parents were mean too me officer that's why i was selling crack". They don't even need excuses though. It's deep and involved and until we take drugs off the street and into the right places. Kids are going too be in more danger than they otherwise would. Let's take addicts off the streets. Let's stop having this weird bias to alcohol where it get's glamorised and promoted on TV like it is better than any other drug. You can't just expect people too work as efficiently as possible all the time and never have a break or a vice that they turn too. Whether it be a donut, doobie, coffee, beer, tab, pill or otherwise it's just what people wanna do. Stop trying too impose on there lives and decide how they should act. Stop locking people in prison for something everybody is doing. If people don't wanna work, let em!
On the question of your brain surgeon valid point ,but as we already have Alcohol testing in workplaces and cannabis could also be tessted and what is the guarrantee that you already have ,Doctors and nurses for instance have access to some classes of drugs that would be a Junkies dream.And high quality to. in fact legalisation would make it a safer enviroment from that standpoint,as some people are attracted to drugs because they are illegal and the rush of scoring is their attractant ,take the illegality out and, in itself, some addicts would see no attraction anymore.
The "War on Drugs" as with the "War on Terror",is over its just that the dumbo's in Government have'nt cottoned on .This all started with the plague that we now live through by the NIXON ,yes Richard impeached disgraced NIXON,mass murderer of the people of Laos cambodia and Vietnam ,"war on Drugs'NIXON . You will probably get from the moralists particularly the Religious Nutters ,that drugs are evil crap,and then they will get one of their flock to come forward and relate a horror story about how their little Johnny died and the evil is the drug. No-one ever investigates these people as 90% of jeroine addicts got there because of suffering sexual ,physical abuse in their childhoods usually by the Parents.I would bet the reason that these types come forward is to cover up the Abuse that they themselves carried out against their own children 'in the name of god ",the spare the rod spoil the child kind of child abusers. every drug of Addiction bar none should be legalised thus being bought under control and the taxs would be a contribution to the welfare of society as whole instead of the financially un substanable 'War on Drugs "which costs governments $trillions to enforce ,in Australia it costs $75 000 dollars a year to keep a person in jail,that dosen't include court processing ,Police time, Contiueing prohibition is irrational and insane. If we take the question of cannabis ,humans have been consuming cannabis well since we first found it like since ever . not to mention that I have never seen a violent act from a Pot head stoned ,but as far as alcohol well we now call it Alcohol fueled Violence so wide spread is that disease under the 'War on Drugs"the maralists should be left out of the coming reform process they have nothing worth while contributing and most of them are covering up the treatment they dished out in making their kids look for some form of escape.Hypocrites in other words. Oh and the ending of Capitialism and mass unemployment and dispair would also be a great idea.
Phil the surgeon would definitely be tripping once he got a look at my brain. Lol. I like the idea of raising revenue from this problem, and canabis is to me isn't really the problem, it is the hard drugs. You see what the kids are like with any new fad that comes on the scene. Its all or nothing. We would have a generation totally reliant on the health care system which would invariably crash under the duress. So any revenue you made from the sale of these drugs would be consumed for propping up the health system and basically rendering the whole cash grab useless. Then all we would be left with is a generation of useless junkies. To aid the problem by making it legal, all for some easy revenue, would be akin to the big corporations you lot have lambasted for raping our resources all for some quick cash. as I said earlier a sticky issue. Definitely not a black and white one, from either viewpoint.
I think all common recreational drugs should be made legal, cheap and freely avaliable. There are lots of good reasons for doing this, firstly I don't think anyone has the right to prevent me from using these drugs. It's my body and if I am mentaly fit and want to pump it full of herion and there will be no harm done, then who are you to stop me? Secondly making the drugs legal and cheap will take millions out of the hands of criminals and because the drugs would be easily affordable there would be a huge decline in crime presently being committed to buy the present day expensive drugs. Thirdly, the quality of the drugs would improve outa sight so there would be less harm done to themselves by people using them. Also I think we would see a reduction in drug abuse if the legalisation was accompanied by a very intensive and ongoing education program and money put into alternative activities. But I keep coming back to the point that if I am an adult and I want to use a recreational drug that will not do me or anybody else any harm, I have every right to do so and no one has any right to prevent me.
