Should the government free all restrictions on the sale and manufacture of recreational drugs?

Why not accept, society is losing the war against drug use?

If they legitimised these drugs, in the same way alcohol is, wouldn’t they take away the main sources of income from the mafia?

Freeing police from the time consuming task of capturing petty pushers and users, could allow them to concentrate on bigger criminals and terrorists.

Wouldn’t society, in the long run, be a better place?

Surely life is more peaceful in a city like Amsterdam with a more liberal drug policy than in the back alleys of Pattaya or Chang Mai?

Couldn’t the removal of the illegality of drug taking also remove the necessity to engage in illegal activity to finance this habit?

Should the government free all restrictions on the sale and manufacture of recreational drugs?

No.

I’m nearly 50 and have led a fairly wide and adventurous life, never been in love with the nanny state, certainly more liberal than conservative but find myself very anti-drug. I speak from experience, not from using recreational drugs but from being around them and those who had used them.

I can’t see how you can use Amsterdam as a showcase, however I must admit it was at least 8 years ago when I was last there, but the druggy side of the city was very grubby as was its prostitute scene!

Absolutely Yes!!! And we could get the large pharmaceutical companies to start doing research on how to improve them so they would be more fun and not such a health risk....the problem is too many people have puritan attitudes and actually think that having a really really good time is immoral intrinsically and even if really really good drugs that were perfectly safe were create these people would still be against them.....so ABSOLUTELY YES I'm in favor of legalizing drugs and I can make lots of good arguements as to why this is a good idea but I'll save these ideas for later.

Drugs are illegal in Thailand. If you're a pusher you risk getting shot, if you are a trafficker, lethal injection.

Come on Tom, this isn't one for debate in Thailand.

Drugs are illegal in Thailand. If you're a pusher you risk getting shot, if you are a trafficker, lethal injection.

Come on Tom, this isn't one for debate in Thailand.

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I want to be clear here...I am not suggesting that people take drugs that are illegal...what I'm doing here is discussing a change in the law so that there are fewer drugs deemed to be illegal....are you saying that we shouldn't talk about changes we would like to see in Thai laws? People talk alot about wanting to change property ownership laws and it seems like that's ok..so what's up?

Drugs are illegal in Thailand. If you're a pusher you risk getting shot, if you are a trafficker, lethal injection.

Come on Tom, this isn't one for debate in Thailand.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Insomuch as anything we debate on Thaivisa concerning aspects of LOS's laws or their administration has absolutely no influence at all on the government of Thailand, why should a discussion on drugs be more problematic than anything else?

We recognise that all farangs are disenfranchised in the State of Thailand, therefore all debate can only be for our own amusement and will embarrass no-one, so long as we hold ourselves within the forum rules.

There could, you never know, be some interesting points about the deployment of resources and the problems of the south.

On the other hand there is always Tits.

2 months ago Thomas tried to shut down a topic which was discussing ways in which Thaksin would ultimately leave office - quoting (incorrectly), the Lese Majeste Laws.

He said it was a hypothetical scenario that shouldn't be discussed

Well so's this, and I guess its the same, its legal to discuss this too. Its a free country after all.

So you're right. .......Where next? Age of Consent Laws, Lese Majeste Laws? After all, we're not discussing the crime, just the Law, right?

Chownah admitting he likes to take Yaba on a Full Moon and someone notifying his local PoliceStation?

Whatever...... I guess I don't have to click on this nonsense.

Whatever...... I guess I don't have to click on this nonsense.

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Right again.

2 months ago Thomas tried to shut down a topic which was discussing ways in which Thaksin would ultimately leave office -  quoting (incorrectly), the Lese Majeste Laws.

He said it was a hypothetical scenario that shouldn't be discussed

Well so's this, and I guess its the same, its legal to discuss this too. Its a free country after all.

So you're right. .......Where next? Age of Consent Laws, Lese Majeste Laws? After all, we're not discussing the crime, just the Law, right?

Chownah admitting he likes to take Yaba on a Full Moon and someone notifying his local PoliceStation?

Whatever...... I guess I don't have to click on this nonsense.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Making a false statement about me like this involving such a serious infraction of a very serious Thai law is not funny....please refrain in the future.

Chownah

2 months ago Thomas tried to shut down a topic which was discussing ways in which Thaksin would ultimately leave office -  quoting (incorrectly), the Lese Majeste Laws.

He said it was a hypothetical scenario that shouldn't be discussed

Well so's this, and I guess its the same, its legal to discuss this too. Its a free country after all.

