Should Prostitution and Drugs be legal and regulated?

I can tell by the majority of the post I am about to be hammered about my opinion, but so be it. If legalized how do you all suggest it should be sold, on the shelves of your local Wal-Mart, by prescription from a doctor or just continue to let the undocumented street pharmacist sell it out off of your street corner. Also the idea that if you legalize illegal drugs it will cause other violent crimes and property crimes to go down in my opinion is completely wrong. All that will do is make it legal to possess the drugs which in turn will have more drug addicts on the streets to commit burglaries and robberies to get the money to feed their habit. Just because you make it legal doesn't mean that the addict will keep a job so he can legally purchase marijuana or cocaine, it will in turn mean you have more people addicted to these drugs roaming your neighborhood.
For those of you who think you can use marijuana in moderation and control it, more power to you, but it is proven that once you get that first high you will not achieve it again. So you resort to a more powerful drug and the cycle continues. Before you know it you a full fledged addict who has no job, no money and will do anything you can to get high again.
This topic is so rediculous, what will you all think of next, banning all firearms to make America safer.

GBP wrote:

I can tell by the majority of the post I am about to be hammered about my opinion, but so be it. If legalized how do you all suggest it should be sold, on the shelves of your local Wal-Mart, by prescription from a doctor or just continue to let the undocumented street pharmacist sell it out off of your street corner. Also the idea that if you legalize illegal drugs it will cause other violent crimes and property crimes to go down in my opinion is completely wrong. All that will do is make it legal to possess the drugs which in turn will have more drug addicts on the streets to commit burglaries and robberies to get the money to feed their habit. Just because you make it legal doesn't mean that the addict will keep a job so he can legally purchase marijuana or cocaine, it will in turn mean you have more people addicted to these drugs roaming your neighborhood.
For those of you who think you can use marijuana in moderation and control it, more power to you, but it is proven that once you get that first high you will not achieve it again. So you resort to a more powerful drug and the cycle continues. Before you know it you a full fledged addict who has no job, no money and will do anything you can to get high again.
This topic is so rediculous, what will you all think of next, banning all firearms to make America safer.

A lot of this is just plain wrong. First off, I don't see how you're having a problem figuring out where the stuff will be sold. Obviously not on the street corner. Can you buy Tylenol there? Or beer? My guess is, it would be relocated to Tobacco Warehouse-type stores. Smoke shops would sell marijuana - and any other recreational drugs that were legalized.

If you want to know the #1 reason it would cut crime, see my above paragraph. No more gangs selling drugs on the corner. No more kids getting shot over a 'bad deal.' Consider that the crime rate rose with Prohibition and did not again decline until after Prohibition ended. Good practical example of what we're talking about.

As to your idea that there will be more addicts on the street... are there more alcoholics since Prohibition? Alcohol is much more addictive than cocaine. Cigarettes are more addictive than heroin and crystal meth, yet cigarette smoking is on the decline despite its legality. Making drugs illegal does nothing to curtail them; it just makes them more appealing to rebellious teens, and takes away the possibility of us getting taxes from them.

Marijuana does not lead to other drugs. While it is true that most users of other drugs try marijuana first, it has nothing to do with the need to get a "stronger high." It's not a gateway drug. It's just the most common drug there is because of its relative safety. The idea that kids are looking for a way to get high because of built-up tolerance is nonsense. Tolerance-building isn't that strong for marijuana and furthermore, any other drug is a completely different kind of high.

You also seem to think that drug addicts are all homeless losers who cannot keep a job to fund their vice. You're very naive if you don't believe that many folks have skeletons of this sort in their closet. I wonder how many people you work with on a daily basis are frequent drug users.

