Group of prominent Australians table drug war report to government - government ignores it

[Humodour]

So it's the same old story. A bunch of high-profile industry professionals in law, health and politics (including a former premier of state and current high-profile federal senator) submit a report to the government detailing how the drug war represents 40 years of failure and needs to be replaced with a better system. Government ignores report and says it's up to the community to show that they want drug law reform before the government will even touch it. Nevermind that polls have shown for a while that there is between 60% to 80% of the population that wants marijuana legalised or decriminalised (polls vary between each other and between legalisation and decriminalisation).

 

 

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/drugs-war-a-failure-that-bred-criminals-20120402-1w8v3.html

 

It's the same ****ing joke response we're getting on legalising gay marriage; society overwhelmingly wants it, government couldn't give a damn.

Edited April 3, 2012 by Krezack

[Gorth]

Faily sure this isn't related to computer games... moved to WoT.

[Malcador]

Don't post while high, mkay.

 

 

(Someone had to make that joke)

[Oerwinde]

Similar in Canada. 4 of the 5 major federal parties have marijuana legalisation as official policy, something like 70% of the population supports legalisation, but the ruling Conservatives (who may or may not have used electoral fraud to get elected) claim that they've never seen these polls and just say legalising crime doesn't help society.

 

As a side note, decriminalisation is stupid. Sure it means users don't get thrown in jail for using, but it increases demand, which increases the profits made by organized crime which supplies the stuff, since production is illegal. Since its never going away, legalisation is the only option that makes sense. You move the battles over territory and profits to the court rooms instead of the streets. Prices go down, and the government can collect their share of taxes.

[Raithe]

Heh, I saw a similar proposal to bring back "Dueling" - The thought process being, that in the day and age where everybody could carry a weapon, and it was possible to engage someone else in a duel, people learnt to be much more polite with each other rather then accidentally insult folks in the street...

[Pidesco]

As a side note, decriminalisation is stupid. Sure it means users don't get thrown in jail for using, but it increases demand, which increases the profits made by organized crime which supplies the stuff, since production is illegal. Since its never going away, legalisation is the only option that makes sense. You move the battles over territory and profits to the court rooms instead of the streets. Prices go down, and the government can collect their share of taxes.

 

No.

 

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/07/05/ten-years-after-decriminalization-drug-abuse-down-by-half-in-portugal/

[Walsingham]

Decrim the nonphysiologically addictive stuff. Anything genuinely addictive gets given to you FOR FREE. Because it's a bongzillion times cheaper for society that way.

 

I'm fed up with organised crime killing tens of thousands of perfectly decent people so that we can pretend we're stopping people taking drugs.

[Gorgon]

There's political capital in being tough on crime. Not nearly as much in trying to adopt universally senisble solutions.

[Humodour]

Between this thread and this thread and the near-global Ostrich approach to global warming, well, I'll let Farnsworth speak for me:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35TbGjt-weA

[Oerwinde]

As a side note, decriminalisation is stupid. Sure it means users don't get thrown in jail for using, but it increases demand, which increases the profits made by organized crime which supplies the stuff, since production is illegal. Since its never going away, legalisation is the only option that makes sense. You move the battles over territory and profits to the court rooms instead of the streets. Prices go down, and the government can collect their share of taxes.

 

No.

 

 

http://www.forbes.co...lf-in-portugal/

 

My bad. Still, it shouldn't be the long term solution. At most it should be a transitionary step to full legalisation.

[Walsingham]

Prohibition is one of those 'circumcision' policies. Either go the whole way or don't ****ing bother.

[Humodour]

Decriminalisation just encourages the bastards in power to think that the status quo is OK.

[Walsingham]

As I see it the fundamental problem is that legalising drugs would require the organs of state to admit they can't possibly control everything. This makes lefties and righties upset.

 

And the people in the middle are already taking bloody drugs.

[WDeranged]

Even more critically, legalisation would require a state to admit that it had been WRONG for the better part of a century, causing immeasurable levels of death and distress around the globe, though I tend to suspect they know damn well what they're doing...

Edited April 6, 2012 by WDeranged

[Orogun01]

Prohibition is one of those 'circumcision' policies. Either go the whole way or don't ****ing bother.

That analogy made me cringe.

[Walsingham]

Even more critically, legalisation would require a state to admit that it had been WRONG for the better part of a century, causing immeasurable levels of death and distress around the globe, though I tend to suspect they know damn well what they're doing...

 

Well, I don't think that's so much of an issue, really. I mean we're not bound by lots of things which used to be canon. For example marriage without parole - I mean divorce.

 

Anyway I was just reading today that AlQ is 'taxing' the west African drug trade to get money for their ventures. I mean, seriously. How many enemies have to be feeding off the illicit trade - while you can still easily get drugs - before it we grow up and admit it's just making things worse? I mean how can funneling billions of dolars into the pockets of our sworn eneies be better than admitting that people who want to fall the **** out of life are going to find a way to do that?

 

 

I was highly amuse dto see that in the second season of The Wire they actually use my argument: "If we can't win the war on drugs in a prison, then what hope do we have?"