So you're right. .......Where next? Age of Consent Laws, Lese Majeste Laws? After all, we're not discussing the crime, just the Law, right?

Chownah admitting he likes to take Yaba on a Full Moon and someone notifying his local PoliceStation?

Whatever...... I guess I don't have to click on this nonsense.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Making a false statement about me like this involving such a serious infraction of a very serious Thai law is not funny....please refrain in the future.

Chownah

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I fear the gentleman making these false statements may have consumed rather more than his fair share of soda water.

He said it was a hypothetical scenario

he also recently refused to answer a point i raised with him on the basis that it was hypothetical.

he mentions hypocracy in his posts a lot too. !!

but on the matter of this post , legalising drugs , well there may be something in to be said for removing from the criminal world , but then , how do you go about regulating the use of them.

or in your hypothetical society , would you place no restrictions on the type of drugs to be decriminalised , and remove all control over supply too.?

He said it was a hypothetical scenario

he also recently refused to answer a point i raised with him on the basis that it was hypothetical.

he mentions hypocracy in his posts a lot too. !!

Yes, I admit it, I've always had a tendancy to be hypo crazy. My wife says I am hypo racy too, although not so much since I passed the 58 years on this wonderful planet.

but on the matter of this post , legalising drugs , well there may be something in to be said for removing from the criminal world , but then , how do you go about regulating the use of them.

In the same way that alcohol is regulated.

or in your hypothetical society , would you place no restrictions on the type of drugs to be decriminalised , and remove all control over supply too.?

Again I would use alcohol as an example, where it is the crime commited while under the influence that is prosecuted as well as those offences where being under the influence in itself is an offence eg driving etc.

Production, supply and (of equal importance) taxation, would also be under the same control as alcohol.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What is the defenition of recreational? I'm quite sure addicts the list will be far and wide.

What is the defenition of recreational? I'm quite sure addicts the list will be far and wide.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is a difficult one.

The best I can come up with is drugs that people take that are not prescribed to them by a doctor.

He said it was a hypothetical scenario

he also recently refused to answer a point i raised with him on the basis that it was hypothetical.

he mentions hypocracy in his posts a lot too. !!

but on the matter of this post , legalising drugs , well there may be something to be said for removing them from being produced and supplied by criminals , but then , how do you go about regulating the use of them.

or in your hypothetical society , would you place no restrictions on the type of drugs to be decriminalised , and remove all control over supply too?

would anyone be able to walk into a government shop and purchase supplies of heroin , cocaine , crack cocaine , psilocybin , lsd , ecstasy and amphetamines.

would you sell them cheaply so that all levels of society could afford them ?

what happens when the heroin addict has spent all his money on heroin and needs another shot ? wont he just come round to your house and steal the video like he does now?

shouldnt the large pharmaceutical companies be more concerned with directing their resources at research to improve the safety of the drugs that they produce already , and to find new drugs that might be of more benefit to society than recreational drugs.

a cure for diabetes , malignant growths , blood dyscrasias for instance.

there are very few people who can handle drugtaking in a sensible way.

its too easy to let them control you, to get addicted to the undisputed wonderful euphorias that they can produce.

best keep them illegal i think , and bang up the suppliers and producers for a long time .

society will be better off.

plenty of ways to enjoy life without drugs.

plenty of ways to enjoy life without drugs.

as long as you have a beer aye Tax.

I agree, legalise the drugs but with regulations. See no harm in cannabis and perhaps even OPM use, they are drugs that have been taken away from society have they not?

Doesn't every culture have some kind of drug they use? Are we not being denied by our govts when they term these illegal and give us booze to shut us up with as well?

Perhaps they want us on certain drugs and not others, hence the restrictions. Maybe your cannabis and LSD is a bit too much 'free your mind' sh1t, whereas the booze tends to keep people nullified.

I just like to say that I do not condone the use of any drugs.

In fact I resist, most strongly, when my doctor prescribes medicines to me. I hate not being in total control of myself.

To Taxes points:

or in your hypothetical society , would you place no restrictions on the type of drugs to be decriminalised , and remove all control over supply too?

As I have said before I envisage a system of production, supply and taxation similar to alcohol.

would anyone be able to walk into a government shop and purchase supplies of heroin , cocaine , crack cocaine , psilocybin , lsd , ecstasy and amphetamines.

would you sell them cheaply so that all levels of society could afford them ?

Prices would be regulated by production costs, market forces and taxation.

what happens when the heroin addict has spent all his money on heroin and needs another shot ? wont he just come round to your house and steal the video like he does now?