GBP wrote:

I can tell by the majority of the post I am about to be hammered about my opinion, but so be it. If legalized how do you all suggest it should be sold, on the shelves of your local Wal-Mart, by prescription from a doctor or just continue to let the undocumented street pharmacist sell it out off of your street corner. Also the idea that if you legalize illegal drugs it will cause other violent crimes and property crimes to go down in my opinion is completely wrong. All that will do is make it legal to possess the drugs which in turn will have more drug addicts on the streets to commit burglaries and robberies to get the money to feed their habit. Just because you make it legal doesn't mean that the addict will keep a job so he can legally purchase marijuana or cocaine, it will in turn mean you have more people addicted to these drugs roaming your neighborhood.
For those of you who think you can use marijuana in moderation and control it, more power to you, but it is proven that once you get that first high you will not achieve it again. So you resort to a more powerful drug and the cycle continues. Before you know it you a full fledged addict who has no job, no money and will do anything you can to get high again.
This topic is so rediculous, what will you all think of next, banning all firearms to make America safer.

I understand your concerns but I think they are unfounded. Under our present system, anyone who wants drugs, gets drugs and there is an active effort to push the drugs. Addiction is also a relative and ubiquitous phenomenon. It certainly cannot be applied only to a short arbitrary list of addictive substances while ignoring a plethora of human cravings - from chocolate to coffee, from gum to gambling, from tea, to tobacco, from snuggling to sex. Compulsive urges to fulfill a perceived need are ubiquitous. Some people are more susceptible to addiction than others and some "needs" are more addictive than others. Probably the most addictive substance in our civilization is tobacco - yet no one has suggested making it illegal.

Thel,
I can see where it would be sold, it was sarcasim, but your suggestion to tax the hell out of it would drive the price up to high for most and they would more than likely turn back to the dealers on the corner.
The issue with Prohibition is this, alcohol was legal then made illegal. Marijuana and cocaine have been illegal for quiet some time now so I don't see the how that relates, except that they both involve addictive substances.
I have yet to see the addiction of cigarettes have the same effects of cocaine, herione or chrystal meth. Marijuana might not be as harmful to the body as the others, guess thats why first offense is a misdamenor.
Just a coincadence that most drug addicts started with marijuana, I think not. Might be a different high, but still once you get that first one you will never achieve it again.
Nieve I am not, I do know that their are alot of people out there that have experimented with illegal drugs and still do use.
Fact is crimes done by people who use illegal drugs will not decrease if you legalize them, because the guy who breaks into your house to steal your valuables will still have that same addiction problem, just now he will be paying a tax on is cocaine, or marijuana. You can not deny the fact that cocaine, crystal meth and herione are not extremely addictive and very harmful to your body, legalizing them will not change that fact.

Inquiring Mind,
Addiction is everywhere, but the problem I have are the illegal substances that someone becomes so addicted to that they would steal from their own family to obtain these drugs, legal or not that will not change. Murder a stranger so they can take there money to buy there drug of choice. Making these items legal will only make it easier for them to get them.
I have seen the effects of these drugs on individuals, never seen tabacco come close to any of them.

If illegal drugs became legal, what would the uneducated, dropped out, too lazy to get a real job, young black, strain on society, worthless do nothings do for a living? Gee, maybe they would have to get a real friggin' job. LOL

I really do like the idea of legalized prostitution.

GBP wrote:

Thel,
I can see where it would be sold, it was sarcasim, but your suggestion to tax the hell out of it would drive the price up to high for most and they would more than likely turn back to the dealers on the corner.
The issue with Prohibition is this, alcohol was legal then made illegal. Marijuana and cocaine have been illegal for quiet some time now so I don't see the how that relates, except that they both involve addictive substances.
I have yet to see the addiction of cigarettes have the same effects of cocaine, herione or chrystal meth. Marijuana might not be as harmful to the body as the others, guess thats why first offense is a misdamenor.
Just a coincadence that most drug addicts started with marijuana, I think not. Might be a different high, but still once you get that first one you will never achieve it again.
Nieve I am not, I do know that their are alot of people out there that have experimented with illegal drugs and still do use.
Fact is crimes done by people who use illegal drugs will not decrease if you legalize them, because the guy who breaks into your house to steal your valuables will still have that same addiction problem, just now he will be paying a tax on is cocaine, or marijuana. You can not deny the fact that cocaine, crystal meth and herione are not extremely addictive and very harmful to your body, legalizing them will not change that fact.

