Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs
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Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs
#2It really is a difficult problem. Sweden legalized heroin in the 60s and it was a disaster. On the other hand, enforcement only has a moderate impact, but comes at a huge financial and social cost. And while I don't support it, the only country with a measure of success seems to be Singapore, where you just hang anyone who has more than single dose in their possession. Maybe the grim reality is hanging a few hundred people a year would cause less social harm than letting drugs fester away at society taking how many thousands of lives a year, not to mention the countless lives destroyed by mass incarceration and the financial burden to society.
Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs
#3It really is a difficult problem. Sweden legalized heroin in the 60s and it was a disaster. On the other hand, enforcement only has a moderate impact, but comes at a huge financial and social cost. And while I don't support it, the only country with a measure of success seems to be Singapore, where you just hang anyone who has more than single dose in their possession. Maybe the grim reality is hanging a few hundred…
"The only country with a measure of success seems to be Singapore"
So, completely discounting the massive improvements in Portugal since decriminalisation?
Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs
#4It really is a difficult problem. Sweden legalized heroin in the 60s and it was a disaster. On the other hand, enforcement only has a moderate impact, but comes at a huge financial and social cost. And while I don't support it, the only country with a measure of success seems to be Singapore, where you just hang anyone who has more than single dose in their possession. Maybe the grim reality is hanging a few hundred…
It's usually not a good idea to assume the parameters and dynamics of a small totalitarian island state can/will/should apply to other populations.
Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs
#5It really is a difficult problem. Sweden legalized heroin in the 60s and it was a disaster. On the other hand, enforcement only has a moderate impact, but comes at a huge financial and social cost. And while I don't support it, the only country with a measure of success seems to be Singapore, where you just hang anyone who has more than single dose in their possession. Maybe the grim reality is hanging a few hundred…
The US incarcerated very significant percentages of its black male population under the guise of the "war on drugs" and I'm not sure if it made much of a difference. Drug use in the US is certainly not lower than in comparable countries, so I'm not sure if you could conclude that removing people from society in order to address the "drug problem" is necessarily an idea backed by solid data.
Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs
#6It really is a difficult problem. Sweden legalized heroin in the 60s and it was a disaster. On the other hand, enforcement only has a moderate impact, but comes at a huge financial and social cost. And while I don't support it, the only country with a measure of success seems to be Singapore, where you just hang anyone who has more than single dose in their possession. Maybe the grim reality is hanging a few hundred…
I had no idea about your Sweden claim so I looked it up. From [1] the only similar thing I can read is related to The Legal Prescription Program, which IMO is very different than "legalizing drugs (or just heroin)". Basically, they gave doctors the ability to give prescriptions to drugs such as morphine and amphetamine (without limitations, apparently) to addicts in the hopes that this would result in lower crime rates. This obviously lead to these drugs ending in users other than those participating in the program, which ended the program itself. Quite an obvious outcome IMO. This approach I think not only is flawed and very different than legalization of drugs (for everyone), but also let's be honest here, both society and our understanding of drugs and abuse in the 60s and now are very different. Maybe what wasn't possible then is possible now.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_Sweden#The_Lega...
Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs
#7It really is a difficult problem. Sweden legalized heroin in the 60s and it was a disaster. On the other hand, enforcement only has a moderate impact, but comes at a huge financial and social cost. And while I don't support it, the only country with a measure of success seems to be Singapore, where you just hang anyone who has more than single dose in their possession. Maybe the grim reality is hanging a few hundred…
"The only country with a measure of success seems to be Singapore" So, completely discounting the massive improvements in Portugal since decriminalisation?
While I'm very glad we did so, I have to point out that decriminalization of possession of small amounts of drugs is very far from legalization.
Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs
#8Decriminalising ganja will also boost textile industry.
Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs
#9It really is a difficult problem. Sweden legalized heroin in the 60s and it was a disaster. On the other hand, enforcement only has a moderate impact, but comes at a huge financial and social cost. And while I don't support it, the only country with a measure of success seems to be Singapore, where you just hang anyone who has more than single dose in their possession. Maybe the grim reality is hanging a few hundred…
Singapore has a thriving methamphetamine ("ice") problem: http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Crime/Story/A1St... http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/young-well-edu...
Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs
#10It really is a difficult problem. Sweden legalized heroin in the 60s and it was a disaster. On the other hand, enforcement only has a moderate impact, but comes at a huge financial and social cost. And while I don't support it, the only country with a measure of success seems to be Singapore, where you just hang anyone who has more than single dose in their possession. Maybe the grim reality is hanging a few hundred…
"The only country with a measure of success seems to be Singapore" So, completely discounting the massive improvements in Portugal since decriminalisation?
Note that manufacture, import and sale of drugs is still illegal in Portugal.
I find it hard to understand why so many people in the US want to switch drug policy from one extreme of the spectrum to the other. It's a rash social experiment with consequences that are hard to predict.