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Legal Drugs Kill Far More Than Illegal

nytimes.com — From “Scarface” to “Miami Vice,” Florida’s drug problem has been portrayed as the story of a single narcotic: cocaine. But for Floridians, prescription drugs are increasingly a far more lethal habit.

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  • drmobutu, on 06/17/2008, -2/+42From TFA: The Florida report analyzed 168,900 deaths statewide. Cocaine, heroin and all methamphetamines caused 989 deaths, it found, while legal opioids — strong painkillers in brand-name drugs like Vicodin and OxyContin — caused 2,328.

    Drugs with benzodiazepine, mainly depressants like Valium and Xanax, led to 743 deaths. Alcohol was the most commonly occurring drug, appearing in the bodies of 4,179 of the dead and judged the cause of death of 466 — fewer than cocaine (843) but more than methamphetamine (25) and marijuana (0).


    • SantaClauz, on 06/18/2008, -2/+54"Marijuana (0)"

      !!!! Red Flag !!!

      How has this not been legalized yet? *****' THING SUCKS!!!
      • JivePode, on 06/18/2008, -21/+3Because drugs can be dangerous in other, non-lethal ways. But I still feel it should be legalised.
        • rlbond86, on 06/18/2008, -2/+3Dugg down for truth. That's harsh.
        • dncarlson, on 06/18/2008, -2/+4It's because no one believes that it is illegal because it is "dangerous" - if danger was a factor, alcohol and cigarettes would be our number one priority.
      • ufia, on 06/18/2008, -24/+2Because smoking marijuana gives eternal life. The NWO don't want lowly peons to know, and wants to keep it to themselves. Why else would it be illegal? It's all a big conspiracy. Only Ron Paul can set us free! G-G-G-GOLD STANDARD!!!!11!!1one
      • LeopardGirl420, on 06/18/2008, -3/+4Legalized marijuana would be a blow to the mortuary and crematory industry- they gotta make a living from you dying ya know
      • Ph0N37Ic5, on 06/18/2008, -0/+14It's because marijuana leads to carpentry, the government doesn't want you to start building stuff.

        (Dennis Leary ftw)
      • dhughes, on 06/18/2008, -13/+1> Marijuana (0)

        Emphysema. The context of "Kill" is relative, cumulative damage may not seem to be caused by your actions but it eventually may kill you. Slowly.
        • noumuon, on 06/18/2008, -1/+11smoking marijuana doesn't cause emphysema. cigarette smoke causes emphysema because nicotine causes the bronchial tubes to contract. thc causes them to dilate.
        • Blandyman, on 06/18/2008, -1/+2Although being too high and doing some things can still be dangerous, it is true that if anything, weed makes it EASIER to breathe.

          But good job, dhughes. You win the ***** artist of the year award.
    • SIRBERUS, on 06/18/2008, -1/+26I find this extremely interesting because my Doctor wanted me to get on Xanax to control my anxiety problems. After looking into Xanax, I decided it was too risky and have been using Medical Marijuana ever since with no side effects other than no anxiety attacks.

      Feels like I made the better choice.
      • daakone, on 06/18/2008, -0/+23Good idea. Xanax is bad news, I've seen too many people who had it prescribed for anxiety take it for years, slowly increasing their doses to levels that would probably have put them in a coma when they started. They don't seem to remember things very well anymore. Pot can do that too, but it goes away when you don't use it for a little while. But with Xanax they can't stop because it's one of the most addictive drugs, with the nastiest physical withdrawal symptoms, out there.
      • evil-doer, on 06/18/2008, -3/+3try GABA and or valerian for anxiety. both found at your local health food store
      • solid12345, on 06/18/2008, -4/+2Maybe you were just anxious to get a marijuana prescription
        • SIRBERUS, on 06/18/2008, -0/+10I live in southern California and I work at a record label. If I truly wanted to smoke, I have had many opportunities well in the past.

          I, however, did not smoke until March 1st of this year when I received my legal recommendation. Since then I have had no anxiety attacks and been able to take myself off ADHD medications as well.

          You obviously don't know what an anxiety attack is.
      • noumuon, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2xanax really isn't that much worse than alcohol is, but i wouldn't want to have to drink all the time.
        • SIRBERUS, on 06/18/2008, -3/+3I don't drink either.

          I kind of pride myself in not drinking or "doing drugs". ;)
        • Blandyman, on 06/18/2008, -3/+1I don't drink due to some things that have happened in the past to my girlfriend which have completely destroyed any desire to drink, but her and I smoke pot every now and again just to chill and watch TV or something... we haven't had a chance to do the horizontal tango high yet, though :(
      • Yambag, on 06/18/2008, -3/+1Doesn't pot make you more anxious?
        • SIRBERUS, on 06/18/2008, -0/+3There are two types of marijuana... Sativa and Indica. If I were to take too much Sativa, it could trigger an anxiety attack... however, no one has ever died from Marijuana, so I figure I'd just go lay down and sleep it off.

          But no... it does not make me more anxious. It calms me and allows me to focus on what I need to do.

          If ADHD is being locked in a room with a wall full of Televisions all on different channels... Marijuana is my Tivo and remote. It's wonderful.
    • Seventus, on 06/18/2008, -2/+9How many prescription drugs are used beyond their intended purposes? All drugs can be abused, regardless of legal or illegal.
      • setabs, on 06/18/2008, -0/+5How many people were killed during the making, trafficking and distribution of both legal and illegal drugs?
    • cjh24, on 06/18/2008, -1/+5Yay Marijuana!!

      I knew you could do it :)
    • LilRabbitFooFoo, on 08/11/2008, -0/+6Oxycontin, being an opiate, can kill even when used correctly. If you don't check off a "I've taken it at this time already" list, the drug itself can make you forget you took it, leading to you taking it again, and yes, accidental overdose.

      I know of at least two people personally who have died of Oxycontin overdoses in this manner.

      And yet, I don't know a single person who has died of any other legal or illegal drug.
      • theuber1337, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2Oxycotin and Cocaine give a nice speedball effect without the tedious task of acquiring heroin or shooting with a needle. Fun fact of the day. ;)
      • rlbond86, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1Anecdotes != Experimental data
    • pacman122, on 06/18/2008, -1/+6This is nothing new. We have known for decades that alcohol and tobacco have killed more people than all illegal drugs combined. If you don't believe me look it up.
    • brundlefly76, on 06/18/2008, -2/+3Am I the only one not surprised that more people are taking prescription drugs than illegal drugs?

      I mean, *statistically*, that would make sense.

      Also, pills are a favorite among women for suicide - high-dose painkillers and alcohol especially.