Those who initiated those prohibitions and those who now so vigorously seek to enforce them have not made their objectives clear. Are they to protect us from evil, from addiction, or from poison?
The concept of evil is derived from subjective values and is difficult to define. Just why certain (illegal) substances are singularly more evil than legal substances like alcohol has not been explained. This complex subject of "right" and "wrong" has never been successfully addressed by legislation and is best left to the pulpit.

GBP wrote:

Inquiring Mind,
Addiction is everywhere, but the problem I have are the illegal substances that someone becomes so addicted to that they would steal from their own family to obtain these drugs, legal or not that will not change. Murder a stranger so they can take there money to buy there drug of choice. Making these items legal will only make it easier for them to get them.
I have seen the effects of these drugs on individuals, never seen tabacco come close to any of them.

Media focus on the "junkie" has generated a mistaken impression that all uses of illegal drugs are devastated by their habit. Simple arithmetic demonstrates that the small population of visible addicts must constitute only a fraction of the $150 billion per year illegal drug market. This industry is so huge that it necessarily encompasses a very large portion of the ordinary population who are typically employed, productive, responsible and not significantly impaired from leading conventional lives. These drug users are not "addicts" just as the vast majority of alcohol users are not "alcoholics."

GBP wrote:

Thel,
I can see where it would be sold, it was sarcasim, but your suggestion to tax the hell out of it would drive the price up to high for most and they would more than likely turn back to the dealers on the corner.
The issue with Prohibition is this, alcohol was legal then made illegal. Marijuana and cocaine have been illegal for quiet some time now so I don't see the how that relates, except that they both involve addictive substances.
I have yet to see the addiction of cigarettes have the same effects of cocaine, herione or chrystal meth. Marijuana might not be as harmful to the body as the others, guess thats why first offense is a misdamenor.
Just a coincadence that most drug addicts started with marijuana, I think not. Might be a different high, but still once you get that first one you will never achieve it again.
Nieve I am not, I do know that their are alot of people out there that have experimented with illegal drugs and still do use.
Fact is crimes done by people who use illegal drugs will not decrease if you legalize them, because the guy who breaks into your house to steal your valuables will still have that same addiction problem, just now he will be paying a tax on is cocaine, or marijuana. You can not deny the fact that cocaine, crystal meth and herione are not extremely addictive and very harmful to your body, legalizing them will not change that fact.

Your "fact" is wrong. Also, I didn't say cigarettes have the same affect as cocaine. I said cigarettes are more addictive. If you don't believe that, you should probably do some research before continuing uninformed in this discussion.

Inquiring Mind wrote:

<quoted text>
Media focus on the "junkie" has generated a mistaken impression that all uses of illegal drugs are devastated by their habit. Simple arithmetic demonstrates that the small population of visible addicts must constitute only a fraction of the $150 billion per year illegal drug market. This industry is so huge that it necessarily encompasses a very large portion of the ordinary population who are typically employed, productive, responsible and not significantly impaired from leading conventional lives. These drug users are not "addicts" just as the vast majority of alcohol users are not "alcoholics."

Bingo. I knew plenty of folks in college who used cocaine but were not addicts. Same for heroin in Europe.

I would say that if it is something that grows wild, ie. pot, mushrooms, peyote, trumpet creeper, coca, morning glory, whatever floats your boat. Then you should be able to cultivate it and it should be legal.

If it is refined, purified, concentrated or enhanced in any way then it should fall under the category of a drug and only be dispensed through a physician or some other health care professional.

I would like to see harsh, but enforceable penalties for providing it to minors. We could easily apply the same laws that govern alcohol use to the plants. And use our prescription drug laws for the other.

