[Cold Iron]

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,...1893946,00.html

Quote

"Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success," says Glenn Greenwald, an attorney, author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research. "It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does."

I was not aware of this pollicy in Portugal. As possibly the most outspoken against legalisation last time the debate was held I expect most people to approve of this move, and it seems that it has had a positive effect.

So what about you? Do you think you would be more, less or neither more nor less likely to try a drug if it was legal to do so in your country?

[Illuyankas]

Yes, a minimum of once to see what it's like, and also with both less risk of punishment and less effort in acquiring it.

[dktorode]

Increase simply because it would be more easily/readily accessible

[Cougar]

I don't think the legality of a drug would deter me from trying it, it never has done in the past and I've tried a lot and repeatedly. I'd never try injecting heroin though, I've heard it's rather morish.

[Cold Iron]

hm... well dealing is still illegal in Portugal, but I would say zero risk of criminal prosecution does make it "easier", if not necessarily more readily available.

[D'rek]

For something like weed, I figure there'd be a teeny-weeny increase in my consumption because friends would be more likely to have it at parties and such. I don't personally ever buy any, but I'm not adverse to a bit if a friend is offering.

For more extreme narcotics like crack and heroin, this wouldn't change it at all cause I don't do that stuff.

For medical-related drugs I predict a gradual but substantial increase as doctors become more at east with prescribing potentially narcotic (but more effective) drugs for stuff like pain-reducers and such.

[Obdigore]

Cougar, on Jul 2 2009, 07:38 AM, said:

I don't think the legality of a drug would deter me from trying it, it never has done in the past and I've tried a lot and repeatedly. I'd never try injecting heroin though, I've heard it's rather morish.

This.

Of course I don't know what morish means, so I assume it is a synonym of 'douche'.

[Illuyankas]

It's more like how Pringles are reputedly morish. Or moreish, I have no idea on that word's spelling. Once you pop you can't stop and whatnot.

[Obdigore]

Then why didn't he write addicting instead of a synonym to 'douche'?

[DurhangAddict]

Depends on the drug.

Legalize Durhang and Rustleaf!

[Gothos]

neither, personally.
it's not because of the illegal part that I don't do drugs, it's that they'd just turn into another addiction, and I'm a very addiction prone individual.
in the long run I guess it could work towards decreasing the demand, I think. at first of course there could be an increase cos some people might want to "try it out", but once the "bad boy" syndrome is taken away from it, people might actually see that this shit ain't worth the fuss

[D'rek]

Gothos, on Jul 2 2009, 09:44 AM, said:

neither, personally.
it's not because of the illegal part that I don't do drugs, it's that they'd just turn into another addiction, and I'm a very addiction prone individual.
in the long run I guess it could work towards decreasing the demand, I think. at first of course there could be an increase cos some people might want to "try it out", but once the "bad boy" syndrome is taken away from it, people might actually see that this shit ain't worth the fuss

I dunno, a lot of people smoke, I don't foresee the usage decreasing just because it's not "bad boy"

[DurhangAddict]

D'rek, on Jul 2 2009, 10:01 AM, said:

I dunno, a lot of people smoke, I don't foresee the usage decreasing just because it's not "bad boy"

Based on Cannabis usage rates in the Netherlands vs. the U.S., usage would most likely would decrease.

[D'rek]

DurhangAddict, on Jul 2 2009, 10:13 AM, said:

D'rek, on Jul 2 2009, 10:01 AM, said:

I dunno, a lot of people smoke, I don't foresee the usage decreasing just because it's not "bad boy"

Based on Cannabis usage rates in the Netherlands vs. the U.S., usage would most likely would decrease.

Yes, the U.S. has a higher marijuana prevalance than Netherlands. It is illegal in the former and legal in the latter. These certainly correlate, but not to the exclusion of all else. Tobacco is legal in both countries but the prevalence of smoking is higher in the U.S. than it is in the Netherlands. Thus drug use is more prevalent in the U.S. regardless of its legality and therefore comparing the present rates of the two is invalid.

What could be useful is a comparison of prevalence-over-time for the Netherlands (or any other country) before and after they legalized it.

[Menandore]

I've smoked weed in past and for a couple of years I smoked it regularly. I haven't for ages though and partly because it's really hard to get hold of now that I've moved and would have to establish new contacts - it just wasn't worth the effort. If it were legal I might still buy it occassionally. These days I smoke Spice because it's legal, therefore very easy to get hold of and it's actually a more enjoyable smoke I find. That's getting made illegal soon though which will pretty much stop me using it cos where am I gonna get it from now?

As for trying something new, whether it's illegal or not doesn't really matter to me. I have had the opportunity to try coke and E but I didn't because I just didn't feel like it. Neither of those things attract me and IMHO the health risks attached to them are quite high. But that wouldn't change if they were legal, I still wouldn't want to. If I had wanted to I would have done it, not really caring what the law says.

