# Time to end the war on drugs **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 26, 2015, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553 "2015-09-26T12:17:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/1 "2015-09-26T12:17:00Z")
Too many people have been killed or thrown in jail for non-violent victimless crimes. Putting someone behind bars for years, or seizing their car because they might have smoked a joint should not be acceptable. The drug war also gives police a lot of incentives to be corrupt. Let’s end the war on drugs! ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/2 "2015-09-26T12:22:13Z")
I agree but, do people really get their car seized over a single joint? Because that’s some straight up draconian shit right there. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/3 "2015-09-26T12:27:45Z")
Yes, legalise the lot. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/4 "2015-09-26T12:57:51Z")
I agree. But, I think that if you do something stupid while intoxicated on crack or meth or heroin, you should get a substantial heavier charge than just public disturbance or trespassing or assault & battery or what not. ---
**Author:** ![Memnon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Memnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Memnon)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/5 "2015-09-26T14:59:31Z")
Totally agree. Legalise everything. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/6 "2015-09-26T15:10:05Z")
> [@Tithonus](#): > > Totally agree. Legalise everything. And as long as we’re deciding that the government has no business protecting public health or regulating what products can be sold, let’s just abolish the entire FDA and let the free market decide what medicines work best and what it’s safe for people to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/7 "2015-09-26T15:11:13Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > I agree. > > But, I think that if you do something stupid while intoxicated on crack or meth or heroin, you should get a substantial heavier charge than just public disturbance or trespassing or assault & battery or what not. Also, if you become addicted _you_ pay the consequences. Don’t expect the gov’t(at great expense) to place you on an anti-addiction programme. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/8 "2015-09-26T15:49:08Z")
Hooray! Fuck everyone! Let them die! Wait, no. That’s stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/9 "2015-09-26T15:51:18Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > Also, if you become addicted _you_ pay the consequences. Don’t expect the gov’t(at great expense) to place you on an anti-addiction programme. Actually, even if you did do this, it would be 10 times cheaper than sending someone to jail. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/10 "2015-09-26T15:53:21Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > Also, if you become addicted _you_ pay the consequences. Don’t expect the gov’t(at great expense) to place you on an anti-addiction programme. I’m waiting for someone to suggest that the money being spent on the drug war be used for treatment programs after drugs are legalized. Someone always suggests that ignoring that that would never happen. Where are the massive (and successful) government programs for alcoholics? I supposes an argument can be made for legalizing things like marijuana. But I couldn’t imagine the nightmare if horribly addictive things like heroin were legal in the U.S… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/11 "2015-09-26T15:57:37Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > And as long as we’re deciding that the government has no business protecting public health or regulating what products can be sold, let’s just abolish the entire FDA and let the free market decide what medicines work best and what it’s safe for people to eat. Drug legalization and government deregulation are two entirely different subjects. I’m not clear how you went from one to the other. If we legalized heroin, there’d still be a role for the FDA in making sure what’s being sold as heroin actually is heroin. Just as, currently, we allow people to put alcohol and tobacco in their bodies, but still regulate both industries to make sure no one’s selling antifreeze and calling it gin. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/12 "2015-09-26T16:01:30Z")
Yes, legalize it. And stop with the “work” to reduce about the opiate epidemic, because that has screwed with the ability of people who are legitimately suffering to get effective treatment. > [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > Also, if you become addicted _you_ pay the consequences. Don’t expect the gov’t(at great expense) to place you on an anti-addiction programme. I have long suspected that most users figure out that if they claim to be addicted, they are treated far more leniently by the courts than if they just said, “I like getting high.” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/13 "2015-09-26T16:01:52Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Dug legalization and government deregulation are two entirely different subjects. I’m not velar how you went from one to the other. If we legalized heroin, there’d still be a role for the FDA in making sure what’s being sold as heroin actually is heroin. Just as, currently, we allow people to put alcohol and tobacco in their bodies, but still regulate both industries to make sure no one’s selling antifreeze and calling it gin. Seems to me that “legalize everything” means “legalize everything”. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/14 "2015-09-26T16:02:49Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > And as long as we’re deciding that the government has no business protecting public health or regulating what products can be sold, let’s just abolish the entire FDA and let the free market decide what medicines work best and what it’s safe for people to eat. > [@andros](#): > > Hooray! Fuck everyone! Let them die! > > Wait, no. That’s stupid. I’m wondering if death rates wouldn’t actually go down. I mean seriously, if you’re going to do a line of blow, it’s better to do the stuff that was made professionally in a laboratory (Under strict FDA guidelines), then it is to do a line of stuff that was made in some dude’s bathtub. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/15 "2015-09-26T16:04:14Z")
> [@Tithonus](#): > > Totally agree. Legalise everything. I’m always curious about people who say this. Does this mean that all drugs that are now prescription-only should be freely available OTC? And that anyone who wants to can make them in their own kitchen and sell them out of the back of a van? If not, why should meth and heroin be less regulated than Viagra and Lipitor? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/16 "2015-09-26T16:05:22Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I’m wondering if death rates wouldn’t actually go down. I mean seriously, if you’re going to do a line of blow, it’s better to do the stuff that was made professionally in a laboratory (Under strict FDA guidelines), then it is to do a line of stuff that was made in some dude’s bathtub. Possibly, but I was responding to this: > [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > Also, if you become addicted _you_ pay the consequences. Don’t expect the gov’t(at great expense) to place you on an anti-addiction programme. ISTM this is basically arguing “Fuck the addicted, let them die. As long as they’re poor.” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/17 "2015-09-26T16:10:20Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Seems to me that “legalize everything” means “legalize everything”. If you ignore context, sure, you can make it seem like almost anything you want. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/18 "2015-09-26T16:41:23Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I’m wondering if death rates wouldn’t actually go down. I mean seriously, if you’re going to do a line of blow, it’s better to do the stuff that was made professionally in a laboratory (Under strict FDA guidelines), then it is to do a line of stuff that was made in some dude’s bathtub. So are we going to establish FDA guidelines for crank and speedballs and krokodil then? What happens when someone decides to ignore those standards? What if the FDA _can’t_ establish a standard by which a given drug can be considered safe? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/19 "2015-09-26T17:05:08Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Drug legalization and government deregulation are two entirely different subjects. I’m not clear how you went from one to the other. If we legalized heroin, there’d still be a role for the FDA in making sure what’s being sold as heroin actually is heroin. Just as, currently, we allow people to put alcohol and tobacco in their bodies, but still regulate both industries to make sure no one’s selling antifreeze and calling it gin. What’s going on in places like Colorado? I honestly have no idea. Are there standards in place regarding someone putting a small amount of cannabis in a bag mixed with a large amount of slag weed and selling it as high grade marijuana? If the war on drugs were ended would it still be illegal for people to sell drugs on the street or would it be like the regulations on alcohol? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553/20 "2015-09-26T17:08:55Z")
I also reckon drugs should be legal, and that all or most of the money that is funnelled into drug enforcement should be redirected towards counselling, needle exchanges, rehab and similar social programs ; as well as towards the safety net. People rarely start doing drugs for kicks, or rather people who become really addicted (in the cliché junkie thieving crack whore sense of the word) typically have underlying problems. Which typically the drugs don’t help at all, but they seem like a good idea at the time :). But my point is : help these people with their issues and the drug issue should follow, for the most part. As for people who genuinely use drugs for fun and responsibly, who cares what these affectionate people do, so long as they don’t do it in the middle of the street and frighten the horses ? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-end-the-war-on-drugs/732553.md?page=2)