As for prostitution remember that the only way Nevada can regulate the industry is by having legal brothels. Those girls are like offshore workers. They report for work, agree to stay for their hitch (1-3 weeks) they are checked out for drugs and to make sure they are clean on arrival and once a week there after. All those whorehouses are fenced in and surrounded by barb and razor wire. It has a tendency to look like little prisons. Street walking, escort services and working out of hotels is still illegal.
Semper Fi

There are no panaceas in the world but, for social afflictions, legalizing drugs comes possibly as close as any single policy could. Removing legal penalties from the production, sale and use of "controlled substances" would alleviate at least a dozen of our biggest social or political problems.

Thel wrote:

<quoted text>
Your "fact" is wrong. Also, I didn't say cigarettes have the same affect as cocaine. I said cigarettes are more addictive. If you don't believe that, you should probably do some research before continuing uninformed in this discussion.

By affect I was not specific, the affect on society. Someone addicted to cigarettes is not a menace to society as someone addicted to cocaine or marijuana.

Crime will not be reduced by drug legalization. Studies show a correlation between drug use and crime - violent crimes such as homicides, assaults and domestic violence. Why is this? It's quite simple - drugs cause violent behavior.

Has anyone considered that the reason that people committed a crime was because they were ON drugs in the first place - legal or not? That they weren't necessarily committing a crime to get illegal drugs, but the drugs themselves caused a violent behavior (which would not magically go away if the drugs were legal) which lead them to committing a crime - something that would not have happened if they had not TAKEN drugs? In actuality, crime will rise when drugs are legal because more people will be taking drugs. Crime is high in high-drug use areas not because people are committing a crime to get drugs, but the influence of the drugs made them more inclined to commit a crime.
The violent behavior caused by drugs won't magically stop because the drugs are legal. Legal PCP isn't going to make a person less violent than illegally purchased PCP. So, crimes committed because of drugs will increase as the number of drug users increase with the legalization of drugs. The psychopathic behavior that drugs cause will not somehow magically stop because drugs are legal.
Legalization proponents ignore the fact that the people committing violent crimes are career criminals who will not stop their illegal activities once drugs are legalized; they will instead seek new sources of illicit revenue.
I am not denying that some of the present crime is due to the profit motive behind illegal drugs. I admit that causes crime. However, if drugs were legal, not only would there be an increased crime rate due to the increased number of people who were taking drugs, but there would still be a "black market" and profit motive, which brings me to my next point..The Black Market.
Many argue that the element of profit would be eliminated. If drugs were legal, it is suggested that they would be sold at regulated government stores. Or according to economist Milton Friedman, at "ordinary retail outlets." Other legalizers say that drugs would be given out to the poor addicts who could not afford them.
William F. Buckley believes prices would be low enough to wipe out the black market. Buyers would, however, be heavily taxed to pay for drug education programs and rehabilitation centers.
Yet the tax would make it possible for criminals to undercut the official price and continue to rake in profits. So then what does the government do? Make prices so low that a second-grader with a few pennies can afford it and leave them no revenue for the proposed program? And think about this: drug related crimes are the highest where crack is the cheapest.
In addition to the official price being undercut, there are drugs that even most legalizers agree are too dangerous to make legal, such as crack and PCP. So guess what! Unless we legalize crack, PCP, and heroin, the black market will still exist for the more dangerous drugs. Now, let me stress this again - even if drugs are legalized, there will still be a black market for them. I stress this because people continue to write to me wailing "But legal drugs will get rid of the black market!" The black market argument is old, unfounded, and not logical. And even if legalization eliminated the black market, does this mean we legalize everything to avoid a black market? Let's legalize stealing - after all, then these poor robbers won't have to sneak around, and possible harm someone out of fright. See, we can cut down on deaths by legalizing robbery! Sound silly? Exactly.

GBP wrote:

<quoted text>
By affect I was not specific, the affect on society. Someone addicted to cigarettes is not a menace to society as someone addicted to cocaine or marijuana.

I have known three people addicted to cocaine in my life. None were a menace on society. The cocaine users who are a menace to society are those who push their habit on the streets - which would be eliminated by legalizing the drug.