      None of this is surprising.

    • Naieve, on 06/18/2008, -0/+4You would think they would take the lessons learned from Prohibition and learn something.

      People who want drugs will find drugs, they are addicted.

      Making it illegal only brings a violent subculture into the picture with rival gangs fighting for "territory" and 4 year old kids taking bullets in the head from crossfire.

      War on Drugs indeed.

      There is a label for people who do the same thing over and over expecting different results.
      • xEn1gma, on 06/18/2008, -1/+0I somewhat disagree with the Prohibition approach. Though it is true that crime surged during the Prohibition era, the amount of people that consume alcohol is not exactly proportional to the amount of people that smoke marijuana (I know you said drugs but I'm speaking of the argument for marijuana).

        Say marijuana is completely legalized.

        There are still going to be people (a LOT) that are still going to run a business selling dope. Wherever there is business, there is competition. And dealing with controlled substances, I still believe this competition will inevitably lead to violence.

        Just an opinion (any thoughts?).
        • Lythium, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1a) Marijuana is, if anything, safer than alcohol. Medical statistics aside, just look at the image of a drunk vs a pothead in popular culture: drunks are belligerent, while potheads are mellow and philosophic. I'm not saying that this is true for EVERY drunk or EVERY pothead, but the distinction is sufficiently common to have made it into mainstream perceptions.

          b) If you legalize marijuana, it will eliminate bootleg competition almost entirely. There will indeed be competition, just like there is with alcohol sales - but when was the last time you heard of moonshine being a major problem? Or bootleg cigarettes (cigars from embargoed countries don't count, for obvious reasons). If a substance is legalized, it is almost guaranteed that legal distribution will be far more profitable than illegal. There will still be competition for sales, but it will be the equivalent of bars and liquor stores vying for customers - not drug dealers on the corner.
        • ZxEfR, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1While I'm sure there are people making moonshine and selling it.....I've not once in all my 40 years ever seen anything about it still being sold or anyone dying from a moonshine deal gone bad...if it was any kind of problem at all you'd hear your self righteous government (mainstream media) all over it.
        • Naieve, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1The only way there will be a continued business in the drug trade is if the government makes the drugs more expensive then they are now.

          Anyways enigma, when was the last time you heard of a violent street gang that was profiting by selling alcohol?

          As to marijuana lythium, a study came out in Australia that shows heavy marijuana use actually shrinks the part of the brain that is responsible for aggression.

          FYI, I moved to Butler, Pa when I was 10 years old. This is the place with the High School called "Heroin High" by Jay Leno on the Tonight Show, highest number of heroin users percentage wise in the entire country. Making drugs illegal doesn't mean it is going to stop them. It just means people are going to be dying from them even more. Tax the damn ***** and teach the children what drugs really do. When a junkie breaks a law make part of the community service they have to do going into a school and telling the children exactly what drugs do. Like the kids don't see bad enough crap on TV, you might as well let them know the reality of drugs. Just say no, LOL, what a joke. Unless a kid knows the actual consequences and can see it all its brutal reality, it isn't real to them. Just say no, why because I told you they are bad. What a joke. I can tell you right now, the education system is ridiculous. There is no real thing as drug or sex education in school. They just gloss over it fast. Far too controversial of a subject for most teachers, well let the tenured teachers that are destroying our youth do something for a change and they can teach it. Not like we could fire them anyways.

          A junkie is a junkie is a junkie. You aren't going to change that by making it illegal and then making us pay for that junkie to spend a few years in jail.

          Trust me, I watched 80 percent of my ***** friends turn into addicts. Making it illegal does absolutely nothing good.
    • glutamate, on 06/18/2008, -2/+2PER CAPITA STATISTICS OR I DON'T GIVE A *****
      • wTheOnew, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2Percentage of people dying compared to using... So basically what you said, just not all caps.
  • whitezombie420, on 06/17/2008, -7/+82prohibition kills more people than legal and illegal drugs combined.
    • xBlackDust, on 06/18/2008, -1/+13and we spend trillions of our dollars to fuel this. I would rather put that money in schools.

      p.s. my school in California is having major cutbacks. IT SUCKS!!!
    • CrazedLeper, on 06/18/2008, -4/+17The "war on drugs" was as much a lie as the "war on terror" and the Pentagon's 1-day "war on waste" which was "fought" on September 10, 2001 (Google that one, it should be fun). The US was founded on genocide and lies and is now owned and operated by the most brazen liars the world has ever seen. They have studied the populace and learned how to gain instant and total credibility no matter what they say.

      They knew that fighting the drug trade could never stop it; they learned that lesson when they were forced to reverse Prohibition in the 1930's. The whole "war on drugs" is and has always been a pretext; an excuse for the government to have warehouses full of drugs and databases full of information about drugs while selling drugs to sustain the economy The "war" also has the benefit of facilitating the persecution of *certain* segments of the population by incarcerating them in increasingly privatized prisons with the added benefit of restricting them from participation in the gene pool.

      They well know that the action of legalizing drugs would take the profit motive out from under the cartels, which would then collapse, but how then would all the CIA's black projects be funded? I'm not talking about housing in Compton, either.

      Taliban in Afghanistan had nothing to do with 9/11 but, since the Taliban had burned all the poppy fields, bombing them had the *secondary effect* of releasing the heroin floodgates. They allow foreign cartels to continue to exist because the cartels do the work of farming, producing and shipping drugs which the US has the option of seizing on arrival, saving production time and labor. The profit is easy money. Think the cartels are going to sue? I doubt it.

      Arresting local drug dealers eliminates competition while arresting users who cannot support their habit supports the economy by keeping a steady stream of warm (mostly black) bodies flowing through the expensive US crime machine. Provided they avoid public attention, users who can support their habit provide needed cash flow to the economy so they do their part by staying out of prison and on the stuff. There are so many corrupt reasons for the "war on drugs" that we should expect it to continue indefinitely.

      What people don't realize about this government is that everything it says and does is a double-entendre. There is always a *true* goal and a *stated* goal. *True* goals are achieved by engineering policies that achieve those goals *AS SECONDARY EFFECTS OF STATED GOALS* The secondary goals get sold to the public as a benefit or a protection while no mention of the true goal is ever made. Americans, by and large, are distracted by the stated goal and thus never pay attention to the secondary effect which ends up achieving the engineer's desired effect--but without opposition from people who were already convinced that it would do "good".

      Anyone who attempts to draw attention to the secondary effect is handled in the most elegantly simple fashion possible: One "news" broadcast during which the phrase "conspiracy nut" or "conspiracy theory" is mentioned and anyone espousing a view contrary to official opinion is publicly discredited, instantly losing all "official" credibility. No one will ever listen to that person again. Don't take my word for it, though. Ask Rosie O'Donnell -- if you can find her.