This is the core of my argument: the freeing of resources from the decriminalisation plus the considerable revenue gained via sales, licensing and taxation, would enable a government to concentrate its attention on the real problems, such as the causes of the need for drugs, the nature of addiction, its treatment or in the worst cases its registered control.

However radical this may sound, I cannot imagine that the social consequences can be worse than what we experience now.

shouldnt the large pharmaceutical companies be more concerned with directing their resources at research to improve the safety of the drugs that they produce already , and to find new drugs that might be of more benefit to society than recreational drugs.

a cure for diabetes , malignant growths , blood dyscrasias for instance.

If the revenues from the illegal drug sales are as high as law enforcement agencies would have us believe, then there will be more than enough revenue together with licensing and taxation to ensure research into new medicinal drugs continues.

there are very few people who can handle drugtaking and alcohol consumption in a sensible way.

its too easy to let them control you, to get addicted to the undisputed wonderful euphorias that they can produce.

My inclusion in red.

About addiction: If people taking addictive drugs bought them from a regulated store then society could track these people better and educate them about the consequences and counsel them about why their lives bring them to the need to escape in drugs. In the system we have now addicts usually don't go for counseling because they are too worried about being arrested. Also....addiction is mostly a problem for society because illegal drugs are artificially expensive due to their illegal status and the addict has a difficult time obtaining enough money to avoid withdrawal. Also...most people will never become addicts...just taking addictive drugs does not addict people...my evidence for this is the multitude of people who have taken pain killers in a hospital setting and who do not go on to a life of addiction. Also, pharmaceutical companies could probably produce euphoric drugs which are not so physically addictive.

I could go on and on about this kind of stuff. For virtually every reason why people want to keep addictive drugs illegal there are sound and reasonable arguements showing that in fact both society and individuals would benefit from decriminalization of drugs. Specifically for the problem of addiction, the things I've mentioned above and other issues I have not mentioned indicate that both society and addicts would benefit from legalization of drugs.

Tourist Visa And Proof Of Further Travel

Canadian-Jesse Posted on: Today, 2005-09-07 06:55:21

Hah yeah! I'll most likely rent out a bungalow on the beach.

By the way... I don't know if you do this but, is there any weed over there...? My British friend from work has been to Thailand three times (edit)

Anyway, my question: he was saying that he did all kinds of drugs but was paranoid the whole time. I think I might just not even smoke weed while I'm there because of the HARSH penalties. Inhumane jails 'cause I couldn't afford a bribe. He said that in Laos and Cambodia you can smoke all the weed you want. 

Too bad we can't include Jesse into our discussion... sounds like he might have provided some good insights...

alcohol consumption

this drug is legal , addictive and freely available.

it is probably responsible for more violence , more deaths , more road accidents , more heartache than all the other drugs grouped together.

its legality has given it the veneer of " well he/she is only drunk, never mind ,ha ha ha !"

why do you want to legalise the others too ?

this morning on the radio , a phone in show about alcohol abuse in thailand , a bangkok taxi driver was saying how he regularly drives 14 and 15 year olds to school in the morning and its common for them to be drinking cans of beer.

drugs should be illegal , should be expensive , and should be hard to obtain.

and the penalties for use should be severe.

that way people would think twice before using.

and fewer people would be using.

society in general would benefit.

Well, having seen first hand what the effects of Yaba is on somebody, I would give a big fat NO. If you had witnesed what I have done TM, you would not even be asking the question.

Let me give my disclaimer before I make my statement:

"In no way do I promote or encourage the use of drugs. Certain drugs I see no harm but others I see much harm."

Now the only thing I have to say regarding this is anyone that thinks drugs should be illegal and kept out of society but drinks alcohol on a regular basis is a complete and utter hypocrite!

Look ma, I made use of Thomas' favorite word.

rather than scribe a detailed and concise response I will just sum up......

Drugs is GOOD...

laws on drugs will not change until there is in power the generation where the majority has experimented and tried many of the drugs in question , upon that experience they can base their decisions - rather than "but I did not inhale".

but like alcohol some people have psycological problems that are exacerbated when exposed to substances beyond water - how do you determine who these people are?

I have believed for a while that you should need to obtain a licence to drink - earned by going down to the local police station and consuming a large quantity of beer while under the watchful eye of the local seargent who will decide based on your interaction with the other test takers , if you pass or fail.

There is no need to take all these illegal drugs when there are plenty of herbal alternatives that are completely legal and much better than the illegal ones.