Got in an argument today with a guy who said that legalizing drugs will end gang violence. I thought it was ridiculous to say that gangs will stop being violent just because you legalize drugs and that they will go find something else illegal to do and be violent about.

What do you guys think?

I think legalizing gangs will end drug violence.

_________________

I think it's a great idea. It won't end gang violence, but it will save billions, and also damage cartels in other countries.

_________________

I'm fine with legalizing drugs, I just think it's naive to think that it will end gang violence.

He stated the argument by saying that if Chicago legalized drugs, there wouldn't be so many murders.

Don't know, did much of the gang violence abate when Prohibition was repealed? that may be an indicator of how it would go.

_________________
Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

It's an idea that sounds like it could work in theory that would never work in practice. Marijuana is fine and would make a difference but no one wants to live next to a neighbor who is cooking and smoking crystal meth.

Our society struggles greatly with tobacco and alcohol. How would making every drug legally sold and produced everywhere be a positive for society?

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Gang violence will never end.

For some people, being in a gang is a source of pride. Until that mentality is changed, if ever, the violence can only be managed.

_________________

The organizations already exist and would switch efforts elsewhere. They don't just peddle in drugs. There would still be killings over prostitution corners, gambling dens and requests for "protection" money to operate a business in a given area.

To answer your question, of course it's not going to end or limit gang violence. What are all these gang members going to do? Are they going to open up a supermarket?

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Legalize violence and drug gangs. That would be my solution.

_________________

That would certainly go a long way of ending the food desert problem.

_________________
Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Drugs being illegal isn't stopping people from using them. People that want heroin are already getting it today. You're not going to see a spike in hard drug use if they suddenly became legal. That argument is a little silly, IMO. There's stats out there that show alcohol use went up during the time of prohibition.

_________________

Set up Hamsterdam.

Bunny Colvin was a genius.

_________________

Google search for GasHouse Gang

'Legalize all drugs' team unite!!!!

_________________

Play a little chess with the fellas. The good life.



I mean they got stores on wheels and shit in there.

Yeah, but I can't call the police on my neighbor for smoking cigarettes. I can if she is smoking crystal meth.

In reality, I don't care about drug users using drugs. I care about me not being bothered by them.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Legalizing drugs is more about transparency between elected officials, authorities and the commonwealth. I'm not incredibly well versed in the politics/corruption of the DEA nor do I smoke weed, but it's demonized irrationally. There are real drugs that are a true problem, drugs that can kill people with one misstep, yet we're still pouring money into efforts to stop the illegal trade of marijuana.

It's a clumsy and stupid "solution" when there's any number of legal methods to capitalize on pot as just another vice for sale. We're happy as hell to exploit smokers and alcoholics but pot, which is arguably just as prolific if not moreso than either of the former, is a no-no. Just old-world political bullshit.

Legalizing marijuana wouldn't outright kill the invulnerable black market but it would make it profitable on a wider scale. It would create jobs, be an olive branch to the disenchanted generation y/z voters, and potentially open up the cultivation of the host plants for their medical benefits and other capabilities.

As far as gang violence goes, gangs are just the primitive tribal instincts of man taking shape among the poor. The poor, with fewer opportunities to be un-poor and generally with little education, see gangs as a more promising venue for a better life. It's not a racial thing, it's a human thing. The ensuing violence is merely the consequence of territorial instincts and the desire for expansion/profit.

Big business does the same shit only they do it with lawyers, shady deals, and other means that you can't really broadcast on the nightly news because there's no bloodshed. The only time it is a big deal is when shit like Enron happens that is impressive because of the mere scale of it all.

_________________

While marijuana is a drug, we aren't talking about marijuana here Dewskie. We are talking about legalizing all drugs.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Rick, you often use the example of calling the police if your neighbors were smoking meth. Do you even have any idea what that smells like? I'm not being sarcastic, I have no idea. I wouldnt even know to call the police... I can tell the difference between weed and cigs but I certainly couldnt tell you what crack or meth smells like.

_________________

Ah. Well it's a hard thing to break down. I'm of the opinion that coke, meth, and heroin are just the quick path to the grave. Sure, people can overcome using them, but on the whole those kind of drugs require quickly-escalating quantities/quality, which inevitably leads to people overdosing or simply fading into the homeless community before freezing to death in a gutter.

Meth especially is such a fucked up thing that there's no justification in legalizing it - it's just a garbage drug. It's a corrupted, dangerous high that has no harmony with anything nature. It's manufactured with chemical byproducts in often disgusting environments, but the primary reason people use it is because it's cheap (unless we're talking about Blue Sky here, I would never insult Walt's work).

Heroin is fucking nasty in all aspects. Coke is a fashion drug. Legalizing all this shit serves no benefit, but the government is missing out on a major opportunity here that Futurama suggests and Game of Thrones mentions:

Venues for controlled suicide.

If the government set up local suicide lodges this country would improve immediately. Basically these facilities would have comfortable large rooms where you could, at leisure, take all the drugs you wanted, the only stipulation is that you don't leave the room. Then once they're gone we have hazmat-suited employees incinerate the remnants and sell the ashes/detritus to farmers as fertilizer.

_________________

It's not really about actively seeking it out. I'm not going on a hunt for it. However, I'm pretty sure I'd figure out fairly quickly if the people next to me are using crystal meth all the time. Kind of like how I would be glad that a police officer could shut down a meth house next to my kids school.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I agree with you.

This board would be better with suicide lodges too.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

If it was legal there would be no reason for people to still make meth. No one is out making bathtub moonshine anymore. I am sure there are provisions that liquor stores and such have to be so far away from schools, do the same thing for the Drug stores.

_________________

Is that Mike Ogulnick on the left?

_________________

I have a "make your own beer kit" sitting downstairs right now but I know that is not a real answer.

Prescription drugs are legal and there is still a huge underground market. Now, I know they aren't 100% legal for everyone, but you can't honestly want to make all prescription drugs legal. This would be worse than making meth legal.

Then, of course, there is the whole "smoking meth" thing which is kind of bad too.

I just don't see you having a positive opinion of the legalization of crystal meth if there was a guy standing at your property line smoking it every day.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Why does he have to be on my property line? My neighbors could all be smoking meth everyday right now and I would have no idea. People abuse scripts to get high. They wouldnt need to do that if they could go get legal drugs. Much cheaper than prescriptions too.

_________________

I disagree, at least over the long term. Is it really a crazy statement to think that chronic crystal meth usage by your neighbor would eventually have negative consequences for you? Unless you live on a farm you probably live fairly close to the guy next to you.
I thought getting drugs was easy now? Also, there are legal drugs that get you high now. People still use them.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!