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Posted by: vidcapper 2nd February 2020, 06:58 AM

Opinions?

Personally I think doing so would do far more to reduce crime than any increase in police numbers, plus with the gov't in charge of supply, the revenue could be used for public spending rather than ending up in nefarious hands.

Posted by: *CENSORED* 2nd February 2020, 08:25 AM

Marijuana is not a drug and should be legalised for example.

I don’t think most of them should be allowed at all. however, the stigma in itself is more harmful than the actual drugs. You are considered the lowest tier person if you’re using. That’s sad.
The situation in Russia is extremely complicated - the police put the drugs on you and expect a bribe to get out of that predicament. If you get caught using and they find traces of anything in your blood then you’re put on a special registry where you will be for the rest of your life. Any job where they check for this type of thing will be automatically unavailable.

Instead of having war on drugs we all should improve people’s lives so that they don’t feel the need to go there at all.

Posted by: Crazy Chris 2nd February 2020, 08:32 AM

Depends on the drug. I say cannabis should be legalised but none of the harder ones.

Posted by: Silas EU Later 2nd February 2020, 09:33 AM

In a lot of places Marijuana is de facto legalised but only if you’re a privileged white person.

I’m generally of the view that they were made illegal for a reason, but a government controlled and regulated exchange would remove a massive revenue source from organised crime and one would hope less petty crime also. Addiction is a public health crisis and a “war on drugs” should be lead by health and social services, not the police and prison system.

Posted by: RabbitFurCoat 2nd February 2020, 10:46 AM

I'm firmly of the opinion that whilst there's a reason (most) drugs are illegal, them being illegal does absolutely no good whatsoever and the case for decriminalising or even legalising makes an incredible amount of sense. Supplying drugs is incredibly dangerous activity and far too many young people's lives are ruined, and even lost, as a result of it. Constantly tackling drug dealers and drug users doesn't reduce the demand for them, and supply is only temporarily halted before someone else comes in and you're starting all over again to spend another huge amounts of police resources trying to tackle a different supply chain.

Posted by: Steve201 2nd February 2020, 01:08 PM

There's def a difference in reaction compared the class - a poor person is arrested and criminalised immediately when find with drugs but rich people can go to their parties and get away with taking cocaine and it's a normal social situation for them.

Posted by: Forever European 2nd February 2020, 06:36 PM

Remember, the question isn't LEGALISATION, but decriminalisation. It has to be a resounding YES. The tories brag about taking coke for street cred, the papers gleefully report on the scandal of celebs doing it - and they are never punished - and yet when poor people do it or fall into addiction, they get jailed and demonised. It's class warfare. Marijuana isn't even a drug and has been used to imprison poor people for years, especially in the for profit prisons of the USA. Decriminalise now!! It works. Wherever it has been trialed, it has worked.

Posted by: Tawdry Hepburn 2nd February 2020, 06:42 PM

I have fairly strong opinions about this. I feel like the more they try and criminalise it, particularly when it comes to clamping down harder on people doing drugs in clubs the only thing that's going to achieve is driving people to do it in underground places or less safe environments where they won't have access to urgent medical attention if they need it.

I think the way the system works around drug use/culture is counterproductive and does more harm than good. It needs an overhaul and a more pragmatic/understanding approach to tackle it.

Posted by: vidcapper 3rd February 2020, 06:24 AM

Decriminalisation doesn't mean there would be no consequences for drug use of course - just as with alcohol and drink-driving, domestic abuse, etc.

Posted by: tommie 3rd February 2020, 06:30 AM

Yes, but those things will still happen.

I mean, if we're only talking about using drugs, then yes. There's really little use to bust and throw drug users in jail and will likely lead to people not getting help or call an ambulance if someone overdoses. However, selling/supplying certain drugs should still be criminal.

Posted by: vidcapper 3rd February 2020, 07:27 AM

Along with committing crime to feed habits.