If you think drugs should be legalised..

If drugs were legalised in 2030 there would be a period of adjustment, but they would presumably, be legal forever, so you would get the benefits long term.

This is a long term decision that you don’t make by looking at whether 18 year olds today “know their limit”

you can see from the Portuguese example (which I don’t think we should focus too much as they haven’t legalised drugs) that it took a decade to start seeing real benefits. Things don’t change immediately in policy.

look at smoking. 20 years ago increased taxes and public information wasn’t really stopping people smoking. The mass shift has been the lack of new 16 year olds taking up smoking. We can assume the same pattern of benefits for drugs.

Can you explain the relevance of the question? The thread isn’t about heroin addicts

I think OPs view seems to be all drugs = long term physically addicted heroin addict

But being drunk is legal, who gets drunk legally and when?

Of course both should be regulated. Surely that's a no brainer?

It's the lack of regulation that creates a black market, traffickers and all of the associated problems that come with it.

Not if it's all talk - if you are going to legalise drugs show me a well thought out properly costed plan which takes into account the similarities and differences between our country and Portugal. It won't be plug and play, there will be nuances which will be the difference between success and failure.

I have had enough of kicking the can down the road, selling off of the family silver, burdening the young people with debt and so called 'fully costed policies, no if and buts' to last a life time.

They are all dreadful.

You draw some very odd and false comparisons.

You can make drugs legal without making it acceptable to turn up to work high as a kite.

When would people do drugs, well same as a lot of people do now, evenings/weekends/holidays. Just as you could reasonably be fired for turning up to work drunk or lose your licence/get a fine/go to prison for driving drunk, the same could apply to other drugs. Why would you assume it wouldn't be?

You could decriminalise soliciting via certain means (ie, finding someone on an adult-work website) without legalising kerb-crawling. You could decriminalise prostitution without legalising street walking.

I am very pro making drugs legal, because you can then control quality and supply and take so much of the associated illegal activity out of the equation. We already have working models for this with alcohol and tobacco, and for other drugs in other countries.

Why do you assume legalising something means its then a complete free for all, no control, no consequences for misuse/inappropriate use? Thats a strange approach to take when starting a debate.

So if a new party mooted this policy as an idea, along the lines of the Portugal model, you'd support it because there is evidence of its effectiveness?

The Green Party is the same as every other party. Style over substance. Who know it would be so difficult to have someone decent to vote for.

Ah, I see. This is a Green Party idea, therefore it must be bad and insincere.

You could scarecrow an entire Harve with those strawman.

Which part of the evidence showing clearly that we'll managed decriminalisation of drug use works do you not understand?

Well, why not have a rebrand? Roll it out in schools and career fairs:
Drug dealing = "drug work"
Prostitution = "sex work"

And, from what I know from someone who works in an authority against people trafficking is that organ harvesting is always happening.

Organ harvesting = "organ work"

Drug dealers have to keep finding new merchandise to sell. With prostitution/human trafficking, the dealers have merchandise (a human body) that they can sell and sell and sell over and over and over.

I don’t disagree but what I mean is when you do have the resources it’s simply a choice as to how you use them.

no one would argue Tibet/ Liberia/ Bangladesh can put that infrastructure in place. But the uk certainly can

And you too ❤️

It is possible to be poorer and to have a better infrastructure. We have a lot of waste and mismanagement in our systems. I can only talk about what I have read over the years.

Zac doesn't care about the tools and infrastructure required to make this work, he just wants votes.

@Nincompoo oh speed comedowns I know about I was using 7G of base amphetamine a weekend in the end my MH was shot .
Agree on crack ,super weed and the legal highs why would you.
Laughed at the chocolate 👍😁
Take care👍

Yes there are some drugs that shouldn’t be legalised, crack cocaine, The crazy strong weed variations that are around today, and those “legal highs” from a few years back. I’ve not been involved in anyone taking speed for years, I remember the come
down being really difficult though!

I’ve never known anyone having any addictive issue with mdma though and I’ve got numerous friends with cocaine, ketamine, alcohol, nicotine, chocolate, sex addictions!

I travelled to a country where weed is legal and controlled. The experience buying it, in a brightly lit shop, with a knowledgeable shop assistant was a world away from a geezer in a club.

What effect would I want, what would I bring doing afterwards, what strength in a scale of 1-5, did I want a full gram joint or just a 0.5g?

Would I prefer that for my 19yo compared to what I experienced at uni? Yes.

I am on California where weed is legal. Companies have polices that can’t be under the influence. If someone appears stoned or reeks of weed there is reasonable suspicion and they can sent for a drug test. Same rules as alcohol, if someone is stumbling/slurring or reeks of booze they are sent for a blood alcohol test. It works very well.

I think it depends on drug. You can not put weed and crack in the same basket. Cocaine heroine fentanyl are some of the drugs that take hold and many can not get out of it until they die. It also turns your brain into mush and you become a zombie living for the next hit. Yes, you might be that person who can have it occasionally, but if you are not? The risks are too great. Weed? Yes it does affect kids brain as they develop but they incur a fraction of the sides effects of alcohool and cigarettes and many many big pbarma medicines. Families are destroyed by alcohool and alocholics, it makes you brave by removing social inhibitons, many people kiled on roads because of it. Parents and kids who cut contact due to growing in alcoholic families, the effects on the ones around is tremendous. Yet, alcohool is permited, advertised, glamourised. Every MAFS female is clinging to their glasses throught the whole serries like is taped to their fingers. That's cool, is fashionable. So a big hypocrisy in keeping weed illegal but keeping alcohool and cigarettes legal. Is all about money! I only had weed once, did not like it will never have it again, I tried that is enough. I did not like what it did to my brain, I like my head clear and to be in control of my actions and emotions. I was and am aware is not for me. But if it helps others with pain, anxiety and a pletphora of other conditons physical and mental who are you to stop people's access to them? Why not prescribed through GP in safe and well monitored doses? So swings and roundabouts, no straight answer

Edited for typos

@Nincompoo I agree with you upto a point ,I was on the Nsoul scene for 14 years amphetamine drug of choice and used overall 20years.
I saw a about five fights in that time usually pissed up local yokels.The Nsoul scene was self policed I never saw girls getting grief unlike normal clubs with the beer monsters.
But unfortunately Amphetamine usage takes a heavy toll mentally.
It being illegal didn't bother me ,I steered clear of heroin and injecting because if you move in drug using circles you would know it's for mugs.

If drugs were legal there would still be certain drugs people would avoid.

I think the first should be illegal because it morally degrades society. It would show our youth that bodies are cheap.

With drugs, I think it's tricky. They could be lagal to people over 25. I don't think there's anything wrong with drug use per se as long as you can keep a grip on it and not fall into addiction. And yes, it's true, a user or addict will always find a way anyway and this would keep them safer. I don't think drugs like LSD should be legalised because they can cause psychosis and suffering for a person's whole life, from doing it once. Perhaps at low doses in medical settings for treating addiction etc. .

We have a real problem in the UK in accessing pain relief and sleeping pills where they are absolutely necessary for some people but not prescribed. Perhaps, this is what should be addressed. So that people in pain and etc, don't have to self medicate

For me the main argument for decriminalisation is that keeping them illegal has devastating effects on a small number of producer/supplier countries. The way it works now, those countries are paying a heavy toll for the rest of the world's drug use.