Should meth be legal?

[loyalsister]

104. I think it should be made un or less necessary

Many if not most addicts have a preference for their intoxication of choice. I once talked to a guy who smoked cigarettes and drank coffee constantly, liquor moderately, skipped pot and went straight to cocaine.

A medicalized (as opposed to moral) paradigm regarding drug use would at least make meth less necessary. If a person who seeks a stimulant "high" had legal access to the stimulants that achieve it, they wouldn't need to use the black market.
Likewise, if opiates like morphine were available, the heroin market is greatly reduced.
If availability were regulated with some medical safety measures and limits to prevent black market sales, could be helpful.

I don't think those markets would be instantly eliminated, but I think it's possible that the criminality associated with drug use could be reduced significantly.

When I saw Winter's Bone, I was struck by the similarity to bootlegging. Families trying to survive and winding up in a horrifying criminal network is what has happened in both cases.

Just as happened with the repeal of prohibition, I think we could probably improve things by reducing or eliminating the criminal element.