Alternatives to the War on Drugs .

[State of the Mind]

I think many people here believe that drugs could be managed in far more efficient and productive ways than they have been for the previous 40 years . I feel as though many people believe the "War on Drugs" to be a complete failure and that in our current society, change needs to be brought about . But how ?

I find that people put energy into thinking up arguments and justifications for why drugs should be legalized, but put no thought towards how they should be dealt with . There is a simplistic belief that all drugs should be legalized . In my opinion this does not follow trends in our society . We have prescription drugs, laws to wear seat belts, Health and Safety legislation ect. In a society where the aim is to protect our citizens, the straight up legalization of drugs would not be considered .

So how do you deal with drugs ? Increased education of drugs ? Legalization of some drugs ? Semi legalization of drugs? Decriminalization of drugs ? Listen to what Science has to say ? This is where we need to have a open minded discussion and create theories .

The aim of this thread is to create theories on how drugs should be managed in our world today . Things to note though are; Money, Rights, Criminals, Society, Media and that some people are not as informed about drugs as you may be .



For those of you that have a theory they wish to post, please post this at the top of your theory: (with your name in the title) For example :

Example's Theory.​

It will just make the thread easier to read and follow . Thanks .

 

[State of the Mind]

State of the Mind's Theory .​

All current drugs should be given a relative risk rating, based on addiction, health risks and damage on society. From these ratings, two groups should be formed; The high relative risk group and the low relative risk group .

High relative risk group .
Drugs in this category would include:
Methamphetamine
Heroin
Possibly Cocaine, however I am undecided .

How to deal with these:
High relative risk drugs should be semi legalized and could be attained in special drop in centers set up around the country . You would have to sign in and fill out documentation at these centers and after paying, a nurse would come and administer x drug to you . The centers would also offer help for people trying to come off the drug ect . The aims of these centers are to take the drugs off the streets and allow them to be administered in a safe environment, thus reducing the risk of the spreading of diseases and also of overdoses . One thing to note is that the price would have to be considerably lower than the equivalent street drug .

Low Relative Risk Group .
Alcohol
Tobacco
Cannabis
Ecstasy
Classic psychedelics

How to deal with these:
Low relative risk drugs should be legalized, however you would need a licence to buy these drugs . You could apply to the government for these licences . After you have your licence, you can go and buy drugs from drug dispensaries, or other stores . At these locations you can buy the given drug if you have the correct licence . When purchasing, your licence card would have to be swiped and this would forward the information of your purchases to a database . All of this information of all of the drug purchases could in turn be analysed to increase the understanding of the effects of the drug risks . For example, if there was an increase in psychotic illnesses in 18-21 year old men smoking cannabis, than the rest of the population, this could prompt further scientific study to see if this is a causation . If so, adequate adjustments could be made, for example increasing the age of use of cannabis up to 21 .

One of the new penalties this could bring for the police to use would be the temporary removal of licences . For example if someone was found being aggressive whilst drunk in the city center, they could have their licence to purchase alcohol removed for x amount of time . This period of time could be increased for repeat offenders . Such offences that could result in removal of licence could be; Selling to minors, antisocial behavior ect . I think this seems like a really fair penalty for the crime .

 

[endlessness]

The problem I see is your requirement that people take the drugs in that specific setting. What if people want to take the "high risk" drugs elsewhere? I think this would still lead to blackmarket (but of course at least better than nowadays). I think rather the license thing should be also for the other drugs. Most importantly it should be about education that should start not only in this license centers but since school.

 

[State of the Mind]

The problem I see is your requirement that people take the drugs in that specific setting. What if people want to take the "high risk" drugs elsewhere? I think this would still lead to blackmarket (but of course at least better than nowadays). I think rather the license thing should be also for the other drugs. Most importantly it should be about education that should start not only in this license centers but since school.

Well, people should be allowed to make that choice themselves . They will have to decide if they go to the drug center and buy their pharmaceutical grade heroin for £2, where they will be safe from overdose and risk of AIDs, or they go to a street corner and buy bad quality heroin for £5, share needles and run the risk of overdose . You cannot force people, you just have to show them the benefits .

However the theory breaks down for cocaine, as it is quite a social drug and I would foresee many people preferring to take the drug in a social setting, such as with their friends ect . But I don't think you can classify cocaine as a low risk drug either because of the addictive quality it has . This is part of my theory that I have not fully formed . :roll:

 

[State of the Mind]

Most importantly it should be about education that should start not only in this license centers but since school.

Education is vital .