If Cigarettes were invented today, do you think they would be legal?

[NavySeals91]

Mentioned what? I must have skipped over it.

Edit: I already knew about laziness and the dopamine chemical released in the brain....the same is released when you play video games at an addicted level.

 

[typeins]

Dude, I mentioned that in this thread.

I think it all depends on the person.. Me personally, i dont like weed at all.. does absolutely nothing for me.

However some of the smartest and sharpest people i know have it occasionally and keep it recreational and there are no side effects ( none noticeable )

However when people start smoking bongs and make a lifestyle out of it, yes its a pathetic sight.. lathargic, no motivation etc etc...

 

[dcristo]

Mentioned what? I must have skipped over it.

Edit: I already knew about laziness and the dopamine chemical released in the brain....the same is released when you play video games at an addicted level.

That there is an alarming correlation between hard marijuana use and depression/psychosis.

 

[dcristo]

I think it all depends on the person.. Me personally, i dont like weed at all.. does absolutely nothing for me.

However some of the smartest and sharpest people i know have it occasionally and keep it recreational and there are no side effects ( none noticeable )

However when people start smoking bongs and make a lifestyle out of it, yes its a pathetic sight.. lathargic, no motivation etc etc...

Well yeah, when you start smoking weed hard your past the joint stage.

 

[NavySeals91]

Exactly what all my friends did, bongs, free basing, etc. Smoking pure THC.

 

[Duckinla]

I went to University of Oregon where pot was a way of life for so many people there. Never cared for it too much but my roommates loved it. Apartment always had the musty smell of spilled bongwater. We would make plans to go out, and 5 hours later I would realize we weren't going anywhere but to bed.
I think different drugs appeal to different personalities. I drank (a lot) and smoked cigs, but Pot was just such a de-motivator for me. I wanted to be out meeting girls at clubs, not home playing Risk and listening to Pink Floyd. To me the biggest danger of Pot (or any drug really) is that they seem to reduce personal growth and evolution. You see people 10 years later and their pretty much exactly the same as they were 10 years previously. Same hair, same clothes, same music, same job, same car. But, to each their own.

 

[007]

To everyone who says it should all be legalized.. It's all fun and games until somebody you know or even yourself gets hit by a car by someone who was driving while high.

With legalization, the number of users will skyrocket. Why? Because apparently it's cool and now nothing can stop them from doing it. Alcohol related deaths are already way too high, so you want to add to the number by legalizing all drugs?

Sure, to each his own has some ground to stand on, but what if somebody else's "own" includes driving while high and driving over your kid who's playing in your front yard. Then you will think differently.

This stuff already happens. Why increase it?

And I doubt cigarettes would be legal if they were invented today. I wouldn't be surprised if in 5-10 years they are banned, however. Many cities have already banned the use of cigarettes in public, including businesses and restaurants. You won't find a smoking section in restaurants anymore, and businesses will no longer have "smoking areas" in these cities. Making cigarettes completely illegal has already begun.

 

[dcristo]

007, I am trying to comprehend how making something legal makes it "cool".

 

[insomnia]

Legalizing a drug would destroy the black market for it, thusly reducing crime and violent crimes committed in the name of drug profits. Can you imagine that? Instead of leaving high school to peddle drugs on the street, a kid no longer has a product to sell, or any other problems associated with drug dealing. Businesses and distributors in a competitive market sell standardized, government regulated drugs just like the way alcohol is sold.

 

[NavySeals91]

Wow, I have someone with the same views as me on my side in this thread. It is already "cool" to smoke pot and legalizing this would make teens smoke it to be cool. Fire is legal, doesn't stop kids from being pyros/being infactuated with burning things. Knives under 6" are legal, doesn't stop kids from carrying them. Inhalents eg aerosol/strong markers are legal, doesn't stop kids from using them to get high. The choking game is legal, doesnt stop kids from playing it. See where that legal makes things unnatractive is wrong? Alcohol is legal, people still party over 21 and get smashed.

Legalizing a drug would destroy the black market for it, thusly reducing crime and violent crimes committed in the name of drug profits. Can you imagine that? Instead of leaving high school to peddle drugs on the street, a kid no longer has a product to sell, or any other problems associated with drug dealing. Businesses and distributors in a competitive market sell standardized, government regulated drugs just like the way alcohol is sold.

Would increase black market...black market is known for cheap knockoffs/at a lower cost. That is basic knowledge. People would spend so much money they would look for cheaper alternatives eg blackmarket stuff 1/2 the price of legal stuff. So really more people doing it when its legal means higher black market. Do you think organized crime wants to lose their #1 funding source? HELL NO!

 

[GT Web]

1) Making drugs legal would reduce their "cool" status, since they would no longer be anti-authority.

There are certainly enough people being injured and killed by drunk drivers nowadays, does this mean alcohol should be outlawed because some idiots choose to abuse it?

 

[dcristo]

Yeh fire is legal and there's gonna be a pyromaniac epidimic!! haha

Navy - how would the black market thrive on legalizing drugs? Why would anyone wanna risk getting shitty drugs off some shody dealer when they can get the good stuff from a pharmacy which is legit, and which would be very inexpensive.

