Live data from Hacker News

Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs

spiegel.de

141–150 of 376 posts

Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs

#141

Is there evidence to show that legalizing drugs (I don't mean e.g. tobacco here; I mean the far more dangerous ones) won't significantly increase their consumption? I ask because, unless there is, I'm afraid I do not understand why it would be rational to do so...

> I don't mean e.g. tobacco here; I mean the far more dangerous ones

That's a very strange thing to say, given we know very well that tobacco is much more dangerous than many illegal drugs.

Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs

#142
post #87

I've always thought that, in the US, that States could provide a perfect market testing platform for various social ideas. You don't want abortion? Make Kansas, say, a no abortion state. Legalized drugs? Head your head to Colorado. Socialism? Sure New Hampshire is almost there already anyway. Well, you get the point. It's been proven that actual markets almost always work as well if not better than diktat, so these "…

The US works well because it's united at the federal level. What you are suggesting would only work if that level didn't exist.

Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs

#143
post #29

Is there evidence to show that legalizing drugs (I don't mean e.g. tobacco here; I mean the far more dangerous ones) won't significantly increase their consumption? I ask because, unless there is, I'm afraid I do not understand why it would be rational to do so...

The rationale is that consumption of drugs is a personal choice and fine. It's harm from drugs that's bad, and most of it comes from them being illegal, and thus: uncontrolled quality and quantity (overdoses, etc), overpriced (making people steal etc to buy them), black market (thus supporting a mafia that sells them, kills people etc). That, and landing people in jail (where they ruin their live, become actual harde…

Well said - I agree that a lot of the danger of illicit drugs comes from them being cut/tampered with.

If you legalise, you can regulate, tax and educate - then drugs can be made as safely as possible, and most drug-related violence and crime dissapears.

Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs

#144
post #87

I've always thought that, in the US, that States could provide a perfect market testing platform for various social ideas. You don't want abortion? Make Kansas, say, a no abortion state. Legalized drugs? Head your head to Colorado. Socialism? Sure New Hampshire is almost there already anyway. Well, you get the point. It's been proven that actual markets almost always work as well if not better than diktat, so these "…

Socialism in New Hampshire? Did you mean Vermont?

Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs

#145

I love how all these world leaders always come out for drug legalization after they are out of power. Great timing.

Actually the UN thinks this already but politics got in the way of a statement being released:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11940643/United...

Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs

#146

The drug problem was studied years ago by the RAND corporation and the US Military - a pure cost-benefit analysis. They found that treatment and education are the most cost effective way to deal with the drug problem, and that prohibition was the most costly and ineffective means of dealing with it. Therefore the government understands that the war on drugs is likely to be unsuccessful, and we have to ask ourselves,…

What the government knows (legalization with education and rehab being better than current methods) and what it does is normal. The government consists of hundreds of thousands of employees (military, civilian and contractor) plus a small handful of politicians who decide the rules.

Being politicians, it doesn't matter so much what they know as what their constituents want (or believe they want). Which leads to the government being a screwed up, multi-headed entity with many competing and opposing objectives and directives.

Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs

#147

The drug problem was studied years ago by the RAND corporation and the US Military - a pure cost-benefit analysis. They found that treatment and education are the most cost effective way to deal with the drug problem, and that prohibition was the most costly and ineffective means of dealing with it. Therefore the government understands that the war on drugs is likely to be unsuccessful, and we have to ask ourselves,…

> Tobacco and Alcohol companies would likely suffer as a result of drug legalisation, like cannabis. To state this in another way- think of all of the Budweiser/Bud Light sponsorships and commercials and replace that Bud with the other kind of bud. That's about the scale and usage to expect, at the very least, if cannabis were to be completely legal everywhere alcohol is. And all of the abuse, drunk driving, etc? Inc…

It's possible to have the thing on sale while banning advertising for it; much of Europe has restrictions on tobacco advertising, sale, "plain packaging" requirements, etc.

Note that drinking at work has gone away without government intervention.

Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs

#148
post #82
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who will the drug dealers sell it to?

People who don't want to go through the hassle, or don't want to be associated with the stigma of, getting the drugs legally.

Hassle? Stigma? Hardcore drug addicts will do anything to get their fix. I have known heroin addicts, for example (one was a friend who sadly got sucked into that world). When you're zonked out on heroin most of the time, the way society perceives you is of very, very little consequence.

Re: Kofi Annan on Why It's Time to Legalize Drugs

#150
post #130

The drug problem was studied years ago by the RAND corporation and the US Military - a pure cost-benefit analysis. They found that treatment and education are the most cost effective way to deal with the drug problem, and that prohibition was the most costly and ineffective means of dealing with it. Therefore the government understands that the war on drugs is likely to be unsuccessful, and we have to ask ourselves,…

[deleted]

You see, the problem with blanket statements like that is that they're always wrong. Doctors prescribe drugs all the time; there must be something positive to them for doctors to expose their patients to such danger, don't you think?
Post reply on HN