Charmer

This is getting to a point that I just want to freak out. Two friends of mine who go out also were playing the leads in a play that I'm in. Recently they were out in the girl's car, and the guy was sitting in the passenger seat smoking weed. The girl, who was driving, did not smoke any.

The cops came up from behind and knocked on the window. They saw and smelled the weed, and when they searched the car they found like half an ounce, and arrested him. They charged him with misdemeanor possession of marijuana. They searched the girl and found TWO Adderall on her (for those that don't know, Adderall is pharmaceutical amphetamine) and charged her with a FELONY, delivery of a controlled substance or something like that. She faces jail time now. It turns out that she got her Adderall from a friend of mine, and when the story came out, my school expelled her.

We have now lost the leads in our play and are scrambling to get it back together without them. The thing is that THE DRUGS didn't hurt anyone. Nobody drove high, nobody OD'd, everyone is OK. The laws have hurt everyone- our friends are in trouble, our play is in danger.

The arguments against drugs are so circular it makes me want to scream. "People who do drugs are stupid!" say some. When you ask them to back that up they say "Well they're stupid enough to get caught with drugs!" What?

Or they say "Drugs are no good, look at the people who are involved in that trade!" If the drugs weren't illegal, there would be no black market for them to be sold at insanely high costs. When alcohol was illegal in America, organized crime benefitted because they were the ones who could make it. Now, in this age of modern prohibition, other criminals benefit. If drugs weren't illegal they wouldn't be so artificially expensive, and there would not be crimes comitted to pay for drugs. If drugs were legal, there would be safe, reliable sources for verifiably pure substances, not the risk that there is now.

Everyone agrees that Prohibition was a stupid horrible move, but these same people endorse the "War On Drugs". Think how many otherwise innocent people are in jail just for doing drugs. THAT ruins lives at least as much as the drugs do.

When I look around, I see a lot of people doing drugs. I don't see people having trouble in their lives because of them, except when they get caught and the rules mess with their lives. The war hurts a lot more people than the drugs! I'm sick of being a criminal, and having to deal with criminals, just because I want to get high.

Peace.

Charmer

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Remember what the door-mouse said: "FEED YOUR HEAD!"

thumpdaddy!

i believe that drucs should be treated somewhat like alcohol.... if an adult chooses to use them, knowing the risks then they must face the consequences. however since drugs can do damage to the less educated and experienced, i feel that the need for most of them (not all) to be illegal is necessary to protect children.

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I'll never regret anything i ever did, its just that i will never do some of them again....

CandyGirl23

I don't know... there are some drugs that are just bad (coke, crack, heroin), but there are some that result in harsher penalties than should exist. One fact is that drugs could not be legal without increasing the abuse that already exists (look at all the alcoholics in our nation). The misdemeanor for pot is common, and I've heard TX has the toughest laws for that. But your friend was pretty stupid for driving while someone was smoking in her car. You should at least be discreet if you're gonna be breaking the law while in possession of other controlled substances.
It is very true that our country needs new drug laws. You should check out Students for sensible drug policy

Commander Keen

Grin... this is one of my favourite topics to talk about

The War on drugs is quite possibly the dumbest moves the goverment has taken. The war on drugs has been going on for over 10 years, and its been a losing battle. I think that the government should try to reevaluate their goals.

What is the end goal of the war against drugs?
To prohibit drugs altogether? I honestly think that wiping out drugs is an unrealistic goal and some of the government is starting to realize it.

What makes a crime a crime?? What makes a person a criminal?
Crime is a sociological concept. One might argue that some things are inherently criminal, but we must face the fact that we label certain acts criminal because a large portion of society disagrees with the act. A person who commits these forbidden acts are labelled criminal.
Point: it is not the act that makes a person a criminal. It is society who labels someone for doing a forbidden act that makes them criminal. Techincally, a person who is speeding could be a criminal.

Back to the war on drugs.
It is obvious that the war of drugs is not meeting its set objectives, that is to reduce the use of drugs. Just say no may work on little kids, but as teenagers we need real information on the topic. I am not saying that the government should condone the use of drugs, but keeping the population in the dark about the real information is only going to cause more people to die due to lack of information.
If the government is starting to acknowledge that they are fighting a losing war, why do they keep on fighting?
I believe the answer lies with politics. The US government has poured billions and billions for dollars into the war. They have invaded South America, put millions and millions of people into jail. They have created legislation for prosecuting drug offences.
And they have nothing to show for it. Drug use is even higher than it was in the 80's.
To change the policy now would be declaring defeat, it would be political suicide.

