Comments on: To Get High, or Not to Get High

By: Buying Sudafed · Gangstas & Hugs

Buying Sudafed · Gangstas & Hugs — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 02:02:48 +0000

[...] I guess it’s just been a while since I actually bought the ‘real deal’ Sudafed, but I was pretty damn surprised with the process I had to go through just to buy a 24 pill pack of ‘Sudafed Maximum Strength’. See, I had already tried the Sudafed PE, which is crap. That shite don’t work! I knew I had to go for the heavy-duty stuff if I was gonna get over this hell-on-earth head cold. [...]

By: Top Ten Reasons Why Living in the Ghetto Sucks · Gangstas & Hugs

Top Ten Reasons Why Living in the Ghetto Sucks · Gangstas & Hugs — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 18:43:24 +0000

[...] You have to have a car with power locks, power windows and an alarm If you want anything to stay in your vehicle, it better have power everything and an alarm, at the very least. Ideally, you would install a 40,000 volt crime-deterrant system. I’ve almost forgotten how many times I had the stereo stolen out of my old Dodge Neon. They were usually pretty damn sneaky, somehow jimmying the locks or bending the windows out to get the thing unlocked. Other times they just smashed one of the windows in, even if they had already stolen the stereo out of it 2 weeks before. Some of you may say, “why did you keep putting a stereo in it then?” Because I wanted to listen to fucking music! I’m not the one with the problem, see. I don’t steal a deck out of someone else’s car who paid $200+ for it just so I can hock it for $30 at a pawn shop for crack money. [...]

By: Mojotek

Mojotek — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 16:45:00 +0000

You’re right Burns… the problem really is the people using the drugs, not the drugs themselves.

Although that “solution” you mention sounds kind of promising, who would clean the toilet seats that we snort coke off of?

By: Michael Garrett Burns

Michael Garrett Burns — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 21:02:00 +0000

To be honest, I use an assortment of illegal drugs almost every day. Yet somehow I manage to raise a family, keep my wife satisfied and run a one man fund development office.

The problem is not the drugs, it’s the people using them who can’t handle it; and these people are usually found in the lower classes of society.

I don’t want it to look like I’m advocating some form of genocide here, but if we ‘removed’ these people somehow from our society, then the rest of us (good white-collar folk) would be able to nurse our habits without shame and fear of our bosses finding us doing lines off the toliet seat in the executive washroom.

Okay maybe I am advocating genocide, but is that so wrong?

By: JJ

JJ — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 20:10:00 +0000

I looked up the stats on Amsterdam where marijuana is legal.

The US State Department’s website says violent crime and traffic accidents are both relatively low there compared to other Eurpoean cities.

By: Mojotek

Mojotek — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 18:26:00 +0000

Trista: first let me say I’m sorry for your loss. I know I would find it difficult to support the use of alcohol in any form if I had lost someone to its effects.

That being said, I don’t think I would say legalization would necessarily reduce the rate of addiction at all. But I do believe that those that are addicted would be better off if its use was legal, and treatment was more widespread.

I may be wrong, but I think it’s backwards to try and attack the drug problem from the supply side, when the problem wouldn’t even exist if people in this country didn’t have such a high demand for it.

Making the demand legal would get rid of all the ‘black market’ factors like the violence that goes along with all illegal activities. If companies were competing to produce drugs cheaply, then there wouldn’t be an organized criminal element trying to sell it for as much as possible.

I’m not saying legalizing drugs would eliminate the hell that addiction puts families through, but it would stop a lot of other problems associated with it so our society could cope with the real reason that its an issue at all: people take drugs to deal or solve their problems.

By: Trista

Trista — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 17:58:00 +0000

I really don’t know how I feel on legalizing some drugs. I’ve heard to argument that legalizing drugs would help control the problem, but I don’t necessarily agree. Alcohol is legal, but does that stop addiction? How many people die every single year because of drunk drivers? My best friend in high school was hit by a drunk driver and left to bleed to death. I don’t think that making alcohol illegal will stop addiction or anything like that, I’m just saying that I don’t think legalizing drugs will help the problem either. Until people can responsibly use drugs, I don’t think it matters if its legal or not.

By: Mojotek

Mojotek — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 16:30:00 +0000

Great remarks. I think I’ll address Crazy Dan first:

The claim about 90% of the economy being driven by the drug trade is false. While drugs account for billions of dollars of transactions per year in the US, so do diapers. The legal prescription drug business probably does WAY more business than the illegal type.

And stopping the sale of illegal drugs would not damage the economy. You see, we mainly IMPORT drugs from other countries. That money doesn’t stay in the US. Legal drugs could be made cheaper and the profits and revenues would stay INSIDE the US, actually boosting the economy.

I know, a weird argument for the legalization of drugs, but true nonetheless.

By: Crazy Dan

Crazy Dan — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 08:58:00 +0000

The drug market is what fuels the amarican economy 90 % of all money coming into america is from drugs. By making them legal you acutally decrease the market and lower the cost there by hurting the ecomomy. The people seeling drugs and buying them create a reversable income that continues to generate profit and more revenues in many other legitimate areas. Also by legalizing drungs you are making more people lose jobs prisons for instance that has become a mulitbillion corporation since they are now privitized. Sorry strated to ramble their, but all sides need to be represented. I dont care either way.

By: The Phoenix

The Phoenix — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 08:42:00 +0000

m.simon,

Pot is not necessarily an anti-depressant. Scientists have found that different forms of Cannabinoids have contradictory affects - some have anti-depressant characteristics, others cause stimulant-like results.

Tobacco is NOT an anti-depressant. Nicotine is a stimulant. It goes straight to the brain, and nicotine immediately INCREASES heart rate and blood pressure.

Many people believe tobacco is an anti-depressant because they say smoking makes them feel relaxed. True - but it's because a physical craving has just been fed. Plus, nicotine increases the release of dopanine in the brain - the feel good stuff.

But take their heart rates and blood pressures before and then after smoking. The nicotine in tobacco is very much a stimulant.

By: M. Simon

M. Simon — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 22:30:00 +0000

Suppose drugs are the treatment for the problem not the cause of it?

Suppose the drug war is just about protecting the drug, alcohol, and tobacco markets?

BTW tobacco is an anti-depressant.

So is pot.

By: Mic

Mic — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 22:05:00 +0000

Good post. It is time to end the war on drugs and look at other options such as harm reduction.
We have been slowly trying to make that shift in Canada but our proximaty to the U.S. and subsequent pressure from American governments towards our liberal policies have stopped our politicians from outright legalization of pot.