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"Drugs Again"

I was reading the newspaper today and came accross a story of a girl who died from taking two times the lethal amount of ecstasy. My point is that this is further evidence to those of you who approve of drugs that they aren't as harmless as they are made out to be by some people. I just further shows that they do so much harm than "good". This is just further proof that drugs shudn't be legalised, a young girl has died from taking too much of a drug showing that there clearly isn't enough flow of information out there in order to make drugs ever safe, and you can say if they're legalised flow of information will improve, but that's not gonna prevent ppl from taking overdoses is it. Those of you who say that they are so safe and that are wrong cos you probably don't even know how much is lethal. Plus whilst your under the influence of drugs you mite be unable to think when enough's enough. People can glamourise drugs all they want but it doesn't hide the simple fact and the truth that they are deadly, and that even because ecstasy is soo commonly used doesn't mean it's less harmful.

Sorry for the sloppy writing i just had to get it off my cheast.

I think everyone has double standards when it comes to “drugs”.

Well, maybe that’s the wrong word. But, people will go their entire life without ever trying an illegal substance, but will go out every weekend and get completely bladered, smoke 20 fags and still consider themselves on a moral high ground to someone that smokes a little cannabis every now and then.

Basically all drugs in any form are bad for you in excessive amounts, (someone made a joke about calpol earlier in the thread but probably even that).

Vice wrote:
But then again the majority take alcohol with lower amounts of
> people taking drugs,

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Don't get me wrong, I'm not disputing your feelings on this issue by any means.
What I'm trying to say is that, especially cost of treatment wise, alcohol abuse costs the NHS more than drugs and cigarettes combined.
Personally I don't think all drugs should be legalised, because once that happens you start getting taxes and all that other crap that governments like involved.

I have no problem with cannabis being legalised with controlled availability (ie licensed vendors with on-premises consumption only), but I dont see how legalising heroin/LSD etc can be a good thing because, to me, the appeal would lead to a massive increase in numbers trying. And the effects can be horrendous - whereas the effects of cannabis are sleepiness, happiness, hunger and dry mouth.

Vice wrote:
> Fair point Goatboy, but this report shows how much drugs are costing
> the government, it's a huge amount, maybe with legalisation though

sorry i meant "this report also"

Fair point Goatboy, but this report shows how much drugs are costing the government, it's a huge amount, maybe with legalisation though these cost will be radically reduced and with proper regulation Government revenue would increase. I'm not that against legalising drugs, i'm basically just against drugs in general as i know a lot of people are, i feel that maybe too many people are ignorant to the dangers, but as you pointed out people are equally ignorant to alcohol too, But then again the majority take alcohol with lower amounts of people taking drugs, so maybe proportionally more people are dying from drugs, plus the word dependent isn't that clear to me in that report, i feel with legalising drugs maybe the amount of deaths to alcohol will be at a higher level as they become cheaper, fashionable and more accesible.

Light wrote:
>
>
> The BNP are hugely opposed to the legalisation of drugs.
>
> The other thing is, how do you think the best way of regulating drugs
> is? Legalisation. Whilst they all remain illegal and taboo, a mix of
> drugs cut with Daz automatic, up to almost 100% pure are available
> with no way of telling which is which.
>
> Drugs don't kill people, ignorance about drugs does (no, that's not a
> dig; just a general point).

I wasn't talking about the BNP. But yeah ignorance does kill it seems, if that's the case then a majority of drug users are ignorant because i very much doubt they know what's lethal and what's not especially when they start and as you say they don't know what's in each substance, it could be made up of all kinds of crap. It's hard to be sure about whether what drug users are taking is pure or not.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2980824.stm

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"At least 6 times as many people are addicted to alcohol than class-a drugs"
Why?
Availability. Now, internet "cool" put to one side, how many people actually know where to go and how to obtain, say, heroin?
If someone said "I want you to prove to me it's dangerous, go out and get me some" - how many people honestly could just go out and obtain it, or ecstasy?

Yet I know exactly where to go, how much and which drink to buy that will kill me in....oooh....90 mins from now when the pubs open. Hell, they even advertise it in magazines, on television, at the cinema. There's even a thread here somewhere about "favourite alcohol".

Now I'm *not* saying ban alcohol, I'm saying that, as with porn, you need to be able to take a step back from the issue rather than getting caught up in the pious "all drugs are evil" standpoint.
Some are bad, but so is alcohol. Same thing.

Anything that hinders the far-right is a good thing.

But with that situation, in the general overall climate, the BNP wins only tiny seats but it makes good copy.
I would like to see them dragged out to sea and sunk, but unfortunately accepting the facade of democracy also means you have to give voice to opinions you may find distasteful.

I think a majority of the population recognise the failings with far-right groups and they'll never get anywhere.

As Light point out, the far right is definitely opposed to any legalisation, and that in itself is the best reason not to legalise.

If we did legalise then it only serves to give them more support, at a time when they are growing in power anyway.

Not *all* drugs are dangerous and lethal. Granted, nicotine and alcohol *can* kill you and others but others, cannabis for example, in moderation aren't really that serious at all.

However, as someone else has said, ecstasy can be dangerous. Yet she still took twice the "safe" dosage, so it can't be a great shock that she dies.
I dont think you should blame *all* drugs though.
I haven't ever taken ecstasy because I don't fancy it, same as heroin.
I'm aware of the risks and having weighed them up, I personally dont feel that it's worth it for me.

Notorious Biggles wrote:
> That is the downside. The other upside is if the government took
> control of the drugs industry and taxed it, we would have a much
> richer country. Put some of the money towards more police and cut down
> crime in other areas.

But a majority of crime is drugs related. Doesn't matter if they're illegal or not, people will still commit crime to buy drugs.