Should drugs be decriminalised?

Sure, there's an overhead for regulated supply and a premium attached to the cost - on the flip side, however, there are the freemarket forces of supply and demand to regulate the price.

Allowing the free market anywhere near drugs would be a bad idea. Look at prescription drugs in America, people are addicted to all sorts of drugs they don't need or have fun on.

In the current market, there is an even greater premium attached to illegal drugs, far in excess of the cost of production.

Are you saying drugs will be cheaper if they were legalised?

I'm amazed it was 92%, even among Guaridan readers.

Things to bear in mind:

The political ideology of our current administration means this will never happen while they are still in power.

Also, do we really want to give Cameron and Clegg any more power? Really?

No! But we can ask if they can increase benefits for people on drugs.

NO! I'm totally against decriminalisation, I want to see all drugs legal, the decriminalisation position seems really mealy mouthed to me, 'we'll let you do these naughty things, but we won't let you import them, we may incarcerate you for selling them' patronising crap! I've gone into prisons working with drug addicts for over seventeen years now and it's a total distraction, you can't legislate against human behaviour the very idea is nonsense, if the billions wasted detaining addicts, and the billions futilely spent at our borders and the billions the petty crime committed by addicts costs our society was not pissed away in morally indignant wank like this, then the issue of when someone's addiction required an intervention would not be clouded by criminality and there would be the money for detox. While I'm on the subject, in the 50s, 60's and early 70s if an opiate or cocaine addict went to their doctor and asked they were put on a heroin or cocaine prescription. Prescribing methadone is evil, all it does is stave off withdrawal and keep addicts sick in their illness, nearly all addicts use street drugs on top of their methadone they have to, it doesn't replace that which they are addicted to, the withdrawals from methadone are a whole order worse than heroin and last for months rather than days.
All violence is committed under the influence of drink, is a statement which is almost true, those sociopaths who are ready to hurt others without a skinfull are really rare thankfully yet although the removal of alcohol would all but end violence in our society I see no calls to prohibit it, America's social experiment in prohibition resulted in millions bingeing on low quality or even poisonous alcohol because of the cachet of forbidden fruit, it's obvious that legalising drugs would bring a decrease in their use and make our society more functional and richer.

YES! I'm totally for decriminalisation.

ftfy, I think...?

Allowing the free market anywhere near drugs would be a bad idea. Look at prescription drugs in America, people are addicted to all sorts of drugs they don't need or have fun on.

Are you saying drugs will be cheaper if they were legalised?

perhaps the legal drugs suppliers (GSK et al) should be better regulated as they make up a price fixing cartel that spends millions to push their wares forcing up prices of humanitarian drugs in the 3rd world.

and yes recreationals would probably be much cheaper if decriminalised refelecting a real price of production and distribution rather than the bribes,smuggling costs and cost of risk taking in the ilegal supply chain

Rhowe, thanks for reading my post.

am always unsure about the distinction between legailise and decriminalise
if tea was ilegal it would be a crime to drink it then if we allow people to drink it then it is no longer a crime so tea has become decriminalised and also legal to drink.

Digger could you clarify the differnce in termoinology between decriminalise and legalise?

No - I read it as Digger is up for more than decriminalisation - He's up for a deregulated, destigmatisation and legalisation.

Ta Mate.

My back is so fucked today I would take any drug going to make it better. In fact right now I would eat my own shit if it would help. Though obviously I wouldn't post any photos of that on a bike forum.

What's up with your back Senor? There are two Massage therapists sitting here that may be able to help?

Hash this been resolved amphet?

To continue your analogy Skydancer tea is decriminalised, it's still illegal but you wont get prosecuted for it's use under certain defined circumstances, certain dealers may be allowed to sell it to you in certain areas up to a certain quantity, but anyone found to be importing it or to be in possession of more than a certain quantity of tea or to have sold or bought it in proscribed circumstances or to have drank it outside of the allowed areas is still going to jail. And since it cannot be legally imported the quality is suspect and it still means that organised crime is involved.

It's a risible patronising thing to do.

Jobless potheads have plenty time to answer polls like that.

Stupid to give criminals all that drug money.

Sky, would you volunteer to teach the education classes?
"Maan, I took the Dopabilty 3, now I can shoot pretty much everything!"

To continue your analogy Skydancer tea is decriminalised, it's still illegal but you wont get prosecuted for it's use under certain defined circumstances, certain dealers may be allowed to sell it to you in certain areas up to a certain quantity, but anyone found to be importing it or to be in possession of more than a certain quantity of tea or to have sold or bought it in proscribed circumstances or to have drank it outside of the allowed areas is still going to jail. And since it cannot be legally imported the quality is suspect and it still means that organised crime is involved.

That seems to describe tea as legal yet regulated (like alcohol where you can buy it from certain licenced places if you are old enough and allowed to drink it publicly in certain places or in a brown paper bag).

My back is so fucked today I would take any drug going to make it better. In fact right now I would eat my own shit if it would help. Though obviously I wouldn't post any photos of that on a bike forum.

ed would.

ed would.

yes.

Ta Mate.

Ah - I just equated the two really.

In that case I agree - full on legalisation and regulation or nothing. Going to some kind of half-arsed midway point where the rules are vague does nobody any favours.

Next they're going to prohibit meditation and dancing ...

We all remember *that *picture of you...

I reckon make 'drugs' legal will probably require much more than just changing the law, but decriminalizing it, would put an end to people being treated like criminals. When in fact alcohol
and tobacco are not different from some of the substances listed as 'drugs'.

its illegal to carry drugs, but it is not illegal if thay are not touching your body. Some people use hellium filled ballons to suspend drugs in mid air, and carry them along side them. also it is ok to transport drugs, if it is done by a Mandrill.

That seems to describe tea as legal yet regulated (like alcohol where you can buy it from certain licenced places if you are old enough and allowed to drink it publicly in certain places or in a brown paper bag).

It really doesn't mate, there are tens of thousands of massive pantechnicons full of your high quality tea entering the country every day quite legally. The owners of the tea plantations and the workers on the tea plantations are not being murdered by government forces bribed by America with automatic weapons. They are not drug cartels more powerful than their governments, the CIA is not using sales of tea to subsidise the illegal overthrow of central American governments, your understanding of what is going on is limited and flawed and your understanding of what I'm saying is less than perfect are you stoned now on tea?

Ah - I just equated the two really.

In that case I agree - full on legalisation and regulation or nothing. Going to some kind of half-arsed midway point where the rules are vague does nobody any favours.

I withdraw my abuse.

its illegal to carry drugs, but it is not illegal if thay are not touching your body. Some people use hellium filled ballons to suspend drugs in mid air, and carry them along side them. also it is ok to transport drugs, if it is done my a Mandrill.

Ha! Genius (the day today?)