As far as marijuana users being a menace to society, that's laughable. I don't know anybody breaking into homes, mugging people, or doing any criminal activity other than the use of the drug in order to support their habit - since marijuana is a HABIT and not an ADDICTION.

You're right. Certain drugs do cause violent behavior. I also don't advocate legalizing PCP, or even crystal meth. I think users of those drugs do as much harm to other people as to themselves.

Marijuana, heroin, and even cocaine do almost NOTHING to other people. The crimes from these drug users are due almost entirely to the illegal trafficking of the drugs. Gun deaths because of foul drug deals, robberies to pay drug dealers, robberies OF drug dealers since the crook knows the dealer isn't going to call in the crime...

There is nothing in heroin, marijuana or cocaine that makes people inherently violent or turns them into vicious, violent criminals. You have been paying too much attention to the lies and rhetoric spread by the DARE program.

Education on drugs and their dangers are great. I'm just tired of lies spread by anti-drug advocacy groups. Most of the research doesn't back up their assertions - the same ones you echo, GBP.

GBP wrote:

Crime will not be reduced by drug legalization. Studies show a correlation between drug use and crime - violent crimes such as homicides, assaults and domestic violence. Why is this? It's quite simple - drugs cause violent behavior.
Has anyone considered that the reason that people committed a crime was because they were ON drugs in the first place - legal or not? That they weren't necessarily committing a crime to get illegal drugs, but the drugs themselves caused a violent behavior (which would not magically go away if the drugs were legal) which lead them to committing a crime - something that would not have happened if they had not TAKEN drugs? In actuality, crime will rise when drugs are legal because more people will be taking drugs. Crime is high in high-drug use areas not because people are committing a crime to get drugs, but the influence of the drugs made them more inclined to commit a crime.
The violent behavior caused by drugs won't magically stop because the drugs are legal. Legal PCP isn't going to make a person less violent than illegally purchased PCP. So, crimes committed ...

The theoretical and statistical links between drugs and crime are well established. In a 2 1/2-year study of Detroit crime, Lester P. Silverman, former associate director of the National Academy of Sciences' Assembly of Behavior and Social Sciences, found that a 10 percent increase in the price of heroin alone "produced an increase of 3.1 percent total property crimes in poor nonwhite neighborhoods." Armed robbery jumped 6.4 percent and simple assault by 5.6 percent throughout the city.

GBP wrote:

Inquiring Mind,
Addiction is everywhere, but the problem I have are the illegal substances that someone becomes so addicted to that they would steal from their own family to obtain these drugs, legal or not that will not change. Murder a stranger so they can take there money to buy there drug of choice. Making these items legal will only make it easier for them to get them.
I have seen the effects of these drugs on individuals, never seen tabacco come close to any of them.

Are we ready to stop wringing our hands and start solving problems?
When law enforcement restricts the supply of drugs, the price of drugs rises. A kilogram of cocaine worth $4000 in Colombia sold at wholesale for $30,000, and at retail in the United States for some $300,000. A Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman noted, matter-of-factly, that the wholesale price doubled in six months "due to crackdowns on producers and smugglers in Columbia and the U.S." There are no statistics indicating the additional number of people killed or mugged thanks to the DEA's crackdown on cocaine.
For heroin the factory-to-retail price differential is even greater. According to U.S. News & World report, a gram of pure heroin in Pakistan cost $5.07, but it sold for $2425 on the street in America--nearly a five-hundredfold jump.
The unhappy consequence is that crime also rises, for at least four reasons:
* Addicts must shell out hundreds of times the cost of goods, so they often must turn to crime to finance their habits. The higher the price goes, the more they need to steal to buy the same amount.
* At the same time, those who deal or purchase the stuff find themselves carrying extremely valuable goods, and become attractive targets for assault.
* Police officers and others suspected of being informants for law enforcement quickly become targets for reprisals.
* The streets become literally a battleground for "turf" among competing dealers, as control over a particular block or intersection can net thousands of additional drug dollars per day.

So it's all a scare tactic by the government, nothing more. Can you direct me to a web site with the information you are in support of, I try to be opened minded about things to an extent.