The War on Drugs

[G1BTW]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8175550.stm

"It also suggests trial schemes in Britain to offer low-level dealers treatment and support as an alternative to prosecution could be extended."

Also suggestions of not prosecuting dealers if they agree to stop killing each other.

Looks like they might have realised the war's a bit of a waste of time. Cops chase dealers and get them banged up, at HUGE expense, someone else moves in to fill their place, causing bloodshed in doing so, repeat.

Time to just decriminalise all drugs and make the government the dealer?

[bolt pp]

Not stuff like Heroin or Crack obv.

[StuartHopkin]

Not stuff like Heroin or Crack obv.

Why not?
You will never stop it.
Safer, less deaths etc..

[bolt pp]

Also suggestions of not prosecuting dealers if they agree to stop killing each other.

this doesent make any sense, might've done 15 years ago but now drug dealing is too far intractably linked with with street gangs, people serving up on the corners of estates all over london, it's a gang thing now, even the 14 year olds that arnt doing it would stab you to death for looking at them and you just cant separate the two.

It's not white families who are well known and serious serving up from their houses anymore, it's school kids on the corners doing it mostly because it's a side affect of the new street gang culture(in London anyway) good luck trying to stop them killing eachother, it's not even about the drugs with them boys.

[byronkincaid]

It suggests forcing drug dealers away from residential areas, where children play and residents can become intimidated, to areas such as industrial estates, would not reduce the amount of drug dealing but would lessen its impact.

wonder where they got that idea from..

[bolt pp]

Not stuff like Heroin or Crack obv.

Why not?
You will never stop it.
Safer, less deaths etc..

how can you have such lethal substances legal?

I'm not just talking about the physical damage to the individual, i'm talking about substances that are so addictive once hooked you cant get out of bed and are so ill you cant function to the point where you no longer care how you get your next bit of stuff, you need it not for a buzz but just to feel normal, craving so bad and unparallelled you'll happily go out and rob any old dear or break into the first gaff you find, can never be condoned.

[G1BTW]

Not stuff like Heroin or Crack obv.

Why not?
You will never stop it.
Safer, less deaths etc..

how can you have such lethal substances legal?

I'm not just talking about the physical damage to the individual, i'm talking about substances that are so addictive once hooked you cant get out of bed and are so ill you cant function to the point where you no longer care how you get your next bit of stuff, you need it not for a buzz but just to feel normal, craving so bad and unparallelled you'll happily go out and rob any old dear or break into the first gaff you find, can never be condoned.

Paracetamol is legal? Pretty lethal in the right doses. Sorry if that sounds facetious but there are calls to decriminalise heroin and concentrate on treatment, it's possible to have a long-term heroin habit and remain pretty safe. A lot of the dangers for such people would not be knowing the strength of what you're getting, getting contaminated gear, and having to fund the habit by crime. The habit is only expensive because heroin is illegal, it's otherwise cheap, now that we control half of Afghanistan.

[StuartHopkin]

Not stuff like Heroin or Crack obv.

Why not?
You will never stop it.
Safer, less deaths etc..

how can you have such lethal substances legal?

I'm not just talking about the physical damage to the individual, i'm talking about substances that are so addictive once hooked you cant get out of bed and are so ill you cant function to the point where you no longer care how you get your next bit of stuff, you need it not for a buzz but just to feel normal, craving so bad and unparallelled you'll happily go out and rob any old dear or break into the first gaff you find, can never be condoned.

Er because legalising them and having the government as the dealer would make them less lethal?

[bolt pp]

Not stuff like Heroin or Crack obv.

Why not?
You will never stop it.
Safer, less deaths etc..

how can you have such lethal substances legal?

I'm not just talking about the physical damage to the individual, i'm talking about substances that are so addictive once hooked you cant get out of bed and are so ill you cant function to the point where you no longer care how you get your next bit of stuff, you need it not for a buzz but just to feel normal, craving so bad and unparallelled you'll happily go out and rob any old dear or break into the first gaff you find, can never be condoned.