      Now compare this crazy theory to all the events of the last 60 years (and the next 60) and see how well it works.
      • operatorc, on 06/18/2008, -0/+4Too mother-***** true, my friend.
      • Ogerilla, on 06/18/2008, -4/+1That was the most coherent paranoid rant I have ever seen.
        • CrazedLeper, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1You're only paranoid if they're *not* out to get you. If it's coherent, how can it also be false?
      • bat-21, on 06/18/2008, -8/+1Buried for posting a comment longer than the article.
    • xMedic, on 06/18/2008, -1/+1perhaps the prohibition was set b/c they didn't have enough people in jail to work for free?

      /conspiracy theorist mode off.
    • djk21108, on 06/18/2008, -1/+2Legal firearms kill far more than banned assault rifles. Coincidence?
  • thechr0nic, on 06/17/2008, -5/+36I love it when drug use is put into perspective.
    I think I am going to go and make a demotivational poster that says: Alcohol - over 4 times more deadly than Heroin, cocaine and meth combined

    But on a serious note, the war on drugs has time and time again, been proven to be a dismal failure. When will common sense become more common?
    • beautifulleper, on 06/18/2008, -15/+1I agree, but I prefer to be around a drunk over meth or coke user any day. I don't mind heroin users.
    • robbh66, on 06/18/2008, -2/+19Claiming total numbers while ignoring percentage who use compared to those who die as a result of those drugs is not exactly putting things in perspective.

      If that was the case high-fat foods, cigarettes, etc need to all be banned because all contribute to heart disease which is the number one killer in the US.
      • rlbond86, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1That's exactly what I thought. The article doesn't say what percent of cocaine/xanax/whatever end up dying, so it's useless.
      • thechr0nic, on 06/18/2008, -1/+1My post was somewhat tongue in cheek, however...
        We are really not comparing apples to apples, if we wanted a really good comparison, we would judge alcohol from before prohibition was ended (compared to illegal drugs). You know, that stuff that was made in the mountains in stills, that could be strong enough to kill you in one sip, or could take a gallon to get you tipsy.

        If you made these current illegal drugs legal, then quality control would take over, and we would not have near the incidence of death, because we would have a consistent product. You would have more addiction programs similar to AA and other support groups.

        put into proper context and perspective these demonized illegal drugs kill far fewer people than do legal drugs (and even foods for that matter) Making them legal, will only make them safer with more oversight and regulation.

        I am not advocating heroin or meth use, but a very health portion of what makes them so dangerous is due to them being illegal.
        • kprooney, on 06/18/2008, -1/+2the amount of meth needed to get a high is enough to do damage to you
        • thechr0nic, on 06/18/2008, -1/+1@kprooney
          you are missing the point

          /tongue in cheek
          breathing in the smog in Houston or LA or anywhere else for that matter is enough to do damage.
          maybe we should make it as illegal as meth?
          /removes tongue from cheek

          The point I am trying, but apparently failing to make is:
          These 'illegal' drugs, are more dangerous, than they would be if they were legal.
          also
          The war on drugs is worse than the drugs that they are supposed to be combating.

          please let me know, if you still have comprehension problems with the points I am making.

    • DavidThaGnome, on 06/18/2008, -2/+8Common sense will reign supreme when it makes a sh*t ton of money for a handful of individuals.
      • starmanfalls, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1Well defined. Common sense at work. Thanks
      • operatorc, on 06/18/2008, -0/+4The War on Drugs is a failure and a success, but it depends entirely on your perspective.

        For the thousands (millions?) of people that are employed because of certain government agencies and operations to combat the so-called "drug problem," the war is a success. For all of the people employed by prisons, which are well stocked with drug "offenders," the war is a success. For the few people, in our own government, that continue to make boat-loads of money while certain pharmaceuticals are given domination of the drug market, the war is a success. I can go on, but I believe my point is made.

        The War on Drugs is a failure because it's a success, but it depends on which side of the war you're on.
    • djk21108, on 06/18/2008, -1/+2Legal firearms kill far more than banned assault rifles. Coincidence?
    • kprooney, on 06/18/2008, -1/+2you're ignoring the fact that alcohol and prescription drugs are far more readily available and cheaper than illegal substances. How many of those people who used meth died? Look at the percentages and come back later
      • thechr0nic, on 06/18/2008, -1/+1again, you are missing the point.

        Alcohol was far more dangerous before prohibition ended. Now that it 'is' legal, we can regulate it and assure that is as safe as possible. Not to mention the huge crime and violence problem that appeared as a result of the black market.

        If we were to make these illicit drugs legal, we could regulate them, and make them as safe as possible and offer counseling and other help to those who are helplessly addicted.
        We also would benefit from the black market disappearing, much the same as when the bootleggers of alcohol disappeared after prohibition ended.

        If we would just learn from history and apply just a little bit of common sense, we would end this ridiculous war on drugs.
    • JFloyd4Life, on 06/18/2008, -0/+0lol thechr0nic, well played my friend...my favorite posts on digg are the ones that show how rediculous our country is when it comes to the war on drugs.
  • EatChex89, on 06/18/2008, -4/+8And they are just now finding this out?
    • Aieces, on 06/18/2008, -3/+1Its not true until Florida says its true. Respect.
    • dougs55, on 06/18/2008, -3/+1Heck, when I used to visit Florida you could buy single cans of beer at convenience store drive up windows. :-)
  • FreeTalkLIve, on 06/18/2008, -4/+60Death is the leading cause of death.
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    • EwMo, on 06/18/2008, -1/+25*Life is the leading cause of death.
      • FreeTalkLIve, on 06/18/2008, -9/+1Life is alive until death causes death. Life is just a precursor to death. It doesn't mean that life causes death.

        Life can go on until stupid death causes death.

        /Screw the laws of nature
        • EwMo, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1Life is the ONLY precursor to death. Only by being alive, may one die. If death were to cause MORE death, that would be one thing, like a chain reaction, but if I die, it's only because I was alive before that. Something happened in my LIFE that caused me to die.
        • FreeTalkLIve, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1And that something, was death.
    • dvsbastard, on 06/18/2008, -3/+12Life is a sexually transmitted terminal illness...
    • b8man99, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1Death is just a symptom.
    • Lythium, on 06/18/2008, -0/+3I blame dihydrogen oxide.
  • snuffhawk, on 06/18/2008, -6/+76thats because legal drugs are more available and affordable
    • bigfloppydonkey, on 06/18/2008, -8/+7Not for us.
      It's easier to get anything illegal than legal.
      I'm in the US.

