Does this research make a mockery of Drugs laws?

[Loosehead]

http://news.sky.com/s...lished_In_The_Journal
Presumably if discovered today alcohol would be outlawed. Should all the illegal drugs now be legalised and hence regulated and of course taxed?

[squarebear]

it does make you wonder. Reading most of the threads in the law category, most of them seem to be drink fueled rampages.

[MarkRae]

> Should all the illegal drugs now be legalised and hence regulated and of course taxed?

If you haven't already, read "High Society" by Ben Elton, as that is its central theme.

[sandyRoe]

Is it not bad enough that we're awash in a sea of legal booze without bringing newly legalized drugs into the mix?

[Gromit]

Maybe alcohol should be regulated more, it causes more deaths and misery than all the drugs put together.

[craft1948]

I'm glad you put that apostrophe in there Mark.....otherwise I'd have taken 'read' as red not reed......

[Zeuhl]

Adults should be allowed to do as they choose unless it harms others.

If they are daft enough to abuse cocaine, alcohol ot tobacco that's up to them and any policy of restricting medical care would be unworkable.

Most of the harm done to others appears to be through violent or irresponsible behaviour following the abuse of alcohol or connected with the gangsterism associated with the supply of other substances borne from their prohibition.
.

[MarkRae]

> I'm glad you put that apostrophe in there Mark.....otherwise I'd have taken 'read' as red not reed......

Quod erat demonstrandum...

[MarkRae]

And it's a comma, not an apostrophe, but I knew what you meant... ;-)

[craft1948]

oops :-)

[sandyRoe]

The drug trade in the USA is destroying Mexico. Many countries in South America where drugs are produced suffer because of the corrosive effect of drug money in their economies.
Taking a drug in the UK is not a victimless crime.

[Zeuhl]

sandy

<The drug trade in the USA is destroying Mexico>

so making these drugs illegal isn't doing much good is it?

If what you're doing isn't working; or is making things worse; and is costing billions of dollars - it's probably time to do something else
.

[jake-the-peg]

It's not only the direct damage that alcohol does but it's ability to provoke violent behaviour in some people.

But it's been part of Western culture for thousands of years and attempts to ban it have always ended badly.

It probably should be but that's probably politically impossible

[sandyRoe]

Imagine, for the sake of argument, that the battle against drugs is lost. They're all legalised. What state would society be in then?

[Zeuhl]

sandy - now that's a question!

Would more people use them than now?
Would there be more or less abuse?
Would criminality reduce?
Would anti social behaviour increase?
How much would the Exchequer receive?

It seems to me that this is another great example of that syndrome we suffer from - not focusing on the real problem.

It doesn't matter to me what people snort, smoke or drink.
It does matter that anyone lurching around the town centre assaulting people is jumped on and hauled away.
.
Would medical problems increase?

[sandyRoe]

When prohibition was abolished in the USA the reported number of deaths from cirrhosis shot up. Why should the use of newly legalised drugs be any different?

[Zeuhl]

That was just people celebrating
.

[ll_billym]

Drugs (crack/heroin) are illegal principally to make it hard for people to get hold of them.

We don't want people to get hold of them because we don't want them to get hooked as is bad for the persons health and society at large as many people who take drugs may do crime, or hurt people around them, either as an effect taking the drugs, or as an effect of not having drugs to take.

Because drugs are illegal, people go and get their drugs from criminals. The drugs trade has lots of bad things about it and money from drugs usually goes to bad people to pay for bad things, this affects society at large.

If drugs were legalised and cheap (like alcohol), people wouldn't buy drugs from criminals or commit crime to afford drugs, this would be better for society at large. However this would have the effect that many more people will start doing drugs, this will affect their health and cause widespread addiction that would ultimately affect society at large.

[hc4361]

The research is looking at the effects on society. The researcher readily admits that alcohol is less addictive than crack cocaine or heroin, and has less adverse reaction on the individual.
He recognises that the majority of people who drink alcohol do so without harming themselves or others and there may be benefits to health in drinking some alcohol in moderation.
However, the research concludes that because alcohol is the most widespread drug with the majority of people trying alcohol at least once in their lifetimes the numbers of people who abuse alcohol is still higher than people who take illegal drugs.

He admits that if the statistics were based on harm by user then crack cocaine would rank much higher than alcohol.

Even so, the majority of drinkers in the UK are not harmed by drinking alcohol - alcoholics and binge drinkers are in the minority of overall drinkers.