The War On Drugs

[Tzatziki]

Thoughts?

[Bananas]

Tricky subject.  There is no answer that everyone will agree with.  That's what you get when you have 7 billion people living in one place.  And the simple fact is that certain people (for whatever reason) are self destructive.  I'll have a spliff and get back to you on it.

[athinaios]

I voted for 3 of those options ;)

[athinaios]

you won't get ahead in life being stupid, lazy and high. spiccoli from fast times was a movie character, real life is not hollywood.

 

That would depend on what you're trying to do ;)

 

I can think of lots of celebrities that do just that!  No talent either, but they're famous because of those ..qualities!

[Tzatziki]

That is true I think, apparently Holland has some of the lowest numbers of marijuana consumption amongst teenagers. 

[Tzatziki]

Portugal decriminalised drugs 14 years ago 

 

 

 

 

Portugal decriminalised the use of all drugs in 2001. Weed, cocaine, heroin, you name it ? Portugal decided to treat possession and use of small quantities of these drugs as a public health issue, not a criminal one. The drugs were still illegal, of course. But now getting caught with them meant a small fine and maybe a referral to a treatment program ? not jail time and a criminal record.

 

Among Portuguese adults, there are 3 drug overdose deaths for every 1,000,000 citizens. Comparable numbers in other countries range from 10.2 per million in the Netherlands to 44.6 per million in the UK, all the way up to 126.8 per million in Estonia. The EU average is 17.3 per million.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/portugal-decriminalised-drugs-14-years-ago-and-now-hardly-anyone-dies-from-overdosing-10301780.html

Edited February 25, 2016 by Tzatziki

[Bananas]

What the hell are they cooking in Estonia ?

[Koro]

Notice how the further North you go in Europe, the drug related deaths go up.

 

To be honest I don't have that strong opinions on this topic. I've always thought there are more important political issues to worry about. But I do think the UK has a very different culture from somewhere like Portugal. There's already enough people popping pills up here.

[Tzatziki]

I've always thought there are more important political issues to worry about. 

 

That's true, at the same time though, the drug topic is something that affects millions of people. From users, sellers, law enforcement, judiciaries, prison systems, bankers, regular citizens, medical practitioners etc. etc.

[Tzatziki]

 

 

Saw the above movie this weekend and there was a sizeable amount of time spent on the failed war on drugs. It was very surprising and refreshing to hear the US drug czar himself admit that the war on drugs is a waste of time and resources and simply not effective in any way. I'm not surprised that he has that opinion, but rather that he would put it on the record given his position. Well done to him.  :tup:

[Tzatziki]

Professor, on this topic, there is nothing you can teach me I feel, with all due respect.

[Tzatziki]

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Edited August 2, 2016 by Tzatziki

[Tzatziki]

California Has Arrested Almost Half a Million People for Weed in the Last 10 Years

 

 

 

 

 

A new report released by the Drug Policy Alliance Thursday reveals that nearly 500,000 people have been arrested on charges related to marijuana in the last decade. Nearly 9,000 felony arrests related to weed were made in 2015 alone in California, according to the report. Most disturbingly, the report found that black and Latino people are much more likely to be arrested for marijuana in California.

 

Specifically, the report found that, while white, black, and Latino people use and sell weed at similar rates, "black people were more than twice as likely as white people to be arrested for a marijuana misdemeanor and nearly five times more likely than white people to be arrested for a marijuana felony" in 2015. The report also found that "Latino people are arrested for marijuana offenses 35 percent more often than white people in California" and added that the arrests of Latinos on marijuana charges could be even higher. "California has a long history of data collection challenges regarding Latino people, who are often classified by law enforcement officers as white," the report states.

 

The issue of marijuana legality in California is up for a big vote in November, when constituents will have the opportunity to vote on Prop. 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act. If passed, the new law would do away with or significantly reduce sentencing for most existing weed crimes. The law would also work retroactively, meaning existing marijuana offenders who are serving time in California could petition to be released. Further, those with arrest records for marijuana offenses could have the offense cleared from their criminal record.

 

 

http://ca.complex.com/life/2016/08/california-arrested-half-a-million-people-weed-last-10-years

[Tzatziki]

@Reaper I came across this today and thought of you.

 

When the war on drugs began in 1971, America's prison population was around 200,000; now, it's around 2 million—growth of nearly 900 percent. Even in recent years, as some states have eased up on the war on drugs, more than 1.5 million drug arrests are being made a year and more than 80 percent of those were for possession only with almost half coming about as a result of weed.

 

nytimes

[Tzatziki]

21 minutes ago, ThrylosG7 said:

 I honestly think that drugs being illegal - is a deterent for many , making it legal though will that create a generation of the people where a large portion are drug addicted??

 

Studies show the exact opposite though.

[Tzatziki]

13 hours ago, Reaper said:

Our original disagreement was about your statement that whites are more likely to avoid jail and yet they use drugs more than other demographics. I stated that possession of weed is unlikely to get jail time. 

 

I posted the quote because I remember (maybe incorrectly you can tell me if that is the case), that people do no go to prison for possession.

[Tzatziki]

10 hours ago, ThrylosG7 said:

@Tzatziki They may show that in some countries...can you show me the stats I would be interested in seeing them...- however as i said different cultures treat things differently - judging by our Alcohol culture I think that people will turn to drugs and it will become an epidemic

 

I could G7, but it is Friday night here, and I have some engagements to attend, if you like you can google the figures for pot use in Holland and drug use in Portugal, or even the numerous US states where pot laws have been changed.

[Tzatziki]

I did say that. 

[Tzatziki]

 

[Tzatziki]

If we did things like they are done in BC no one would ever die from an overdose unless they chose to. These deaths are 100% preventable.

[Tzatziki]

 

[js1000]

Legalise all drugs and there will be a huge reduction in crime and policing costs, also the tax revenue generated would be huge, and as Portugal has shown decriminalisation did not lead to higher usage. Didn't Colorado recently report a huge surplus of cash after legalising marijuana? 

[Tzatziki]

It is only a matter of time until it happens everywhere, most people however are not ready to accept that this is most likely the more humane and cost effective way of dealing with the problem of drug abuse. How much time it will take for people to accept this is going to vary from country to country...I think USA and Canada are nowhere near a Portuguese model for perhaps at least a decade or more.

 

 

[js1000]

A no brainier as far as I'm concerned, the evidence is overwhelming.

https://www.alternet.org/drugs/cannabis-legalization-good-economy

[Tzatziki]

/\ Get a haircut you hippie!