This post has been edited by Menandore: 02 July 2009 - 02:48 PM

[Gothos]

D'rek, on Jul 2 2009, 03:01 PM, said:

Gothos, on Jul 2 2009, 09:44 AM, said:

neither, personally.
it's not because of the illegal part that I don't do drugs, it's that they'd just turn into another addiction, and I'm a very addiction prone individual.
in the long run I guess it could work towards decreasing the demand, I think. at first of course there could be an increase cos some people might want to "try it out", but once the "bad boy" syndrome is taken away from it, people might actually see that this shit ain't worth the fuss

I dunno, a lot of people smoke, I don't foresee the usage decreasing just because it's not "bad boy"

did you just put tobacco and drugs into one category?
if you want to insist on that, smoking tobacco has _never_ been "bad boy". note, however, that before the corellation between smoking it and lung cancer was discovered, everyone was doing it. but that's beyond the point.
take pre-18 alcohol and tobacco consumption rates. just how many kids do it because they're not supposed to?

[teholbeddict]

I chose neither, simply because I don't use drugs. So for myself it really wouldn't matter either way. It being legal wouldn't make me any more likely to use them than I am now. So it's really a non-issue as far as I'm concerned.

I will say though that I don't think there would be a massive increase in drug use if something like marijuana was legalized. Sure you might see a slight jump, but I don't think people would go on rampant pot smoking binges. Even if they initially did, I imagine the novelty would soon wear off.

[D'rek]

Gothos, on Jul 2 2009, 11:26 AM, said:

D'rek, on Jul 2 2009, 03:01 PM, said:

Gothos, on Jul 2 2009, 09:44 AM, said:

neither, personally.
it's not because of the illegal part that I don't do drugs, it's that they'd just turn into another addiction, and I'm a very addiction prone individual.
in the long run I guess it could work towards decreasing the demand, I think. at first of course there could be an increase cos some people might want to "try it out", but once the "bad boy" syndrome is taken away from it, people might actually see that this shit ain't worth the fuss

I dunno, a lot of people smoke, I don't foresee the usage decreasing just because it's not "bad boy"

did you just put tobacco and drugs into one category?
if you want to insist on that, smoking tobacco has _never_ been "bad boy". note, however, that before the corellation between smoking it and lung cancer was discovered, everyone was doing it. but that's beyond the point.
take pre-18 alcohol and tobacco consumption rates. just how many kids do it because they're not supposed to?

Why yes, yes I did. Currently smoking is known as the bringer of lung cancer, but weed is not widely known for its adverse health effects and in my opinion people widely believe that a bit of weed smoking is not harmful to your health at all. If completely legalized I can see it becoming the very same as tobacco before the lung-cancer craze and people will smart smoking it as an everyday habit.

Smoking is "bad boy" only when its illegal, which in most places means only when you're under the age of majority. And yet smoking is very widespread for both young and old age ranges. If marijuana were legalized, you can be sure it would only be for those above the age of majority as well, thus the very same circumstances as cigarettes. I can see it being easy to legally obtain for adults making it easier for those underage to obtain it illegally and thus a lot of minors developing the habit and taking it with them into adulthood, much the same way they do with tobacco now, not to mention picking up the habit from parents and the many other ways you get started on these things.

teholbeddict, on Jul 2 2009, 12:01 PM, said:

I chose neither, simply because I don't use drugs. So for myself it really wouldn't matter either way. It being legal wouldn't make me any more likely to use them than I am now. So it's really a non-issue as far as I'm concerned.

I will say though that I don't think there would be a massive increase in drug use if something like marijuana was legalized. Sure you might see a slight jump, but I don't think people would go on rampant pot smoking binges. Even if they initially did, I imagine the novelty would soon wear off.

I don't think rampant weed binges would be much in the cards either, certainly some individuals would go for that but as you say it tends to wear off. But I think the habitual daily usage of small doses off it would massively increase.

This post has been edited by D'rek: 02 July 2009 - 04:52 PM

[alt146]

I've tried the things that I've wanted to try and have said no to the things are think are bad news illegality aside, so legalisation wouldn't make me more likely to try anything. Although I do think most people would be more likely to try if acquiring drugs wasn't a difficult and sometimes harrowing experience.

[Gothos]

D'rek, on Jul 2 2009, 05:51 PM, said:

Why yes, yes I did. Currently smoking is known as the bringer of lung cancer, but weed is not widely known for its adverse health effects and in my opinion people widely believe that a bit of weed smoking is not harmful to your health at all. If completely legalized I can see it becoming the very same as tobacco before the lung-cancer craze and people will smart smoking it as an everyday habit.

Smoking is "bad boy" only when its illegal, which in most places means only when you're under the age of majority. And yet smoking is very widespread for both young and old age ranges. If marijuana were legalized, you can be sure it would only be for those above the age of majority as well, thus the very same circumstances as cigarettes. I can see it being easy to legally obtain for adults making it easier for those underage to obtain it illegally and thus a lot of minors developing the habit and taking it with them into adulthood, much the same way they do with tobacco now, not to mention picking up the habit from parents and the many other ways you get started on these things.

the main difference between drugs and tobacco is behavioral changes during use, which should, imo, the most important aspect of the legal/illegal debate. you have to take into account everything surrounding a drug's use. for instance, getting drunk every once in a while won't kill anybody; however, driving when drunk will. smoking during work won't get you fired, but getting stoned or drunk or whatever else will (as a side note, cocaine could actually help, but that's beside the point ). intoxicated minds tend to get retarted ideas that can get very, very ugly as a result. that's why I don't think you should put drugs and tobacco into one category.