Marijuana.com

Migz420

Excerpt: Legalize drugs
06-12-07|rocky mountain news

BHS Student:

So, I’d like to ask about the legalization of drugs. I think, you know, a lot of the drugs we have legal now, like tobacco and alcohol, are in some ways much more addictive and dangerous drugs. So do you think, what do you think about, like, the legalization or even commercialization of some of the less dangerous and addictive drugs.

Sanho Tree (a fellow and the director of the Drug Policy Project at the Institute for Drug Policy Studies in Washington, D.C.):

That’s a good question. The point about addiction and the harms, relative harms, caused by different drugs—let’s put that in order.

You know, about 440 hundred thousand Americans will die this year from tobacco related deaths. About 80 thousand to 100 thousand perhaps from alcohol. Drugs, both illegal drugs and prescription drugs, will cause about 17 or 18 thousand deaths. And marijuana, from overdose, zero. I mean, operating a vehicle, that sort of thing, you can really endanger your life. But we have a War on Drugs against the things that actually cause the least harm in terms of mortality. I’m not saying there aren’t other harms associated with these drugs, but in terms of mortality, tobacco by far is the most deadly drug.

It is one we export to other parts of the world, and it’s very subsidized by our government. It is total hypocrisy. Of all the things that I could tell you all about all the bad effects of all these drugs—but tobacco I just don’t get. It’s your age the tobacco companies are targeting. How many of you know people who’ve actually taken up smoking in their 20s and 30s and 40s? Rarely, rarely, rarely ever happens. Its your demographic they’re going after, because you don’t have relevant experience about these things and they’re targeting you. And if you start, know you’ll be a client of theirs for a very long time. If you get one message, it’s that.

But I think in terms of legalization, the great myth of prohibition of drugs is that prohibition doesn’t mean you control the drugs, it means you give up the right to control drugs.

We’ve chosen not to regulate these substances, some of which are much more dangerous than others. We have a gift in this country for regulation, or a curse if you’re a libertarian. Well we regulate everything.

We regulate what frequency my cell phone can operate on. We regulate how much electricity can come out of a wall socket, who can sell car insurance. I can’t buy hot dog on the street without that hot dog having been inspected by an inspector who went to an accredited university, all up and down just to make sure I’m not going to get anything but ground up animal parts in that hot dog. (laughter from audience) And yet when it comes to drugs, some of which are much more dangerous than others, we choose not to regulate. And the people who regulate this economy, who control this drug economy, are by definition criminals and very often organized crime, and their bottom line is to maximize their profits.

And so the person who sells you marijuana may as well sell you something addictive—methamphetamines or heroin. They get a repeat customer that way. That’s how they maximize profits. And so I think we need—I want to find policies that bring these substances under the domain of law. And I’m not saying that we should legalize everything. There are some things that we know you’re just not going to have any happy endings.

Methamphetamines? How many success stories do you know about people who’ve used methamphetamines in the long run? It’s not a pretty thing. It’s a pretty bad trip. But on the other hand, we have a lot more experience with other types of drugs, and so we need to find different ways of controlling these things, rather than the anarchy of prohibition, which means we choose not to control them.

Joel Becker:

I would also vote for the legalization of most drugs. I think that we’re missing a real opportunity here to regulate something in a way that will work a lot better. I happen to live in the state of California in the city of Los Angeles, which has been described as America’s Amsterdam. We have legalized medical marijuana in the state of California. There are 110 marijuana clubs in the city of Los Angeles. There was an article on the cover of the Los Angeles Magazine that said "When Did LA Become, Like, the Capitol of Marijuana, Like, in the US?" And it is.

If you want to get marijuana in the city of Los Angeles, all you’ve got to do is go to a doctor who will write you a ‘script. You go to a club. You go and you buy somewhat regulated production marijuana so you know you’re not getting stuff with chemicals in it. They not only sell marijuana, they sell hash, they sell baked goods. We have brownies, we have cookies, all the things you might want, so come on over.

(laughter from audience)

 

Broliette

I see a beautiful sunrise on the horizon. I raise my glass at the day everyone can give that friendly welcome.
Cheers!

__________________

feedyourhead

someone very stupid wrote that question, apparently, and i don't like them because of it.

__________________

Buzzby

Could you be a little more specific? What question?

Was it this one?It seems like a very reasonable question to me. I don't know of any topic so dangerous that it can't be discussed.

Prohibition doesn't keep people from getting whatever drugs they might want. All it does is put unregulated drugs of questionable quality and outrageously high prices completely in the hands of people who will sell them to anyone who can pay the price. We'd be better off if they were legal and regulated, which would reduce access to minors, just as regulation of alcohol and tobacco have done.

__________________

Broliette

I have a feeling that student didn't write the question, that it was just more off the top of the head kind of question in a conference/interview group. A lot of people fumble a bit in public speaking and seeing how it was a BHS - Boulder High School Student I think they tried to ask it the best they could in that moment.

 

Jezebel

here's the deal. i live in denver - three times the people have voted to legalize. most recently for adult recreational use in quantities under 1oz.

it gets vetoed and/or ignored every time.

another initiative will appear on the ballot in nov. we'll see.

funny thing, though, after the recreational vote carried, the cops had to give back a couple of plants they confiscated from some guy. well done, guy. (actually, i think they ended up compensating him financially for his plants because they "destroyed" the "contraband.")

Broliette

I used to live in Denver. I really hope they make more progress with another initiative. I think Denver is a good place to make some strides to legalization. It's a much more open-minded place.

Thats funny about the plants