# Why are drugs illegal in every country? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 29, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drugs-illegal-in-every-country/667517 "2013-08-29T17:55:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drugs-illegal-in-every-country/667517/21 "2013-08-30T17:18:42Z")
> [@Nippless](#): > > Who pays for and cleans the mess left by alcohol? Ever walk Bourbon Street at 6 am?😃 ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drugs-illegal-in-every-country/667517/22 "2013-08-30T20:08:48Z")
> [@theorange](#): > > You would think, for example, that at the very least poor countries could make a killing by legalizing drugs. Why is there no “Las Vegas” of totally legalized drugs? In addition to the international pressure to keep most drugs illegal, it’s questionable whether a single poor country making drugs legal would actually improve their economic situation. They still couldn’t export it legally, which means that you’d get a serious influx of… extra-legal entrepreneurs coming in trying to smuggle it out and the associated violence and crime that such a business brings in. Think about the violence in Northern Mexico recently. I claim that it would actually worsen if Mexico were to legalize the production of drugs. The cost of production will go down, but the profit of getting it across the border won’t, which means that the stakes for doing so get higher and the blood flows faster. Even if you assume that the issues of crime around the smuggling industry won’t be a problem, it’s questionable how much you gain from “drug tourism”. The Netherlands has managed to do so effectively for marijuana, but they have basically the easiest-going drug tourists around, generally middle class 1st world young people carrying backpacks and expanding their cultural horizons. And even then, local towns keep passing ordinances to keep the riffraff out. After a while, it gets annoying to have a bunch of stoner drifters coming through town. That demographic isn’t very likely to stimulate the economy in other ways, and you risk becoming a “drug tourism ghetto” as the drug tourists drive other tourists away. And now consider what it would be like if your drug tourists were, uh, recreational heroin or meth users. I bet things get real bad real fast. It’s way _way_ better, economically, for most poor countries to keep drugs officially illegal. You get official aid from the American government _and_ you get plenty of black market money from drug users flowing in, some of which is handily diverted to corrupt government officials. It’s win/win, right? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drugs-illegal-in-every-country/667517/23 "2013-08-30T20:43:56Z")
> [@nanguta3](#): > > dear mr.the second stone, recently u post about the topic grow taller at age 30. u said u’ve grow 1.5 inch after 3 year based on better posture > and your nutrition. can u explain u your posture and your nutrition. i’m currently make a research for improvement plan elder > people’health. > thank in advance I attribute the growth between 47 and 51 to better posture and nutrition. I have no idea whether it is true, but I have checked the doctor’s records, which go back a about 15 or more years. Instead of eating like a bachelor, I’ve been following my doctor’s diet recommendations, which are available from any nutritionist or doctor (stop eating hamburgers all the time) take Trader Joe’s multi vitamins and sit up straight. This is my unscientific conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drugs-illegal-in-every-country/667517/24 "2013-09-01T08:39:59Z")
Re: legalized euthanasia > [@Floater](#): > > We do? Since when? I suspect the OP got Scandinavia confused with the Low Countries: > [@Wikipedia](#): > > As of 2009, some forms of voluntary euthanasia are legal in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the US states of Oregon and Washington. From [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_euthanasia) ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drugs-illegal-in-every-country/667517/25 "2013-09-01T11:06:05Z")
For the OP - just in case… Syria is over on the right hand side of the Mediterranean Sea. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drugs-illegal-in-every-country/667517/26 "2013-09-01T11:26:01Z")
United nations treaties is the true answer, google UNDCP. > **[Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_Drugs)** > > The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 (Single Convention, 1961 Convention, or C61) is an international treaty that controls activities (cultivation, production, supply, trade, transport) of specific narcotic drugs and lays down a system of regulations (licenses, measures for treatment, research, etc.) for their medical and scientific uses; it also establishes the International Narcotics Control Board. > The Single Convention was adopted in 1961 and amended in 1972. As of 2022, the Sin... ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drugs-illegal-in-every-country/667517/27 "2013-09-05T04:13:55Z")
Governments wants a healthy, psychologically stable and above all productive work force. Recreational drug use is counter-indicated. Alcohol got grandfathered in. ---
**Author:** ![Anotheruser1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Anotheruser1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anotheruser1)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drugs-illegal-in-every-country/667517/28 "2013-09-05T05:04:42Z")
> [@theorange](#): > > It’s surprising that _every single_ country in the world keeps drugs like cocaine and heroin illegal – even the ultra-liberal Scandinavian countries that permit, for example, euthanasia. What forces drive that? > > You would think, for example, that at the very least poor countries could make a killing by legalizing drugs. Why is there no “Las Vegas” of totally legalized drugs? That is where the governments of the world make all their blow money. It has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with profit [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drugs-illegal-in-every-country/667517.md?page=1)