Re: Why is marijuana still illegal?
The war on drugs will never be won, the money spent is such a waste and could be used for such a better purpose.
However that really only is the economic side.
Socially it does impact peoples lives dramatically.
the social implications for legalisation of drugs would be immense
crime rates would plummet and prisons would lose a lot of their current inmate capacity
crime related to drugs falls into 2 categories really; distribution networks and user crime
distribution networks are the small time dealers through to mexican cartels and bikies gangs. these networks only exist because of the stiff penalties and high prices that the drug war creates. without a war on drugs there would be no mexican drug war with 30,000 people dead. there would be no inner sydney shootings in nightclubs etc or drive-bys.
user crime has 2 facets. crimes committed by people to buy drugs and crimes committed on drugs. a lot of break and enters are done by peopel with a history of drug abuse. they steal to fund their habit. this is because the prices for drugs are highly inflated and medical help is less available because these people live on the fringe of society. there are other crimes such as driving under the influence, which im sure we would all agree is something that would be legislated against if drugs were legalised. it is illegal to drink and drive but some people still do it, there is nothing we can do to stop this.
sending people to prison for minor drug offenses creates more crime, that is a fact. sending someone to prison for dealing small amounts of drugs turns them from a productive member of society to a more hardened criminal, who is shunned from normal society and employment for the rest of their lives. it also strengthens criminal gangs because where do you think they recruit from?
all of these problems would be solved by legalisation. the tax revenue would more than make up for any concieved increases of load on the health system
nb a lot of "overdoses" are attributed to impurities in drugs due to the underground nature of manufacture. ie no extasy in australia has MDMA in it , it is mostly draino and poor quality amphetamines. differing strengths of drugs are what cause overdoses. one time you might need 5 pills to feel anything, next time you will get a strong batch and 5 will kill you etc.
also meth is fucking fantastic and you would be able to buy it from vending machines to use whenever you have an assignment due or some housework to do.