 

[NavySeals91]

1) Making drugs legal would reduce their "cool" status, since they would no longer be anti-authority.

There are certainly enough people being injured and killed by drunk drivers nowadays, does this mean alcohol should be outlawed because some idiots choose to abuse it?

(It is also why people who kill or have offences of drunk driving against them lose their liscense for life...5 (or 3 a year alone...max in MA is 3per year, 5 per 3 year period or something like that) traffic violations/tickets in a 3 year period results in permanent loss of liscense i believe or something like 5-20 years. We don't like drunk driving...tons of people in my town were killed because of it...that and drag racing.
Alcohol was banned in the 20s...could only drink it in your own home. Only thing that happened was err bootlegging. Different from drugs...alcohol was legal then banned then legal.....drugs were originally illegal in the past 2 centuries...thus if they become legal history shows they will be banned again. So a blackmarket would not errupt because it is already inplace, infact it would boom undercutting the legal stuff.


Your view on anti-authority being cool is not based on factual information, just sterotyped opinion unneducated people have not even speculation. There are only maybe 3% of all teens in america who think anti authority is what makes things cool. How about just the fact of pleasure? That aint anti authority. Most people take drugs because of the effect not to spit in people's faces. However very little do.

 

[insomnia]

Would increase black market...black market is known for cheap knockoffs/at a lower cost. That is basic knowledge. People would spend so much money they would look for cheaper alternatives eg blackmarket stuff 1/2 the price of legal stuff. So really more people doing it when its legal means higher black market. Do you think organized crime wants to lose their #1 funding source? HELL NO!

Uhmm, when was the last time you saw home-made vodka for sale on the street? The knockoff stuff isn't black market, thats gray market, you seem to be thinking about fake gucci bags. Black market is forged documents, guns, drugs. Organized crime has no choice if drugs are legalized.

Imagine its the prohibition days and you're selling illegal alcohol beverages at the speakeasy lounge. Suddenly, the government legalizes alcohol. You no longer have a market. You don't need to bribe, smuggle, kill authority figures and competitiors to keep your profits high. So heres what you do: You move on to make profits in another industry, legal or not. Tell me, if drugs are legalized, what will organized crime do? Pay taxes and conduct good business to keep their profits alive?

 

[NavySeals91]

No, they would undercut to get the most of a market, mob does not really care for authority or taxes, trust me if coke was legalized...people would go to the underground by 1 gram for 10$ versus the retail value of 20 or 25. They would also buy in bulk as well.

The cia and fbi have whole departments dedicated to organized crime asset tracking and money laundering. FTAT is one for foriegn affairs as well as domestic. I dunno about you but exposing my self as mafia if I were a member to sell legalized drugs would get me err jailed for past crimes. Also, cartels in columbia wouldn't want to see a decrease in their sales. America would produce her own drugs controlled by the gov, it would leave the others out of the business.


Sometimes, thinking outside the box can clarify things a bit more than thinking square.

 

[dcristo]

No, they would undercut to get the most of a market, mob does not really care for authority, trust me if coke was legalized...people would go to the underground by 1 gram for 10$ versus the retail value of 20 or 25. They would also buy in bulk as well.

No one can buy more in bulk more then the government. What was a VERY profitable business for drug lords will turn into a very low margin one. Not to mention the drug purity issue. In any case, Navy your seriously missing the point in legalizing drugs you've lost me im outta this thread.

 

[NavySeals91]

So to say, the gov would do dealings with the mob? Rofl...You are the one missing the point in this whole thing.

Well I need to get to rest, gunna go beat up my body the old way. Doing physical activity for 2 weeks. Football Preseason. Won't be here to defend any slams, but I will enjoy a read when I get back.

 

[insomnia]

No, they would undercut to get the most of a market, mob does not really care for authority, trust me if coke was legalized...people would go to the underground by 1 gram for 10$ versus the retail value of 20 or 25. They would also buy in bulk as well.

Trust you hmm, have you dealt coke before?

Dealers (and buyers are aware) that powdered cocaine is rarely pure. It is cut with "filler" agents, such as sugar, baking soda, etc. to increase mass, basically to screw over the buyer and increase profits. 5kg of coke turns into say 6kg, wow, I sold 6 kg of cocaine at blackmarket price when only 5 of it was real. This business isn't regulated, whose going to stop me from putting more crap in? Or even other powders which may be dangerous.

The price of an illegal drug would be determined by market and demand. If its obvious the price is undercut, THERE WONT BE BUYERS because its obvious something is up. Sure, you can buy a gucci bag for $15 in china town NYC, but do you really think its authentic italian leather?

Navyseals, please learn a few things about economics.

 

[dcristo]

Are you high now Navy? Your not making sense...

 

[NavySeals91]

insomnia, please educate yourself on the Mafia. I am not going by Fake Pradas in NYC. Educate yourself as well on economics in the sense of if people spend 10k a year on drugs out of 20k a year of total income.....If they can get the stuff they are addicted to for 2.5-5 k a year regardless, they would. Also, when you are at the stage where it becomes a money issue your brain is already mush rendering you utterly idiotic.

dcristo...obviously you must be in you mid-late teens and have never seen people addicted before have you? The Goku is a clear err give away on that.