If we are going to make real changes and not just bandaid solutions we need to make deep changes, policy changes, changes in attitudes. These changes will not come easily.

sigh, I'd write more, but I was talking to 4 people on icq while writing this.

PS if your friend was in the driver seat, then she is responsible for the actions of everyone in the car. That is why she is liable.. and that is why they could search you. Your friend smoking weed is grounds for probable cause.

if you want to get into a debate about this, Im all ears

thumpdaddy!

OK I'm Game^^^

We do agree on many points, however I am still cautious to support any legalizations or decriminilizations.

Although the average intelligent adult can rightly make their own decisions based on experience & education, children cannot. No one will deny that drugs (of any nature) can be very destructive both physically and mentally. The truly responsible educate themselves, filter out the info given by biassed parties and make up their own mind. For those adults who don't care about themselves, it is still there decision and whatever happens to them happens-I used to believe this as callous as it may seem, however one day I met one of these people who's brain had been fried, and all of her money (including groceries for her chioldren) went to buying drugs. Naive chidren (through no fault of their own)whether being pushed to use drugs and lied to by sellers or are victimized by their environment indirectly by drugs must be protected.

We must remember that not everyone can control themselves when it comes to temptation or issues regarding will. I feel that the innocent and defenceless must be protected first. This does not mean that the reality and awareness should be hidden from them, but that the substance itself should be.

Move~Your~Stuff

Im not going to be sympathetic to this case...maybe this is a life lesson for those two.

He was lighting up in public, while she was the driver in the car...and she was carrying a controlled substance.

The police can charge you with the maximum, in this case they decided to spread the charges around, because in any case like this the driver is the one who is held responsible not the passenger.

She wont get jail time, she can claim someone handed them to her earlier and she must have forgot about them...two pills are not trafficking

the guy if he has no criminal record will recieve a misdemeanour fine. maybe probation if hes that unlucky.

Nubbie

*sigh*

Along the same lines, why isn't alcohol outlawed?

Did you know the withdrawal effects can be so harsh they kill?

Most other drugs we know of just make you really cranky and all that withdrawal related jazz.
They've done studies with prison inmates (Who knew they were being tested on, and agreed) where they gave them a fair amount of alcohol for an extended period of time.

They withdrew alcohol from their diets, and withdrawal killed more then a few of them.

Over all it’s a lot worse for the body, and far more deadly.

I don't think that smoking weed is a crime. Sure its a 'drug' but its only really labeled as such because early 20th century North American governments passed various anti-Asian laws regarding their pot and opium monopoly (that was legal) within their boarders.

Most of our drug laws are based on simple racism of our governments... Alcohol and Nicotine are not, because they have been part of the European and North American way of live for hundreds of years. Pot and Opium (then extracts from the koka bean, various anphedamines and so on) have only just been introduced. Asian cultures have been using opium for years as a medicinal painkiller.

Besides, freedom of choice is in the charter of rights and freedoms, as well as the American's consitution? As long as there is no harm to other people, why can't you be free to injest what you like?

-=Nub=-

Blackbird

The Dutch have it right. But the Netherlands', tolerant approach to drug use is the source of much international debate. The Dutch are constantly having to defend their position on "illegal" drugs due to pressure from other countries especially France and the U.S. If only these other countries would adopt the Dutch attitude towards drugs, they would see their "drug problem" and most related crime evaporate overnight. The Dutch statistics bear this out. By decriminalizing the use of soft drugs, and treating even hard drug use as a disease, the Dutch have created the model that others should emulate. By dividing drugs into soft and hard categories, they can deal with every situation calmly, rationally and effectively.

The Dutch have a far greater problem with alcoholism (and tobacco) than with any "illegal" drug and they know this. By allowing people to purchase and consume marijuana in licensed coffeeshops, they not only remove the stigma of being a marijuana user, but they completely remove this as a "criminal activity". Thus it becomes safe to purchase and use the drug without a criminal element involved (although they have cracked down on growing the plant in quantity, thanks to the aforementioned pressure from other nations). The fact is you can walk all over Holland and see marijuana plants growing in windows, on houseboats, in backyards, etc. Current law allows Dutch gardeners to grow 5 plants, but no lamps are allowed (only sunlight, a rare commodity). But there is NO FEAR, associated with marijuana, hence a true enjoyment of this magical herb that can heal, relax and enlighten.

As far as hard drugs like cocaine and heroin, the Dutch are firmly keeping these drugs illegal, but not prosecuting the users. There are many treatments available for those addicts seeking it. They go so far as to give these addicts their heroin or methadone to keep them from stealing to get it. Again it is seen as an illness and treated like one, not turning the addicts into criminals.