Penn & Teller: The War on Drugs

[edgray]

Caught this show on YouTube. Penn & Teller, love them or hate them, have got it spot on here. What should be interesting to the US citizens is the argument they put forward that it is unconstitutional for the Federal Govt to deny people the right to have control of what they put into their bodies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_ZOwtMvvuM

This issue is constantly relevant in our societies, especially now, given the money & manpower we could save by stopping this "war on drugs" nonsense.

Penn & Teller hit most of the reasons I'm for the legalisation of all narcotics, and with the proper framework provided of education, rehabilitation and more education, I think it would be far better for society. Where do you sit on this issue?

 

[BornReady]

I think the war on drugs is working about as well as prohibition did. It's time to make the drug trade less profitable. Besides it's not the government's role to tell Americans what drugs they can and can't use.

 

[Alien Allen]

Penn is a libertarian. No great surprise

 

[TheTinGirl]

I'm so happy you posted this.
Penn and Teller...they're great. There's also boobies on their show quite frequently (It's on showtime) ...nice to get a little eye candy with the brain stimulation.

How can you have a war on weed especially?
Can someone answer me this?
Are you pro potato chips?

 

[itsmeJonB]

I love this series and agree with everything that was said in that episode.

Although I don't do drugs (weed is not a drug) I think people have the right to go about their ways without the gov't interfering with their personal life

 

[Zorak]

Legalise it, regulate it, tax it, redistribute it.

 

[Guyzerr]

I love this series and agree with everything that was said in that episode.

Although I don't do drugs (weed is not a drug) I think people have the right to go about their ways without the gov't interfering with their personal life

The problem with most people and their drug use (weed is not a drug) is it does infringe on my rights to life in a crime free society. Quite frankly I'm very tired of having to wonder if my house or car will be broken into while I'm away from them so that some low life fucker can steal my shit and sell it in order to get his / her next high.

 

[Peter Parka]

Love Penn and Teller. They should really rename the war on drugs as the was on some drugs, for some reason one of the most dangerous drugs, alcohol is quite legal and some drugs such as ritalin are actively pushed onto kids.

 

[BornReady]

Quite frankly I'm very tired of having to wonder if my house or car will be broken into while I'm away from them so that some low life fucker can steal my shit and sell it in order to get his / her next high.

Legalize drugs and low life fuckers won't need to steal as much of your shit to get their next high.

 

[Minor Axis]

I'm looking forward to legalized MaryJane.

 

[TheTinGirl]

People are going to steal no matter what you do...
Perhaps if they legalize MJ and sell it, people will be too lazy and content to go out and bust up your car.

I honestly think one of the reasons they're not legalizing is because the financial hit to the pharmacy companies.
Think about it...Any pain killer up to vicodin (And maybe even higher) would be useless. If people were given the options to not live off of Tylenol and damage their pancreas or liver, or Ibuprofen and suffer stomach bleeding, do you really think they would? And the antidepressant market would deflate too... Ativan, Xanax, Kolopin...all unnecessary. And no emotional overshock afterwards.

Sorry didn't mean to highjack to MJ specifically but it was a point I thought was valid and important to add. <3

 

[Maulds]

Penn and Teller...they're great. There's also boobies on their show quite frequently (It's on showtime) ...nice to get a little eye candy with the brain stimulation.

Hooray for boobies!!

Are you pro potato chips?

Yes I am :thumbup

 

[Guyzerr]

Legalize drugs and low life fuckers won't need to steal as much of your shit to get their next high.

So I'm supposed to feel a lot better if they only want to steal some of my stuff?

 

[BornReady]

So I'm supposed to feel a lot better if they only want to steal some of my stuff?

lol Well probably not a lot better but maybe a little better.

 

[Guyzerr]

People are going to steal no matter what you do...
Perhaps if they legalize MJ and sell it, people will be too lazy and content to go out and bust up your car.

I honestly think one of the reasons they're not legalizing is because the financial hit to the pharmacy companies.
Think about it...Any pain killer up to vicodin (And maybe even higher) would be useless. If people were given the options to not live off of Tylenol and damage their pancreas or liver, or Ibuprofen and suffer stomach bleeding, do you really think they would? And the antidepressant market would deflate too... Ativan, Xanax, Kolopin...all unnecessary. And no emotional overshock afterwards.

Sorry didn't mean to highjack to MJ specifically but it was a point I thought was valid and important to add. <3

It's not the MJ users that are causing all the problems. It's the users of the harder drugs. For the record I am in favor of legalizing MJ and imo that topic doesn't deserve any space in this thread. It's comparing apples to oranges.

Also for the record I am in favor of putting a bullet into the head of anyone that commits a crime because of other drug usage or crimes committed because of them.

This is just one example why I've taken that stand. I worked with the son of the late Ed Schellenberg. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Here's a guy that goes to work one day and ends up dead because a bunch of scum drug users / dealers decided who lived and who dies. Everyone in the apartment died that day... both the good and the bad. This is a link to the story...

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Ka...arged+with+Surrey+massacre/1461621/story.html

Beside that story I could dig up a few more where the actions of a drug dealer / user decided who lives or who dies and that includes the innocent.

