General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: If drugs remain illegal - this is what you get (WARNING: Extremely graphic pic) [View all]backscatter712
(26,357 posts)The reason we no longer ban alcohol, even though we're all well-aware of the nasty effects from drunk-driving crashes to cirrhosis of the liver, is because prohibition makes things a hell of a lot worse.
Back in the day, you ended up with bathtub gin and moonshine whiskey adulterated with methanol & who knows what else, poisoning people and making people blind. And you had the endless organized criminal violence all over the place as the black market stepped in to fill the demand.
I'm not saying that you should be able to buy Krokodil off the drugstore shelves. But I am saying we should use harm-reduction strategies. Direct addicts to methadone clinics, so they can manage their addictions is far superior to seeing them with their flesh falling off and looking like something out of a zombie movie.
I would suggest that stimulant addiction be dealt with in the same way - if someone's so badly addicted that they can't be made to quit cold-turkey, give them a prescription stimulant under medical supervision at a clinic that's like a methadone clinic, so they can function in society.
And marijuana just needs to be legalized and regulated like alcohol.
But that's what we need to do - harm reduction.