      Unless you mean anti-depressants, the Dr.'s hand that ***** out like candy.
      "Oh you have heart problems, here try this, it's a slight anti-depressant." Ugh.
      • Avaseal, on 06/18/2008, -4/+2Ya they do that so when we realize how this country is riding a bullet train to *****-city we don't experience a sudden wave of detergent-related suicides like Japan.

        Disclaimer: Tropic Thunder
    • stack3r, on 06/18/2008, -2/+6and because of this, more abuseable.

      Its legal, so i can eat them 24hrs a day right?
    • joshcxa, on 06/18/2008, -8/+2Exactly.
      I guess, according them, it would be ok to legalise the illegal drugs and everything will be ok
    • b8man99, on 06/18/2008, -0/+3I get the legal drugs from the same place I get the illegal ones - bless you Dr Nick!
    • jeremyduffy, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2Exactly. The first thing that ran through my head when I read the title was, "well duh!"

      That's like saying more people are killed by marine life in the oceans than in fresh water to argue that fresh water is full of harmless creatures when the truth is that there's just a billion more types of creatures in the ocean.
    • geoken, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1Agreed. This article is useless without per capita numbers.
  • Nudar, on 06/18/2008, -6/+96Of course they kill more. They're far more numerous. It doesn't mean oxycontin is more dangerous than heroin.
    • kanabiis, on 06/18/2008, -7/+9I'm going to wager that there are quite a few more Marijuana users then Oxycontin users hands down, I would bet maybe double or triple, yet Marijuana still killed ZERO.

      • Pake, on 06/18/2008, -4/+8Only zero if only count overdoses. Once you start adding up the people killed while intoxicated or by someone intoxicated, then you are far from zero.
        • kanabiis, on 06/18/2008, -2/+7Oh yea all those Marijuana related deaths..

          Give me a break, seriously, educate yourself...
        • Pake, on 06/18/2008, -2/+7I knew you'd try deny that the moment I saw your name. However, denial doesn't change the truth.
        • smackphat, on 06/18/2008, -1/+1The truth being that the most harmful thing a pothead is going to do is eat cheetos and watch comedy central?

          If they *do* get in their car, they're going to be so paranoid as to use their blinker in the parking lot, and even if they do get on the road, they're only going 4MPH.

          So get off your high horse. Pot is harmless. The end.

          PS. I don't smoke pot.
        • Lythium, on 06/18/2008, -1/+1smack - dead on.... I don't smoke either, but one of my friends told me a story about him and his stoned buddies getting pulled over by a cop for doing 7 miles an hour.

          Let me repeat that: 7 (seven) miles an hour. Dangerous lunatics, clearly.
        • coyote1284, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2That depends on when and where they were going 7 MPH. Middle of the day, highway, 55+ Speed Limit = Dangerous and "impeding flow of traffic" ticket is justified. Late night, residential area, 35- SL = who cares.
          /Didn't I see something like that in a Chris Farley movie?
      • oilcan, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2the point being, there exists lethal dosages of lots of these things. Even alcohol and nicotine have lethal dosages. but marijuana does not have a lethal dosage. Well, okay. you got me. if you replaced your bloodstream with big fat marijuana buds, you might die. scary dangerous stuff it is :P

        so, with the given than nobody should drive or operate heavy machinery while under the effects of a mind altering substance, how can anyone rationally make the claim that marijuana should be illegal, and alcohol should be legal?
    • bigd063, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1Oxycodone and heroin are very similar structurally and have almost the same potency and effects. The main difference is the inability to determine the actual purity of street heroin. Also, many prescription opiates contain acetaminophen, which can cause liver failure in high doses.
  • dha07030, on 06/18/2008, -2/+40Yeah because more people use them, what are the percentages?
  • Ghostalker, on 06/18/2008, -6/+12Nice to see the war on drugs is going so well; DEA is so paranoid these days they can't tell the sharks from the guppies.
  • brennerh, on 06/18/2008, -3/+8This is so obvious.
  • Boben, on 06/18/2008, -12/+10Maybe illegal drugs don't kill as many people because they are illegal and they are hard for people to get
    Good drug policy? Probably. This article and title suggests that legal drus should be made illeal
    • PotatoSamurai, on 06/18/2008, -0/+12If you look at ratio of effective dose to lethal dose, the three lowest (safest) are LSD, psilocybin (mushrooms), and THC (Cannabis), each with over a 1/1000. The highest (most dangerous) are heroin and nutmeg. Alcohol is about 1/10, more dangerous than acid, weed, most antidepressants, DXM, and many more.

      Cannabis was outlawed because the forest industry didn't want to face the competition hemp paper would create, it being several times cheaper to produce than wood paper. Cocaine was outlawed after temperance activists connected cocaine use to black men committing crimes and raping white women. LSD and psilocybin? Banned amidst the flurry of hearsay and straight-out fabrications from the U.S. government during the mid-20th century.
      • starmanfalls, on 06/18/2008, -0/+3Spot on. ***** prohibition. It has never worked and it never will. We have free will. Too bad we lost our freedom to decide for ourselves in this godamn country.
    • damntourists, on 06/18/2008, -0/+4in plenty of cities in the US (and i'm sure in plenty of other countries), you could go for a walk and easily score some pot, coke or pills in under 20 minutes.
    • spookyttws, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2The outlawing of Cannabis throughout the states had a lot more to do with immigration (especially in the southern states) then it did with competing cannabis products. It was made to look as though the "lazy mexicans" were bringing over the border with them, and once stoned, they would rape and attack us poor white folk. The issue was the same then as it is now. Before the depression, they were taking up the jobs no one wanted, and white people were happy about that, but during the depression every job was needed, and this was a quick fix. The man in charge of dealing with cocaine at the time didn't even want to touch the subject of making it illegal because he saw no way of outlawing, and enforcing, the selling or growing a weed that grew any place there was water and sunlight.
    • theuber1337, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1If you don't leave your house maybe. Depending on the locale you can find anything from pot to meth in under an hour.
  • kenvsryu, on 06/18/2008, -13/+1Drugs don't kill people...ummm swallowing kills people.
  • FreeTalkLIve, on 06/18/2008, -6/+13The FDA does a heck of a job. Government turns everything it touches into *****.
    • LilRabbitFooFoo, on 08/11/2008, -0/+2That's because Bushco replaced all of the top three levels of every agency with political appointees who have no experience. Normally only the top figurehead position is appointed. But this one act at the beginning of the first term removed every single qualified government official from civil service jobs they held for 30 years. This is why FEMA, the FDA, etc. etc. have all done NOTHING in 8 years and why things like the Katrina response failure to the latest tomato scare are all linked by a common thread of politically motivated cronyism based incompetence.
  • willdelaney, on 06/18/2008, -10/+5lol @ pizzlers avatar
    • mike17032, on 06/18/2008, -5/+4Ya, its cool.