Alcohol, the drug of choice for rich white males, is the only safe drug that should be legal. ..................................... That was sarcasm, in case you were wondering.
Again I don't think it as simple as that. You may not think it is harming you, but it may be destroying those around you. What if you're all hooked up on the juice and make a crap decision to drive down the shop for some goodies. You run into Mum and her kids killing them instantly. Like alcohol ( which I believe is just as bad ), it was your right to consume. It impairs thought process and in the end takes innocent lives. So in effect what you do to yourself can sometimes affect others. Which in theory you have no right to. I know you are going to say there would be laws for that sort of thing. There is for alcohol, but that hasn't stopped the carnage it has caused to others. It is not a simple solution, and it most certainly is a wholly encompassing social decision, not an individual one. Although I understand you viewpoint that it is your body and no one can tell you what to do with it. However it is your actions that affect others that would be questionable.
You're sliding down the wrong path big time there Slippery mate. You are talking about laws because of what a few people MIGHT do? Where will that end? A law which says we must not get out of bed in morning because once up we MIGHT DO SOMETHING!!!! We are already way too far down that path with mountains of restrictive laws and regulations trying to micro-manage our lives and take decision making away from us.
Look until you can unequivocally give me a 100 % gaurantee that someone smoking, shooting, or drinking crap that mess's with your decision making process, isn't going to destroy some innocent persons life because they felt like getting high, I just can't agree with you. I do agree that the system isn't working now. As I said it is a difficult situation. As a bystander when I was younger, I can tell you that it wrecks families, not just the individual. I can remember thinking that my Aunty and Uncle would be better if their daughter was dead, at least it would be over and they could move on. No that would be simple. She is now a blithering mess in an asylum, and they are left to raise three kids from three different fathers. They are now in their seventies and still have one to go. Their life ended the moment she put that pipe to her mouth. There is no wrong path to be on here because there is no right path to follow. To be honest I don't give a crap about the selfish fool who takes drugs. Pump it in and die.....I don't care. I do however care about the innocent people affected by the drug user. For every decision there is a consequence.
Before we go down that road let us spend some real and valid effort on a public education campaign, Show them the rotten arms from drug abuse, the crocodile skin from "Krokodil" the teeth and open sores from Ice, the blown heart valves from shooting up. We are slowly winning in the campaign against smoking so it is "do-able" And yes there are a lot of positives out of legalising drugs - I know I have given out "party packs" in ED's (several syringes, needles and needle disposal boxes. And there is no question that the free needle exchange program worked in Australia to reduce the spread of AIDS. It did not stop the infections with Strep A that rots the valves of your heart. But before we rush willy nilly into this let us look at some of the downsides. Drug tolerance, In particular opiate tolerance. It needs more and more and more to get a pain relief let alone a "high" So many patients end up skirting dangerous respiratory depression to get even basic pain relief it is scary. Marijuana - few even in the medical profession realise that it causes resistance to many anaesthetic agents - including Propofol Michael Jackson's killer. The key is GOOD education and advertising Oh! and Alcohol - someone once said "Alcoholism is when you let good booze fall into the hands of amateurs" The packaging has nothing to do with the desirability - I know we deal with an awful lot of "grog sickness sista!"
It wrecks whole communities. We have a lot of families where Grandma is raising the kids Though in some ways that is working out a bit better than you would fear
and perhaps you should have a day off your crack pipe before you sit down and post such a load of crap. If I don't agree with your view that's my perogative. I have always found that those who advocate legalising drugs are usually users who would like easier and cheaper access. After your last post I guess you must be one of them. What is with the women comment ? What has that got to do with it ? Its alright mate go and light another doobie.
There will always be that chance. Is that a valid reason to keep drugs illegal? No. Fair enough but you absolutely must understand that this type of experience is in the minority. Most people are 100% capable of using drugs responsibly without ruining their lives or others. Wow...your attitude toward drug users is abhorrent. Wake up to yourself.
Firstly I think it is a valid reason to keep drugs illegal. I ask you how many innocent lives lost attributed to drug use would be acceptable to you as collateral damage ? I am not sure whether or not making drugs legal would solve a problem that has many different heads to lance. As I have said I can see the economics of it, just not the social side.
