Pete Vincent wrote:
> Everything quoted here (below) would apply pretty much equally to
> alcohol, yet alcohol is universally legal, and most people are able
> to manage it quite well.
With the endemic proliferation of "alco-pops" among youth, that last
statement becomes increasingly untrue.
> More importantly, experience has shown
> that prohibition results in worse problems. The bottom line here
> is that there is a population which is vulnerable to psychological
> dependencies, and if they don't acquire dependency on one thing,
> they will just focus on something else.
True, that's why I wrote (in my first posting of this thread) that
the solution is to address the causes of addiction as such.
But that's not what the drug legalizers want -- on the contrary.
> If they've been socialized
> to resist strongly psychoactive chemicals, they will just turn to
> something acceptable within their worldview, such as sex or
> chocolate.
Yup, but at least these may have less destructive effects.
> All psychoactive substances should be legalized, regulated, and
> vigourously taxed.
Too much damage and too little deterrence. The variety and potency
(in addictiveness & harm) of synthetic drugs is practically infinite.
If you "vigorously tax" them, you get a black market, i.e. the mafia
comes in thru the backdoor again (-> present tobacco suggling high 5).
> Social and legal sanction should deny access to these
> substances for minors
^^^^^^
Practice shows that this doesn't work. If the substance is legal, then
minors have access in large numbers too.
> and dependencies should be regarded as a
> medical problem of a psychosocial nature, requiring treatment
> funded out of the tax money collected.
Tinkering with symptoms is not enough. Doesn't work with tobacco and
alcohol either.
> If someone is
> going to spin these data so hard that they intend to use it to justify
> cannabis prohibition, they must accept that this argument requires
> alcohol be prohibited as well. Otherwise, the perception of hypocrisy
> will undermine respect for their position. And as prohibition of
> alcohol is thoroughly discredited, it is clear that their position
> is untenable.
Bottom line: Prohibition won't work and legalization won't work either.
Hence, address and resolve the causes of addiction. Duh!
Chris
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