      If you are a dumb ***** still in high school.
      • trumpydumpy, on 06/18/2008, -1/+6Yeah, because the only people who use cannabis are dumb ***** still in high school.

        HUH HUH HUH, I MADE FUNNY
  • akohut, on 06/18/2008, -8/+29Legal drugs are more widely available. So much ***** sensationalism on digg these days.
    • loki49152, on 06/18/2008, -8/+3You don't actually know anyone other than the pizza delivery guy, do you?
    • zoom1928, on 06/18/2008, -5/+9That's BS. Illegal drugs are much more widely available than legal ones. I can buy coke or MJ while on the way to work, but to legally buy testosterone (which I need after my scrotum was ripped off by a forklift at work) it took me almost three years and $20,000 to get the first prescription. I had to go to seven doctors before I finally found one that would write the prescription. It’s very difficult to get the lazy and dishonest doctors to do anything. Drug dealers are much harder working and much more willing to actually provide a service.
      • chrisbosh123, on 06/18/2008, -0/+10"my scrotum was ripped off by a forklift at work"

        My balls hurt just reading that.
      • marx2k, on 06/18/2008, -0/+7Jesus, I need drugs just to get the scrotum-ripping image out of my mind
      • oilcan, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1it is not sensationalist to acknowledge that the war on drugs has made illegal drugs far cheaper and widespread and easier to obtain than they were before they became illegal. this is just acknowledging the numbers of the situation.
  • Biohazard6601, on 06/18/2008, -12/+8they're not "legal" drugs if they're being abused
  • EwMo, on 06/18/2008, -3/+10This just in, swallowing pharmaceutical ***** may kill you.
  • reed311, on 06/18/2008, -17/+16Apples to oranges. Legal drugs are for more available and easier to get. The effects of illegal drugs aren't simply people dying from them, but the social aspects of them as well. Never in a million years would a drug dealer reports his earnings to the IRS if he were to be able to sell drugs legally. Also, the people whom he sells drugs too tend to not earn an honest living as their entire lives are spent doing drugs. They don't hold down a job, don't pay taxes and don't contribute anything positive to society.
    • beautifulleper, on 06/18/2008, -9/+2I have met a few junkies who teach school and only do it on the weekends.

      Might be rare. But we live in a culture of excess. Moderation is the key. I avoid heroin. But I do not loath it.
      • vault, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2You don't see many people bragging about the fact they use heroin 'occasionally.' Heroin is in a completely different ballpark than drugs like pot, shrooms, etc.

        I think junkies who teach school and only do it on weekends are extremely, extremely rare or they're lying about doing it only on the weekends.
        • ssn697, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2Back about 15 years ago, the "weekend vacation" was a big hip thing in the Bay Area. People claiming to just do heroin on the weekend, to get away from the stress and long hours of their jobs.

          Naturally, the weekends turned into full blown addictions. People can't just do heroin on the weekend. The drug is much too powerful.

          I still can't say that I have ever known anyone who did heroin. I am sure I have met people, but I have never been aware of it. Glad to be able to say that...
    • PotatoSamurai, on 06/18/2008, -1/+5"Never in a million years would a drug dealer reports his earnings to the IRS if he were to be able to sell drugs legally."

      So, the doctors who performed abortions while they were illegal would never report their income after it became legal? How about the growers in California? If they're so evil, where's the raping and pillaging?
      • StopOurDrugWar, on 06/18/2008, -0/+4Plus dispensary owners report their income to the irs and pay sales tax.
    • stack3r, on 06/18/2008, -1/+2Controls of these dangerous legal drugs is obviously a problem.

      When a person can get crack from someone off the street, without any paper work, and fairly anonymously, compared to going to a doctor, faking a problem, signing paper work etc. Which way is easier? They are both easily available, its just most people feel because these drugs are legal they are ok to abuse.
    • axis, on 06/18/2008, -1/+5Don't generalize "drug users" and say they aren't decent, positive citizens. Sure, a lot of people who shoot heroin are more LIKELY to be junkies than someone smoking marijuana. But how about the pill popping junkie who gets Oxy from his doctor, who smashes the pills up instead of taking them like the bottle says? So does that mean they are legal junkies?

      Well of course son, come back to my office, I have a pill for that too!

      I would rather smoke marijuana 100x over than drink a drip of alcohol or any other substance I have taken. Except maybe LSD, but I can't imagine being on that 24/7. Ok I can...
    • jmnugent, on 06/18/2008, -1/+5"Also, the people whom he sells drugs too tend to not earn an honest living as their entire lives are spent doing drugs. They don't hold down a job, don't pay taxes and don't contribute anything positive to society."

      Oh, for F's sake... you seriously believe this? There are plenty of RESPONSIBLE people who are productive members of society who like to smoke a J on the weekends or go to a concert/weekend and enjoy other recreational substances. This doesnt make them slackers, losers, or dishonest. The same is true of alcohol, internet-use, thrill-seeking or porn..... the particular vice you are talking about isnt the problem. Responsible use (or misuse) is the problem.

      If drugs were legalized.. which would take all the crime and risk out of it... we'd have a much healthier society. Why?.. because people wouldnt be afraid to honestly come forward and ask questions and learn actual tested facts/information about drugs (instead of relying on rumors, and underground information)
    • starmanfalls, on 06/18/2008, -2/+2You don't really know anything about which you are spouting off your ***** mouth about. Idiot, uninformed moron. I smoke dope every day, make in excess of 100k per year, and pay too much tax. I buy my weed from others who do the same and have been doing it 40 years. You listen to too many other idiots that reinforce your ignorant and flat out stupid views. ***** you *****. Thanks, that was a good *****. BITCH.
    • mskmadison, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1You make a compelling argument, but I would say that it is apples to apples. The study specifically looks at deaths. Through autopsies they were able to determine that these deaths were caused more by prescribed drugs or alcohol than by illegal narcotics. This study is not based on tax filings. The perspective of the study does not go into all those things you mention here.

