paliometoxo wrote:i kind of agree with what you say but the drug heads what do they do once they run out of money?? they end up robbing shops stores people and do anything to get a quick fix... this is not a very good thing i am sure and ive never tried drugs but i am guessing it bleeds your wallet dry and then you end up in prison for drugs aswell as beating up an old lady for her money.... so also crimes would probably go up younger kids will find ways to get drugs like they smoke and everyone will be dead within a few years....
If eg the government of the UK bought clean and quality tested heroin directly from the government of Afghanistan the price paid by the drug user would be much much lower than it is today when criminals run the business... even if HEAVILY taxed. I can't prove this because I have no idea what the prices are in the chain from farmer to user. But I definitely think a government easily could "win" a price war against a criminal organisation and still score enough taxes to make it worthwhile for society. The criminals are driven primarily by economic gain. A government would have so many other factors to look at in order to determine the final "price" of their strategy. Cheap heroin to addicts = less robbings and burglary = less costs for society. I don't necessarily think this would lead to more addicts. Whether something is illegal or not doesn't stop anyone from using it if they really want to. In fact... the illegal bit may even cause some young ones to try certain things just because it being illegal makes it "cool".
The main reason drugs are expensive is because they're illegal. The risks involved in growing/producing/smuggling/distributing allows the criminals to set a price to their liking. There are so many hands in the chain of distribution, everyone wants a cut of the cake. It's not just a case of paying the farmer, pay for shipping and then sell with a profit. There are bribes to be paid. Steps to be taken to hide shipments (trojans, smell proofing etc). And of course greedy criminals won't settle with 25% profit, they want 1000% profit.
But still... I wouldn't want such a disgusting drug to be available at all. We mustn't underestimate medical value of opiates though.
Maybe the Dutch approach to "harm reduction" is the middle way here, I don't know. But one thing is for sure... Holland has the lowest percentage of heroin addicts in the west. And their median age is considerably higher too. So very few new young addicts appear. This must mean that the young people of Holland are happy with smoking cannabis (I have no idea about the mushroom thing) and/or drink beer and won't move on to hard drugs such as heroin. They don't have to meet up with a dealer offering just about everything that makes your head spin just to buy a joint since they can buy it in their "coffee shops". As far as I know the coffee shops are not allowed to sell alcohol which is good because whether cannabis or alcohol are "harmless" enough to consume we can all agree on one thing... mixing things would be even worse. I read somewhere that less people are trying cannabis in Holland than in the US, a country which as a very restrictive policy towards drugs in general (although it seems like the common man/woman are very relaxed about the use of cannabis).
The use of medical cannabis is left out of this discussion. Personally I think it's a crime against humanity to deny a sick person something that could ease their pain and give them a decent life if no alternatives (that more effective!) are available. Opium poppy and even coca derivatives (when you get anesthesia at your dentist for example) are used with medicinal purposes... why not cannabis? I mean... who cares if someone with a terminal disease is smoking in order to live his/her last days feeling just a tiny little bit better? Or if someone with MS destined to lead a life imprisoned in a wheel chair can smoke some in order to be able gain enough strength to actually take a 5 minute walk on his/her own legs?
Just as drugs used in the wrong way can be disastrous we must also acknowledge that certain drugs used in an appropriate way are good rather than evil.