One of the arguments against making drugs illegal is that legal drugs would dry up supply and end criminal activity Unfortunately this has not been found to happen as criminals have become more and more adept at finding new drugs when the others have become too cheap to deal. It will as also not stop cases like the one I had recently - worked in the mines and they are STRICT about no drugs on board when you come to work - they do random testing. Many workers around here use drugs that the standard screen will not detect
If we got HARDER on drug crime instead of this bleeding heart BS then we might just get somewhere. We need to start putting users away for a long time on first offense, smugglers shot be shot, makers of ice too...just shot em on the spot. Stamp out the drug users and drug crime goes down.
It has everything too do with advertising. We have a serious alcohol problem in this country. Not a day goes by where hoards of drunken people don't start gang bashing each other. Its entirely because it's been pushed into our culture. Decades of advertisements pushing showing as 'australian' or 'macho'. Every brand is on TV trying too push there product and it's sickening. We need too grow up and start treating alcohol for what it is. The worst drug in australia. Number one. It's the most used and the most problematic. Until we start treating it like we treat smoking people are going too keep dying. Children are going too keep going out and getting smashed then (*)(*)(*)(*)ed by people ten years older than them. Alcohol will remain socially acceptable when it shouldn't be.
LMAO "(*)(*)(*)(*)ed by people ten years older than them" LMAO hate to tell you buddy but that is irrelevant as hell. I consistently date women 10-15 years my junior and it has nothing to do with alcohol but the biological attraction I bring to the table. Women are genetically predisposed to be attracted to older males and males are genetically predisposed to (*)(*)(*)(*) anything that allows them too.
Sorry but that is a question I can't answer. There are risks, yes. We have these same risks with drinking alcohol or eating pharmaceuticals. I assume you want all of these drugs made illegal as they all pose the same (or arguably more) risk to the user and those around them. Be sure to keep in mind that recreational users who harm nobody but themselves (and this is the majority of drug users in my experience) can also have their lives ruined by ending up in prison for a harmless crime. This is a waste of taxpayers money. Decriminalization is the way to go. Not for all drugs, but relatively harmless ones such as marijuana. I would also like to see drugs such as MDMA, psilocybin etc being opened up for medicinal and psychological use by professionals in controlled environments. This was tried a long time ago with a good level success until the synthesis' got out. Prohibition is a proven failure. I'm worried it actually makes drugs more dangerous as you often don't have any idea what you are ingesting unless you know the chemist personally or have a test-kit on hand. Not to mention the criminal activity, murder, gateway to harder drugs, the sketchy (*)(*)(*)(*)s you gotta go see etc. Yeah I agree. I think decriminalization of certain drugs is a much better idea.
Lepper, you see I am not a hard liner, and find your argument sound. I believe that alcohol is worse than marijuana. There is more violent crime associated with alcohol abuse than using weed. Some of my mates in the day were barely able to comprehend the word violence let alone commit it. Lol. The problem for some, and I repeat some, is that constant use of hooch has been linked to the onset of violent scitsophrenia, and some other mental disorders. Atm whilst still illegal and harder to get than buying it off the shelf, the use is moderated to the masses. I mean the cops turn a blind eye to a bunger or two. They only get a bit upset at an ounce or more. If it became legal and easily accessable more people may suffer these mental diseases burdening an already inadequate mental health system. Not to mention the ability under 16 year olds to procure a potentially harmful drug. I guess what I'm saying is where do you draw the line ? On the idea of drugs for medicinal purposes, I will agree. However I think you will find that there are already parameters in place for this. My old man uses a mix of morphine and some other pain killer for his disintegrating spine. Depends on what day you get him as to whether he is lucid. He has lost six inches of hieght in the last ten years and suffered greatly. He is staunchly against drugs, but even he admits that he would try a doobie if he could get his hands on one. Still has to be better than the crap they are pumping into him now. So the legalising of some drugs has merit however there are circumstances that need to be looked at and overcome long before this would take place. Firstly you would need to see the Greens come into power with a majority like cambell newmans to sneek this legislation through. Something tells me this may take a while. Lol.