      Further, I would argue with you that illegal or legal drugs *do* have the same effect. Someone with a steady job just and health insurance just gets their drugs from a different dealer. In terms of abuse and damage to society, it's all the same in the end though. There can be recreational users and that is all fine and good... but those who go beyond recreation always end up in the same place: Those who get addicted eventually have to try to clean up or fall off the deep end and those around them get f'd. It is a very simple equation really and it's the same whether it's the H or friggin Pabst.
    • kingofthisnight, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1"Never in a million years would a drug dealer reports his earnings to the IRS if he were to be able to sell drugs legally."

      If currently illegal drugs were made legal a drug dealer would not be selling them now would he?
  • beautifulleper, on 06/18/2008, -8/+3prohibition puts none violent offenders into jail for many years of their life and wastes tax money.

    The death penalty may save a bit of money but the death penalty wouldn't be needed if we weren't spending so much money on none violent offenders.
    • damntourists, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2how does the death penalty save money?
      • beautifulleper, on 06/18/2008, -3/+1how much money does it cost to keep a prisoner in jail for 30 years?
        • damntourists, on 06/18/2008, -0/+5Isn't the death penalty cheaper than life in prison?

          * No. It costs a great deal more.
          * "Elimination of the death penalty [in California] would result in a net savings to the state of at least tens of millions of dollars annually, and a net savings to local governments in the millions to tens of millions of dollars on a statewide basis." (Joint Legislative Budget Committee of the California Legislature, 09/9/99)
          * Total cost of death penalty is 38% greater than total cost of life without parole sentences. (Indiana Criminal Law Study Commission, January 10, 2002)
          * Since its return to New York in 1995, $160 million has been spent. The New York Daily News estimates that before the first execution takes place, $238 million will be spent.
          * In addition to the funds required to try death penalty cases, the New York Department of Correctional Services spent $1.3 million to construct New York's 12-inmate death row and pays nearly $300,000 per year to guard the unit. (New York Law Journal, April 30, 2002)

          pulled from: http://www.nyadp.org/main/faq#0
        • beautifulleper, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2that is good to know, I am against the death penalty anyway. I just made the false assumption that feeding someone and containing them for 3o years cost more.
          Why does the death penalty cost so much?
        • BrandoHere, on 06/18/2008, -0/+0The appeals process can be very expensive.
  • willdiggforfood, on 06/18/2008, -10/+6So, how are we using this as an argument for morally rationalizing illegal drugs again?
    • Ne007, on 06/18/2008, -2/+3How do you fail to realize the point that legal drugs can be just as bad for you or worse than illegal drugs?

      Some people are just pointing out that some illegal drugs, such as marijuana, have fewer side effects and work more effectively than prescribed medicines.
    • EmperorAwesome, on 06/18/2008, -0/+3The point doesn't need to be made. Prohibition needs to end to improve the world we live in.
    • oilcan, on 06/18/2008, -0/+0'oh noes the word 'illegal' has been put to something for me, so i knows without any thinking about the facts of the situation that marijuani is really really bad! thank you for making all my tuff decisions for me mr. government! now where'd I put that fifth of vodka....*glurp* *glurp* *glurp* .....'

      -my impression of you :)
  • CyclonusRIP, on 06/18/2008, -11/+3Imagine how many lives could be saved by making all drugs illegal.
    • damntourists, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2yeah, right. you want more drug runners like Al Capone, and people making/selling moonshine? what about those who take prescription drugs in order to stay alive? by making all drugs illegal, that's increasing our already wasted tax dollars (so far $23,590,000,000). Plus, you're not stoping the urges people have... they will get their drugs whether you like it or not.
      • BOFH2, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2Wait until the people who are in chronic pain start killing themselves because they just can't deal with it anymore.
    • concernedcit, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2worked great with alcohol, right? I hope you're not serious.
    • padth, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1hahaha Who are these people that think you're being serious?
      • CyclonusRIP, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1Pretty much everyone on this site. Make drugs legal = good is as far as most of the people understand. As long as the article is on your side of the issue, who cares how intelligent or logical it is? Legal drugs are more accessible and more widely consumed. Not to mention certain prescription medicines are very dangerous. It's a stupid argument and anyone who had the capabilities for abstract thought would much prefer someone to make a real argument in favor of legalization.
    • starmanfalls, on 06/18/2008, -0/+0By all drugs you mean prescription and illicit as well? Heart meds cancer meds, diabetes meds, coffee, aspirin, all drugs? Right? Either way that was stupid. Do you even know what a DRUG is???
  • psylemon, on 06/18/2008, -8/+4Maybe that's because they're more readily available to the general public?
    • operatorc, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1More readily available marijuana is still nearly harmless to the public, no matter how you spin it.
  • burjzyntski, on 06/18/2008, -3/+12I'm from Florida and I hear a lot more talk about pills (valium, xanax, roxycodone, etc.) than I do heroin, meth, or cocaine, but this is probably an almost nation-wide trend.

    Pills are bad, m'kay.
    Stick with the sticky icky (notice 0 deaths).
    • Bith8654, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2Agreed. I'm also from Florida and over the past year or so it seems like a lot of people I know have been getting into ***** like Oxycontin, Roxies, and xanax. Sadly, most of the people messing with these pills are starting to let acquiring the pills take up all their time and money. Some I can tell are full blown addicted, others are well on their way, but it's safe to say no one's life has improved since started to use these pills.
  • mnetlucas, on 06/18/2008, -2/+16 In other news, the common cold kills more people per year than anthrax...
    • seraph582, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1not really a valid comparison.

      Anthrax is more severe - more comparable to, say Ritalin, which is as powerful as Cocaine. Pot is illegal, and is less far damaging, so closer to the common cold - thus the reason your comparison is back-asswards.
  • chrisbosh123, on 06/18/2008, -5/+12Hm.. this seems kind of dumb.
    1. for every one illegal drug addict, there's probably 10000 legal drug takers. (so yes, even if we get a 0.01% of people dying from legal drugs, that's still 10 people dying while no one dies from the illegal drugs)
    2. For the price of one gram of cocaine, you can get ALOT of over the counter drugs.
    3. If we had a 1:1 ratio of people taking illegal stuff and legal stuff, then the report can accurately say that "legal drugs kill far more people"
    4. Did they mention how many lives the legal drugs actually saved? *not that illegal drugs can't, but most can't*
    Just to get an idea of how unscientific this study is, its like saying "Chinese government buys alot more rice than Canada therefore, Chinese people are greedy" (1 billion vs 33 million population)
  • Spyder2k, on 06/18/2008, -1/+5....and the ratio of illegal drugs to legal is?
  • beautifulleper, on 06/18/2008, -8/+2Only 20% of heroin users become hooked. Where at least 6 out of every 10 people I know average 4-6 beers or drinks a day.
    • mike17032, on 06/18/2008, -1/+2*****.
      • beautifulleper, on 06/18/2008, -1/+1Addictive behavior is not just determined by the addictiveness of the drug, but by genetics and up bringing.
    • EmperorAwesome, on 06/18/2008, -2/+24-6 drinks/day? Holy ***** their lives must be falling apart!

