Why is legalization better than decriminalization? If legal drugs are anything like Juuls, widespread availability and removal of social stigma will just cause use to explode and you have 10x as many addicts as you did before.
AFAIK, countries that have tried loosening the laws on drugs have made good experiences. You would save a lot of money on law enforcement, plus you could tax drugs the way alcohol and tobacco are taxed now. With all that money, you could offer some reasonable therapy facilities.
Also, I don't think the stigma would just disappear for stuff like heroin. Heroin is terribly addictive, and staying away from it remains a good idea regardless of its legal status.
> Also, I don't think the stigma would just disappear for stuff like heroin.
Hopefully there's still strong sigma for life destroying drugs like heroin, meth, etc. But as for the others it's already disappearing for marijuana, and I could easily see it disappearing for LSD, mushrooms, cocaine, etc.
Based on my personal experiences, cannabis, LSD, and mushrooms are far less destructive than alcohol, which is perfectly legal in many countries.
Of course, one can easily destroy one's life with those "soft" drugs. Many people have. But simply making those illegal obviously has not helped much, either.
I have a hard time putting psychedelics in the same category as cannabis. And saying they are far less destructive than alcohol might serve the purpose of decriminalization/legalization (because you are right: they are safer), but it doesn't serve the purpose of whoever winds up taking them.
You can have a couple of beers for the first time, and that will give you an idea of what alcohol feels like. You can microdose, and that will give you an idea of what psychedelics are like. But as you scale the amount you take of each, each drink of alcohol will feel like another layer of alcohol, and each increase in dosage of psychedelics is going to feel significantly different than the last. Setting also has more impact on psychedelics than it does on alcohol. Six beers at an office party is going to feel the same as six beers at home. A full dose of psychedelics at an office party is not going to feel the same as a full dose at home.
If legalization were to happen, cultural shamanism would need to exist in some form. In South America ayahuasca doesn't drive those who take it to madness because there are experienced people not only guiding you through the process, but also preparing your diet and expectations before hand. In the late 60s if you were seeking out LSD for the first time, you likely already existed on the side of the cultural fence that advocated for open mindedness and acceptance, and some of your peers would probably already have tried it and would be able to guide you. Illegality today almost forces that same network to exist, as in you need to know people who have done it in order to find it in the first place.
The idea of Joe employee of the month hearing about legalized mushrooms in the news and how they're safer than alcohol, going to a dispensary and buying some with his hard earned USD and then going home to have his ego ripped out of him doesn't sit well with me.
> cannabis, LSD, and mushrooms are far less destructive than alcohol
Alcohol is tied, heavily, to crime. As much as 70% for domestic abuse issues, and closer to 30-40% for fatal accidents, assaults, etc. The stats below are from the 90s, but a similar, if slightly lower, correlation is still true in more recent statistics [2]
> "A discussion of the sources of data on alcohol and crime encompasses the National Crime Victimization Survey; the Uniform Crime Reporting Program; the National Incident-Based Reporting Program; surveys of probationers, jail, and prison inmates; censuses of prisons and jails; and the Fatal Accident Reporting System. Regarding the role of alcohol in crime victimization, approximately 3 million violent crimes occur each year in which victims perceive the offender to have been drinking at the time of the offense. Two-thirds of victims who suffered violence by an intimate reported that alcohol had been a factor. For about 1 in 5 violent victimizations that involved perceived alcohol use by the offender, victims also reported they believed the offender to have been using drugs as well. Approximately half the incidents described by the investigating officer as alcohol-related were between offenders and victims who were intimates. Data show that approximately 7 out of 10 alcohol-involved incidents of violence occurred in a residence. Among the data on drunk-driving arrests and fatal accidents are the number of such arrests. A trend analysis shows that over the last decade rates of intoxication in fatal accidents have declined across every age group. Data on the use of alcohol by convicted offenders show that among the 5.3 million convicted offenders under the jurisdiction of corrections agencies in 1996, nearly 2 million (36 percent) were estimated to have been drinking at the time of the offense. Alcohol use at the time of the offense was commonly found among those convicted of public-order crimes. "[1]
Does decriminalization do much to stop the crime and violence on the supply side of the illicit drug market? I'm assuming decriminalization makes possession of small amounts ok, but dealing and importing are still major offenses?
The dealer still has to import the drugs the same way as he does now, build a network of street dealers, etc.
Well my point was that they were originally intended to reduce nicotine addiction, but they are actually increasing nicotine addiction due to being perceived as safe alternative to cigarettes by teens. I suspect that legalizing drugs such that they are "cleaner and dosing more predictable" (aka "more safe") would inevitably cause an increase in usage and therefore addiction.
Sorry, I had no idea what a Juul was, and Google indicated it was a brand of e-cig. Only included the comment because I assumed other non-smokers would have no idea.
No. When you read the patents you'll realize that Jull vapes were designed mimic the psychopharmacology of cigarettes, which everyone knows are pretty damn addictive. Regular vapes have a different chemistry. You hope that Juul gets sued out of existence and that the FDA rouses itself to action.
Also, I don't think the stigma would just disappear for stuff like heroin. Heroin is terribly addictive, and staying away from it remains a good idea regardless of its legal status.