Paracetamol is legal? Pretty lethal in the right doses. Sorry if that sounds facetious but there are calls to decriminalise heroin and concentrate on treatment, it's possible to have a long-term heroin habit and remain pretty safe. A lot of the dangers for such people would not be knowing the strength of what you're getting, getting contaminated gear, and having to fund the habit by crime. The habit is only expensive because heroin is illegal, it's otherwise cheap, now that we control half of Afghanistan.

if people were getting it for £2 a go instead of £10 or whatever and it was legal people would be taking loads more, they wouldnt stick their daily amount if it was a fraction of the price and a whole load of new people would start taking it, and what about crack?

[bolt pp]

I wrote 1 paragraph about them being lethal and 3 on the addictiveness of them and everyones focusing on the former.

forget about them being lethal then, that was just a side note.

you CANNOT stop crack being as addictive as it is, i dont care how or where you sell it you just cant.

this whole thing is just not pragmatically possible, it just wouldnt work.

[G1BTW]

I wrote 1 paragraph about them being lethal and 3 on the addictiveness of them and everyones focusing on the former.

forget about them being lethal then, that was just a side note.

you CANNOT stop crack being as addictive as it is, i dont care how or where you sell it you just cant.

this whole thing is just not pragmatically possible, it just wouldnt work.

What about halfway measures, at least decriminalise the possession of crack and heroin. What are you achieving by banging up an addict?

[bolt pp]

I wrote 1 paragraph about them being lethal and 3 on the addictiveness of them and everyones focusing on the former.

forget about them being lethal then, that was just a side note.

you CANNOT stop crack being as addictive as it is, i dont care how or where you sell it you just cant.

this whole thing is just not pragmatically possible, it just wouldnt work.

What about halfway measures, at least decriminalise the possession of crack and heroin. What are you achieving by banging up an addict?

I sort of dont disagree with that but it seems a bit too ambiguous, where the lines would be drawn between dealing/possession, once it's legal to carry it i think it could be open to too much abuse.

crack and herion are such serious drugs, i just dont see it working.

[Swordpoker]

I wrote 1 paragraph about them being lethal and 3 on the addictiveness of them and everyones focusing on the former.

forget about them being lethal then, that was just a side note.

you CANNOT stop crack being as addictive as it is, i dont care how or where you sell it you just cant.

this whole thing is just not pragmatically possible, it just wouldnt work.

What about halfway measures, at least decriminalise the possession of crack and heroin. What are you achieving by banging up an addict?

I sort of dont disagree with that but it seems a bit too ambiguous, where the lines would be drawn between dealing/possession, once it's legal to carry it i think it could be open to too much abuse.

crack and herion are such serious drugs, i just dont see it working.

Bolty....be a good chap and read your signature

[thetank]

Paracetamol is legal? Pretty lethal in the right doses.

Everything is lethal in the right doses, including orange juice.

[bolt pp]

I wrote 1 paragraph about them being lethal and 3 on the addictiveness of them and everyones focusing on the former.

forget about them being lethal then, that was just a side note.

you CANNOT stop crack being as addictive as it is, i dont care how or where you sell it you just cant.

this whole thing is just not pragmatically possible, it just wouldnt work.

What about halfway measures, at least decriminalise the possession of crack and heroin. What are you achieving by banging up an addict?

I sort of dont disagree with that but it seems a bit too ambiguous, where the lines would be drawn between dealing/possession, once it's legal to carry it i think it could be open to too much abuse.

crack and herion are such serious drugs, i just dont see it working.

Bolty....be a good chap and read your signature

I would like to see the situation get better of course, i cant see in any form this helping, with most other drugs i think theres room for it if done correctly but not the top two, i dont think i can be dissuaded from the idea that so powerfull and addictive are these drugs that removing the criminal element from the equation would help with the overall sociological impact of the drugs.

It's not America, the street gangs here will fight and kill eachother if they fancy it but at the moment their arnt any huge drug wars on the ground level with the new generation of street dealers, theyre just kids and will kick off for any reason, all the crime is being commited by the users and that wont change.