      Uptight jackass.
      • beautifulleper, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1I don't think that is too much, so much as drinking and driving and accidently killing people happens often enough. More than four drinks tend to be not good for ones health. I average 4-6 drinks a day.
    • spookyttws, on 06/18/2008, -1/+3You clearly have no idea of how powerful heroin is and how little effect 4 drinks a day has on a person.
  • TheMachine1, on 06/18/2008, -6/+3"The Florida report analyzed 168,900 deaths statewide. Cocaine, heroin and all methamphetamines caused 989 deaths, it found, while legal opioids — strong painkillers in brand-name drugs like Vicodin and OxyContin — caused 2,328."

    Yeah but I bet very few of the Vicodin/OxyCotin users were using it with proper authorization and according to their doctors instructions. Which means most those death are technically "illicit" drug use deaths.
  • MrZop, on 06/18/2008, -5/+2However, does this factor in the amount of deaths caused by people who we're on illegal drugs? People hopped up on drugs tend to kill a lot of people. this report seems to only include those who died from the drugs themselves.
    • beautifulleper, on 06/18/2008, -1/+3It depends on the drug. And why they are killing. A lot of killing gets caused by the fact that the laws are so strict that the only justice of getting ripped off or that someone might snitch on you or a rival drug dealers leads you to kill. The most amount of killing is caused by the drugs that have the strictest penalties. I would say that meth and alcohol are the two drugs where the drug itself causes people to kill people rather than the laws.
    • damntourists, on 06/18/2008, -1/+3where's your evidence that "people hopped up on drugs tend to kill a lot of people." ?
      • trumpydumpy, on 06/18/2008, -0/+4Haven't you seen Reefer Madness?
        • damntourists, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2hah! have you seen reefer madness, the musical?
    • PotatoSamurai, on 06/18/2008, -1/+2Yeah, I know how aggressive stoners can get. I knew one once who, with a joint in his hand, took a knife and cut a huge gouge in my cake! I was so pissed!

      You might want to see what happens when emotion and ALCOHOL combine.
      • beautifulleper, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1emotion+alcohol=violence
        • operatorc, on 06/18/2008, -0/+0emotion+alcohol=violence+youtube=entertainment
  • chkdg8, on 06/18/2008, -0/+4Dugg for the submitter's profile icon.
  • tombwu, on 06/18/2008, -6/+0学习雷蜂好榜样
  • BikerDude69, on 06/18/2008, -1/+2Well, DUH!
  • v1c1ous, on 06/18/2008, -4/+4cars kill more people than guns. ban cars.
  • RockStarMVP, on 06/18/2008, -0/+3You also want to take into account how many people die because of alcohol and tobacco
  • eyedfy, on 06/18/2008, -2/+1To all the prescription drug abusers, please call your doctor if you have an erection lasting more than 4 hours. Please.
  • damntourists, on 06/18/2008, -1/+5mmmm can you smell that? that's the smell of $23,500,000,000 in a roaring fire, while the silhouettes of the DEA agents are seen dancing around it.
  • beautifulleper, on 06/18/2008, -2/+1Are more diggers scared of drug users than not? I am more worried about a drunk person killing me in their car then someone else accidently killing them self cause they are stupid.
  • dizilbdog, on 06/18/2008, -1/+6I"m still waiting for the first person to die from "Just smoking Marijuana" I don't their is one instance ever. Beat that pharmaceutical companies.
    • damntourists, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1it's impossible to die from thc. you'd die of smoke inhalation before you died from the ingredient that makes you high. you'd have to smoke your weight in weed to die from thc. same goes for hemp. hemp is an amazingly versatile plant, and it's illegal because it's too similar to cannabis. although you'd still die of smoke inhalation before ever getting high.
      • dizilbdog, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1But I ask you kind sir has it happened yet?
    • unpolloloco, on 06/18/2008, -1/+1Probably lung cancer - breathing in smoke is not exactly good for lungs, no matter what kind of smoke.

      Anyway, I think that THC has killed a few brain cells, as is evidenced by your improper use of "their" - sorry, had to say that.
    • MrFurious2k, on 06/18/2008, -1/+1I agree with legalization, but there are no shortages of ill health effects from smoking marijuana. I just don't want to hear any whining when some idiot gets cancer and claims he didn't know. Especially no lawsuits for those idiots against either the providers or the local Taco Bell.
  • trumpydumpy, on 06/18/2008, -1/+3I find it ironic that we give children amphetamine pills to cure their "ADD" and while hopped up on speed in DARE class the officer tells them the dangers of methamphetamine. It's almost the exact same drug, meth is just the smokeable form.

    Don't get me wrong, I don't support either drug, I am just pointing out the hypocrisy in our failed "war on drugs."
    • eryximachus, on 06/18/2008, -1/+3Are you a dumb kid who just had a DARE class?

      Methamphetamine is not a "smokable form". It is also a prescription drug once sold under the name Desoxyn.





      • trumpydumpy, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1Oh, I'm sorry, it's the "vaporizable" form. Yes, I know you can also snort, inject, or merely eat meth as well. Too me it sounds like you are trying to support it, did I strike a nerve with you?

        "Are you a dumb kid who just had a DARE class?" is really what makes me think you are just another tweaker.
    • aristideau, on 06/18/2008, -1/+1I have tried it once and it did nothing, no buzz nothing, just kept me awake for 12 hours
    • slodojo, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1The kids with ADD are getting their medications in controlled doses under the supervision of a profession. They are not "hopped up on speed." With the help of the medication they can focus in class, have more functional relationships with their peers, and generally perform better in life.
      • trumpydumpy, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1"Controlled doses" huh? So that instantly makes it OK and safe? Most of the kids I knew that were on speed took much more than the prescribed amount. Remember speed builds up a tolerance very quick.

        "supervision of a professional" You mean the drug dealers that call themselves "psychiatrists"?

        They are not "hopped up on speed." What are they hopped up on then? Speed is the street term for amphetamines.