I live in the lower mainland of B.C.. That area stretches from Vancouver to Hope ( about 90 miles ) and because of the climate here compared to the rest of Canada this area is like a magnet for lowlife scum drug users. Theft, violent crime, prostitution etc is rampant and there isn't an area untouched. Every person I know has been or knows someone that has been affected by drug users and for someone to think the problem will be resolved by legalization is living in a dream world. There ain't no such thing as a nice addict.

 

[Guyzerr]

I'm looking forward to legalized MaryJane.

They were talking about that when I was a teenager and that's over 40 years ago. I suspect it won't happen in my lifetime.

 

[TheTinGirl]

Guyzerr,

I see where you're coming from, and I've had my own dealings with hard drug users, and can relate.This was why I apologized for the highjack. It wasn't intended.

I guess I'd have a problem with making things like Heroin or Coke legal too... but there's also the other side of me that just can't justify the government controlling what an individual does with their bodies.

I guess MJ out of the picture I'm on the fence.

 

[BornReady]

I guess I'd have a problem with making things like Heroin or Coke legal too...

If someone on Coke commits a violent crime then they should go to prison and maybe even be executed depending on what they did. But to be clear, they should be punished for their violence, not for using Coke. It is their choice whether to use Coke or not. But they must pay for the consequences of their choice. It is the same with alcohol. If you drive drunk, you are arrested. But you are not being arrested for drinking. You're being arrested for driving while drunk.

If we legalize drugs then they should be taxed and the tax money should go toward regulating the drug trade and given to rehab centers to help people get off drugs if they choose. Some of the money should go to educating kids on the dangers of drugs to hopefully keep them from doing drugs when they're old enough. However the education should be honest. Kids have pretty good BS detectors.

but there's also the other side of me that just can't justify the government controlling what an individual does with their bodies.

I agree.

 

[edgray]

The problem with most people and their drug use (weed is not a drug) is it does infringe on my rights to life in a crime free society. Quite frankly I'm very tired of having to wonder if my house or car will be broken into while I'm away from them so that some low life fucker can steal my shit and sell it in order to get his / her next high.

It's not the MJ users that are causing all the problems. It's the users of the harder drugs. For the record I am in favor of legalizing MJ and imo that topic doesn't deserve any space in this thread. It's comparing apples to oranges.

Also for the record I am in favor of putting a bullet into the head of anyone that commits a crime because of other drug usage or crimes committed because of them.

This is just one example why I've taken that stand. I worked with the son of the late Ed Schellenberg. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Here's a guy that goes to work one day and ends up dead because a bunch of scum drug users / dealers decided who lived and who dies. Everyone in the apartment died that day... both the good and the bad. This is a link to the story...

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Ka...arged+with+Surrey+massacre/1461621/story.html

Beside that story I could dig up a few more where the actions of a drug dealer / user decided who lives or who dies and that includes the innocent.

I live in the lower mainland of B.C.. That area stretches from Vancouver to Hope ( about 90 miles ) and because of the climate here compared to the rest of Canada this area is like a magnet for lowlife scum drug users. Theft, violent crime, prostitution etc is rampant and there isn't an area untouched. Every person I know has been or knows someone that has been affected by drug users and for someone to think the problem will be resolved by legalization is living in a dream world. There ain't no such thing as a nice addict.

One of the main points of legalisation would be to stop drug related crime. Completely.

Heroin is a good example of this. Contrary to what Penn and Teller state, and I believe they're wrong on this point, heroin isn't cheap. In the UK, it's around 120GBP per gram for stuff that's likely to be between 5 & 10% pure. The NHS is rumoured to be able to manufacture Diamorphine (heroin) for 1GBP per gram, 100% pure.

If the manufacture and distribution of heroin was a medical issue, there would be no crime from drug dealers or addicts.

This has actually been proven to work, as up until the late sixties, this is how heroin addiction was handled in Britain. Addicts were given pure heroin free on the NHS. This meant they would be committing no crime, had far less risk from overdose or contamination, not to mention transmitted disease, and they had zero impact on society. Before the war on drugs, Britain's heroin policy was the envy of most countries, especially China, with it's huge Opium problem. Then the "war on drugs" came and ruined everything. Britain went from having a few hundred registered addicts to hundreds of thousands in the space of 30 years.

So legalise the drugs, you take the money and power out of the dealers, and remove the need for addicts to be criminals. You will then no longer have to fear drug addicts stealing from you.

 

[Zorak]

One of the main points of legalisation would be to stop drug related crime. Completely.

Heroin is a good example of this. Contrary to what Penn and Teller state, and I believe they're wrong on this point, heroin isn't cheap. In the UK, it's around 120GBP per gram for stuff that's likely to be between 5 & 10% pure. The NHS is rumoured to be able to manufacture Diamorphine (heroin) for 1GBP per gram, 100% pure.

Yeah I'm not sure where they got their facts on heroin from...
If Heroin now is indeed 90% pure, that's a GOOD thing! It means there's less rat poison and shit in there.

However, I truley doubt that, because a black market is still a market - and people can't make a profit selling heroin that's 90% pure for $5...