harvey19 Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 No- I made an argument for the abholition of prohibition I can see now why you're having difficulties with this discussion. I was trying to inject a bit of humour into the debate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferno Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Pop quiz: Which European country has the most liberal drug laws? (Hint: It's not the Netherlands.) Although its capital is notorious among stoners and college kids for marijuana haze–filled "coffee shops," Holland has never actually legalized cannabis — the Dutch simply don't enforce their laws against the shops. The correct answer is Portugal, which in 2001 became the first European country to officially abolish all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. At the recommendation of a national commission charged with addressing Portugal's drug problem, jail time was replaced with the offer of therapy. The argument was that the fear of prison drives addicts underground and that incarceration is more expensive than treatment — so why not give drug addicts health services instead? Under Portugal's new regime, people found guilty of possessing small amounts of drugs are sent to a panel consisting of a psychologist, social worker and legal adviser for appropriate treatment (which may be refused without criminal punishment), instead of jail. (See the world's most influential people in the 2009 TIME 100.) The question is, does the new policy work? At the time, critics in the poor, socially conservative and largely Catholic nation said decriminalizing drug possession would open the country to "drug tourists" and exacerbate Portugal's drug problem; the country had some of the highest levels of hard-drug use in Europe. But the recently released results of a report commissioned by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, suggest otherwise. The paper, published by Cato in April, found that in the five years after personal possession was decriminalized, illegal drug use among teens in Portugal declined and rates of new HIV infections caused by sharing of dirty needles dropped, while the number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction more than doubled. "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." Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html#ixzz1rrPq7bHK It's time it happened here, but Cameron's too close to the alcohol lobby groups, he's had untold meetings with lobbyists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferno Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Common sense: According to Cameron, ‘booze Britain’ costs the taxpayer £21bn a year: these plans will mean 50,000 fewer crimes each year and 900 fewer deaths. Considering figures out yesterday showed the number of people dying from liver disease rose by more than 2,000 between 2009 and 2011, there’s clearly a compelling argument for new rules to be introduced. http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/news/1123906/booze-firms-slam-alcohol-pricing/ Madness: A prison officer who smuggled heroin and cannabis into jail for inmates has himself been imprisoned for five-and-a-half years after he was 'caught red-handed' during a random search. Married father-of-two Paul Boynton, 34, had previously succeeded in sneaking drugs into HMP Everthorpe near Brough, East Yorkshire, on one occasion before he made the failed attempt as he arrived for his night shift last October. He was found to be carrying an orange bag containing heroin with a street value of £320 and cannabis worth £450 alongside a mobile phone and charger he was also trying to smuggle in. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1373572/Prison-officer-jailed-years-caught-red-handed-smuggling-heroin-inmates.html#ixzz1rrQdy2Wd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewheeldave Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I was trying to inject a bit of humour into the debate. Why not try and inject a bit of 'debate' into it instead? Seriously, if you support prohibition, then find some arguments or evidence to back up your views. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky3 Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 ferno Since i've posted the following numerous times now while you are online and have avoided responding... I will take it that you are too shamed at being outed as making things up to acknowledge your lies! You claimed I said heroin ahould be avilable in supermarkets to anyone. This is not true, I never said anything of the kind, you're making stuff up. Where have I ever mentioned a supermarket in this thread, you are the one making stuff up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harvey19 Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Why not try and inject a bit of 'debate' into it instead? Seriously, if you support prohibition, then find some arguments or evidence to back up your views. Basicaly I do not support a change in legislation that would condone people becoming addicted to a substance which is at present illegal. I would not want my children to become addicted to a drug which they became dependant on. Instead of giving free drug supplies to addicts who have inflicted the dependency on themselves they should be tret to break the addiction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferno Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Since I've never suggested that heroin should be sold in supermarkets, or freely available to anyone then I don't see any relevance to this link either. Well many have in this thread! Nobody has suggested anything of the kind, you're posting stuff that isn't true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferno Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Basicaly I do not support a change in legislation that would condone people becoming addicted to a substance which is at present illegal. I would not want my children to become addicted to a drug which they became dependant on. Instead of giving free drug supplies to addicts who have inflicted the dependency on themselves they should be tret to break the addiction. So, you support policies that mean more people will take drugs, and support replacing heroin with a substance more toxic and addictive?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky3 Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Concerning Portugal, i've not seen anything which mentions a serious drop in crime rates! Also dealers, since generally addicts, get off with rehab instead of another sentence! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferno Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Instead of giving free drug supplies to addicts who have inflicted the dependency on themselves Are people who like coffee "inflicted"? That's quite an emotive word, you won't find it in medical terms, it suggests a judgement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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