        "With the help of the medication they can focus in class, have more functional relationships with their peers, and generally perform better in life." Aha nice, except for the fact that I have friends who have gotten in fights over their speed pills, one friend of mine beat up his best friend back in Jr High because he wouldn't give him some of his speed. It is an incredibly addictive drug that does nothing but ruin your life. If you support amphetamine so much, do you think meth should be legal too? It must have lots of benefits that we just don't know about. You are just rehashing the talking points the quack told you before prescribing your child speed. Maybe you should look into better ways of raising your child instead of giving him drugs and taking the easy way out of parenting.
  • mike17032, on 06/18/2008, -4/+4Because they are used by far more people. Not a big leap of ***** logic here.
  • guytoronto, on 06/18/2008, -2/+3Show me how many lives legal drugs SAVE.
    • ANT1138, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1Many, I imagine. My mom has cancer and she would be dead if it weren't for legal drugs.
    • marx2k, on 06/18/2008, -2/+1Marijuana saved MY life.... true story
      • kittnerrules, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1Do I really need to point out why this is stupid?
        • marx2k, on 06/18/2008, -0/+0Please do. I will reply with the fact that it got me to quit smoking, quit drinking, begin working out, begin working harder, and got me to study harder and get better grades. So yes, please point out why this is stupid, I'd love to hear your take on it.
        • kittnerrules, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1You responded to a post that says "show me how many lives *LEGAL* drugs save." I have no doubt bud improved your life. I realize you were probably just pointing out the fact that an illegal drug saved your life, but still.
  • TecK415, on 06/18/2008, -0/+14zero deaths for weed, what a surprise. Yet you can go to ***** PRISON for it.
    • spookyttws, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1LaLaLa. With my fingers in my ears I can't hear you! Government says it's bad. When has the government ever lied to me?!
      • FLarsen, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1Please don't expect an answer.

        It would overload digg. They would have to upgrade the servers to store it all.
  • Almadiel, on 06/18/2008, -3/+3Prescription drugs are not "legal" if your doctor doesn't proscribe them to you.
  • StopOurDrugWar, on 06/18/2008, -0/+9I love some of the generalizations going on here about drug users. Have you ever heard of people doing drugs in moderation and not ruining their lives? Pssssssst, Ill tell you a secret- its possible. If everyone who has ever used drugs did, as a poster above greatly generalized, " not earn an honest living as their entire lives are spent doing drugs. They don't hold down a job, don't pay taxes and don't contribute anything positive to society", we would be a nation of junkies, as an estimated 70 million Americans have used an illegal drug at some point in their lives
    • beautifulleper, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2Speak the gospel brother!
    • Elderon, on 06/18/2008, -0/+3@StopOurDrugWar
      I agree. People need to lay off the reefer madness type mentality that all drugs now a days seem to possess and actually try and learn a thing or two about them. This whole notion that the second you try an illegal drug, your life is over is just crap. I hear plenty of people spouting nonsense like the person you referenced about people that do drugs, not paying taxes, not working or going to school and you know what it's pretty much all caused by this so called war on drugs.
      Take Cannabis for example. I don't think I've ever read a case of someone dying strictly because of cannabis. (look up alcohol induced deaths for a comparison) Yet if you get caught with cannabis you can say good bye to getting federal aid for school, you can have a hard time getting a job. Society seems to think you grow horns out of your head the instant you take a drug.
  • suttercain, on 06/18/2008, -3/+13This is why I usually vote Libertarian. LEGALIZE ALL DRUGS! LEGALIZE PROSTITUTION! LEGALIZE FREEDOM!
    • BlueSkyfish, on 06/18/2008, -4/+1Legalize murder too.

      (not sarcasm, I just need a reason to use that katana I bought a few years ago)
      • suttercain, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1As long as one does not interfere with the liberty of of another, they should be FREE to do with themselves what they wish. This is a hard concept for both right-wing conservatives and left-wing liberals to grasp.
    • FLarsen, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2In other words: Legalize common sense.

      Many of this sort of things are illegal because a group of people (people with christian syndrome for instance) doesn't _like_ them.
  • siali, on 06/18/2008, -4/+3To play the devil's advocate; this is like saying cars kill more than roller coasters! While the blind general rejection of illegal drugs is debatable, this specific argument is not a pertinent one. The main contrast here is between the risk that you need to take and the one that you don't, rather than the magnitude of the risk.
  • markdall, on 06/18/2008, -10/+5No *****? Imagine what'll happen once currently illegal drugs are legalized. The number will explode as every dumbass out there will be able to acquire them.
    • gjreed, on 06/18/2008, -1/+6Um, obviously basic economics escapes markdall. Due to there mal-effects, products such as drugs, tobacco and alcohol have an almost static demand, drinkers will drink, smokers will smoke and crack heads will get their score. After prohibition ended a FBI report stated a less then 10% increase in alcohol use, after it had be illegal for so many years. People will get their fix legal or not, the legal status of drugs will not make create a drastic "explosion" in use, the appeal of such products is not wide. Thats like saying it pot was legal every grandma would go smoke because she drinks gin and smokes pal-malls which were both illegal during her lifetime .
    • jmnugent, on 06/18/2008, -1/+6Right.. just like all those European countries who legalized drugs and the entire populations went crazy in a drug fueled orgy and the entire countries had to be shutdown....

      *cough*

      Seriously though. Sure, if you legalize drugs there might be a short spike in "experimentation". Thats to be expected in a society like USA where its been illegal for so long. But.. once again, as I've always said, the drugs arent the problem. Idiots are going to be idiots whether they have access to drugs or not. True, drugs might make their actions worse... but thats not the drugs fault.

      What the F happened to "personal responsibility" in this nation?... If you take drugs and then go out and F something up... blaming it on the drugs is a cheap lame shallow cop-out excuse because you are to much of a loser and step forward and be responsible for your actions.

      Additionally.... a nation that "blames drugs" for its problems is also cheap, shallow and weak. Sure, we could step up and honestly do the hard work to fix our social problems with some humanity .... but its far easier to blame it on drugs, and satisfy the people with hot celebrity gossip and reality TV.
    • damntourists, on 06/18/2008, -1/+5the people who want them already have them, smart guy.
    • toker200, on 06/18/2008, -1/+5Are you ***** stupid Markdall drugs even illegal ones are easy as ***** to get making them legal wouldn't make it easier ur just a ***** moron p.s any dumb ass can acquire them as is
    • NCg8r, on 06/18/2008, -0/+2My nieces are in high school (get it?) and cannot get their hands on alcohol easily. Plus, it is very obvious when you've been drinking. They have NO problem getting weed, pills, powder, etc... which are easier to mask than alcohol. Which is legal... My head hurts.
  • fuzzy889, on 06/18/2008, -2/+2That's not news.
  • goph, on 06/18/2008, -4/+5well no *****, legal drugs are far more readily available
  • DeFex, on 06/18/2008, -0/+1Thats why the government is all about fighting organized crime selling drugs. they hate competition.
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