Forum: Close to HomeTopic: Viewpoints - Should illegal drugs be decriminalized?Topic Posted by: Close To HomeDate Posted: Wed Mar 18 15:22:22 1998
Previous message Posted by: Steve Date posted: Wed Apr 1 9:55:27 1998 Subject: What are the choices? Message: I think people who support drug prohibition tend to make a couple of erroneous assumptions: 1. That prohibition is actually keeping people from using drugs; 2. The only alternative is unbridled hedonism. Both assumptions are questionable at best. I've seen studies suggesting that kids can buy marijuana more easily than alcohol, and I have no doubt that if I wanted to buy any drug I could find the drug I wanted with little effort. So what, exactly, is drug prohibition prohibiting? Also, there is a whole spectrum of alternatives to total prohibition. Decriminalization (which I take to mean treating drug offences similarly to parking violations, for instance) is one; regulated sale (similar to alcohol) is another. Some kind of controlled distribution of drugs to addicts (the Swiss model) is another. Following message | |
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