If you think drugs should be legalised..

[Playingvideogames]

Do you think soliciting prostitutes/kerb crawling should be as well?

Personally I think both should be illegal. But the arguments on here for legalising drugs (‘they’ll do it anyway’ ‘at least then we can regulate it’ ‘the current system isn’t working’) can also apply to kerb crawling/soliciting.

Both are also industries heavy on using trafficked and exploited people.

I think the point is that if you legalise drugs, you can regulate them and their production. Alcohol is a drug, and is regulated.

You can regulate prostitution by allowing brothels like in Amsterdam. What’s the difference?

I was offering a different argument about the reason for legalising drugs. Don't have a go at me!

Really didn’t think I was ‘having a go’ but ok..

Yes both should be legalised.

Prohibition of drugs doesn’t work and causes the unnecessary deaths of vulnerable people.

The issue that most people have is that they assume that drug taking is a moral issue. It isn’t. Drug legislation is a moral issue, that has been used for years to marginalise vulnerable groups of people and to target groups of people based on their ethnicity.

A lot of the criminality around drugs comes from the fact they’re illegal. If you had weed farms, proper factory set up for pills etc, then you would remove a lot of the issues. There would be traceability. There might be an issue with other drugs that rely on foreign production, but that’s the same with a lot of trade. I don’t think people taking recreational drugs is on the same level as exploiting women. Some people are addicts, but that’s true of alcohol which is legal.

Not sure. Need to think more so will be reading responses and may shift my views several times!

But my instinct is drugs are a public health issue so there isnt inherent exploitation in drugs.

And prostitution im floating around even regulated much safer prostitution is still inherently exploitative

Legalise it for 12 months let Darwin take care of things then re criminalise it i predict a lot of the people in charge will be the biggest users

I don’t think it makes sense to compare the two things here really because they are separate issues and should be treated as such.

I’m not really sure that I would be up for legalising drugs- not sure how the model would work in practice, presumable they wouldn’t be free and so a lot of the same issues would still arise with people who can’t afford them etc. I can see the benefits, but not sure it’s enough to make me pro-legalisation.

Yes, in a way I do.

Solicitation being illegal means everything is forced to happen behind closed doors and thus leads to poor work conditions and treatment for the women.

This is worth a read in terms of understanding the issue.

https://transformdrugs.org/blog/drug-decriminalisation-in-portugal-setting-the-record-straight

Sex work is inherently exploitative in a way which would not be true of a regulated drug market. Imo.

Where I live in the UK it is legalised. I think legalising it would mean less exploited and trafficked people, as they could legitimately report it without fear of repercussions.

You're asking about two big issues here.

Re prostitution & kerb crawling - I believe we should adopt the Nordic Model: criminalise pimps and buyers of sex, but prostitutes should are not criminals.

Re drugs. I don't believe in blanket decriminalisation, no. I think there are very good arguments for decriminalising some drugs, like cannabis (the one thing that gives me pause is not wanting to breathe it in on the streets or because a neighbour is smoking it).

Professionals from the criminal justice system, like police, seem to overwhelmingly believe that criminalising many drugs is the wrong approach and that we'd achieve much more in the fight against them by doing something drastic like decriminalisation. However uncomfortable it makes me, I think we should listen to them and give it serious thought.

Decriminalising and controlling the means of production and trade also means that we can levy taxes and I think we could raise some serious money that way - money which our country really needs.

I'd also be interested in exploring whether decriminalisation would enable us to create safer versions of the drugs (not just uncorrupted versions) and better explore medicinal uses (eg cannabis).

But the fact that I think it could lead to some really interesting and beneficial opportunities, doesn't mean I'm in favour of rushing into any sort of decriminalisation. It would need to be very carefully thought through, with a great deal of regulation (something many in business & finance oppose). So...not simple and not clear cut.

I think both should be legalised. The Netherlands functions much better as a country than we do

For every person saying pot is harmless there seems to be a nutter with a knife claiming the voices in their head made then do it, so no, I don't think it should be legalised.
Both are and should remain illegal

It’s another one of those where it’ll happen anyway.

So why not make it as safe as possible?

I think the record in Portugal speaks for itself. Treat addiction as a health issue, decriminalise possession for personal use, go after the importers and the dealers, make sure rehab and detox are easily accessible and on offer the moment someone is arrested for possession. Treaeeting addiction as a moral issue has never worked.

With sex work it's much more complex.

They’re not connected in my mind.i don’t really get threads that just go

IF THINK X THEN Y. EXPLAIN WHY YOU DISAGREE

My understanding is the Netherlands saw an increase in human trafficking but better working conditions.

Having see the effects of weed which is low level in terms of drugs. I don’t think it should be legalised did think it should in my 20/30s but not anymore

Also used to really believe that prostitution should be legalised as worked it an area where it was very common and just always thought they women (and some men) looked cold and would be better if they could work legally inside somewhere safe. Again changed my mind snd even though I believe in a humans freedom to choose the power imbalance is to great and the demand should be met with technical solutions not humans.

I don't think renting people's bodies for sex and damaging your own body with drugs are the same thing at all.

I think drug use should be decriminalised at minimum and that people should understand that by keeping it illegal you keep a huge, huge industry, an immense amount of money and enormous power in the hands of gangsters. That might be something you feel is a cost worth maintaining the current stance on drugs, but you should at least be able to see why others differ in their view.

This is the best argument for legalising drugs.

Yes, I agree with this. Decriminalisation isn’t the same as legalisation: you can remove criminal penalty for possession and personal use, treat addiction as a health and social issue, whilst still tackling smugglers and dealers. I’ve marshalled enough young women having bad drug experiences in nightclubs along to the welfare room, who are too scared to go there themselves because they’re terrified the police are going to be called. Criminalisation is both ineffective and, on its own, dangerous, if it prevents people who are going to take drugs from accessing the resources to know how to take them more safely and from seeking medical attention when they need it.

I support the Nordic Model for sex work, which is again decriminalisation rather than legalisation.

Both should be legalised.

Women should be able to do whatever they like with their bodies. Legalising prostitution would mean there there were legal route to safeguard women who choose to sell sexual services without them being criminalised.