Drugs
I recently heard a very convincing argument for the legalization of drugs and decided I would put the ideas to a forum and ask others their opinions. I have never used drugs. I've never smoked. I have, however, consumed alcohol. That is my limited perspective on the idea of mind altering substance. I say this so it's easier to understand my point of view. I'm kinda hoping you, my friends, can help poke holes in this argument or help prove how thorough it is.
The act of using mind altering substances is not, in of itself, evil. Taking drugs may or may not be a smart idea, I don't really know. I can say that we are supposed to live in a 'free society.' That's freedom with limitations. Our goal, as I understand it, is to create a society in which we can seek happiness without preventing others from seeking that same happiness. This is as morality and religious free as I can get our national mission statement. The laws we enact should, in theory, illustrate this. We forbid things like theft and murder because these actions in their essence, deny another's happiness. John Locke said we are entitled to life, liberty, and property. Rather basic, I know, but I'm looking a starting place, not a complete definition. Theft denies property and murder denies life, these are obvious correlaries, but when we get into 'liberty' that's where we run into some problems.
As it stands, cannabis (marijuana or weed) overdose has never killed someone. Mostly because achieving an overdose is practically impossible. Now, that's not to say that the decisions we make while intoxicated haven't harmed anyone, as that is obviously not the case, but when compared to alcohol, which causes comparable mind altering effects and is easy to overdose on, I start to wonder: why is alcohol legal and cannabis illegal? I'm only looking at this from the recreational usage stand point. There are possible health benefits (reducing nausea and vomiting, assists glaucoma, and research is pointing at possible Alzheimer's prevention), which are fine reasons to use any substance, but I'm going forgo that issue. I want to get to the heart of why it is illegal.
Earlier I mentioned that liberty is a problem. We are all supposed to be free to pursue the happiness we are so entitled. How do we define when something is stepping on another person's liberty? Most of the laws that don't deal with injury or theft exist to promote a functional society or protect liberty. Laws to protect liberty seems almost like contradiction, but yes, denying freedom can protect others. Slander and libel are a good example. There isn't a law specifically denying the ability to lie. Honestly, if we couldn't, the question "Does this make me look fat" would result in far more arrests than I think our nation could handle. We are, however, prevented from lying to hurt someone else. There, we limit the freedom of speech because it can unfairly defame a person's character. In the same sense we are prohibited from driving or being in public when intoxicated. These actions could result in hazardous behavior. Why do we allow people to get drunk in the first place when it causes damage to oneself and others? Realistically, because people would be pissed if we couldn't, but also because it makes people happy. In America, as long as you don't fuck with anyone else, you're allowed to do whatever you want, even if it's bad for us. That's why we're allowed to smoke, why we're allowed to have unnecessary surgery and get tattoos, why we're allowed to eat at McDonald's, why we're allowed to play monopoly.
So, why were recreational drugs ever banned? Because through the ages we've learned that drugs do have negative consequences. We know that in many cases, though it makes us feel great, it doesn't have a positive outcome on our lives. We can become addicted, develop serious illnesses and terrible conditions from taking drugs. We know this. It's happened a hundred million times. But this is a trait of humanity. Sometimes we have to make mistakes ourselves so we can understand, even if we've heard it's a bad idea. In this country, we're supposed to be free to make mistakes, as long as we don't hurt others. This is what I believe.
If anyone disagrees or has something add, please reply.
Also, about the Harry Potter book, who would have ever suspected that Darth Vader was Harry's father!? I know I was surprised.
The act of using mind altering substances is not, in of itself, evil. Taking drugs may or may not be a smart idea, I don't really know. I can say that we are supposed to live in a 'free society.' That's freedom with limitations. Our goal, as I understand it, is to create a society in which we can seek happiness without preventing others from seeking that same happiness. This is as morality and religious free as I can get our national mission statement. The laws we enact should, in theory, illustrate this. We forbid things like theft and murder because these actions in their essence, deny another's happiness. John Locke said we are entitled to life, liberty, and property. Rather basic, I know, but I'm looking a starting place, not a complete definition. Theft denies property and murder denies life, these are obvious correlaries, but when we get into 'liberty' that's where we run into some problems.
As it stands, cannabis (marijuana or weed) overdose has never killed someone. Mostly because achieving an overdose is practically impossible. Now, that's not to say that the decisions we make while intoxicated haven't harmed anyone, as that is obviously not the case, but when compared to alcohol, which causes comparable mind altering effects and is easy to overdose on, I start to wonder: why is alcohol legal and cannabis illegal? I'm only looking at this from the recreational usage stand point. There are possible health benefits (reducing nausea and vomiting, assists glaucoma, and research is pointing at possible Alzheimer's prevention), which are fine reasons to use any substance, but I'm going forgo that issue. I want to get to the heart of why it is illegal.
Earlier I mentioned that liberty is a problem. We are all supposed to be free to pursue the happiness we are so entitled. How do we define when something is stepping on another person's liberty? Most of the laws that don't deal with injury or theft exist to promote a functional society or protect liberty. Laws to protect liberty seems almost like contradiction, but yes, denying freedom can protect others. Slander and libel are a good example. There isn't a law specifically denying the ability to lie. Honestly, if we couldn't, the question "Does this make me look fat" would result in far more arrests than I think our nation could handle. We are, however, prevented from lying to hurt someone else. There, we limit the freedom of speech because it can unfairly defame a person's character. In the same sense we are prohibited from driving or being in public when intoxicated. These actions could result in hazardous behavior. Why do we allow people to get drunk in the first place when it causes damage to oneself and others? Realistically, because people would be pissed if we couldn't, but also because it makes people happy. In America, as long as you don't fuck with anyone else, you're allowed to do whatever you want, even if it's bad for us. That's why we're allowed to smoke, why we're allowed to have unnecessary surgery and get tattoos, why we're allowed to eat at McDonald's, why we're allowed to play monopoly.
So, why were recreational drugs ever banned? Because through the ages we've learned that drugs do have negative consequences. We know that in many cases, though it makes us feel great, it doesn't have a positive outcome on our lives. We can become addicted, develop serious illnesses and terrible conditions from taking drugs. We know this. It's happened a hundred million times. But this is a trait of humanity. Sometimes we have to make mistakes ourselves so we can understand, even if we've heard it's a bad idea. In this country, we're supposed to be free to make mistakes, as long as we don't hurt others. This is what I believe.
If anyone disagrees or has something add, please reply.
Also, about the Harry Potter book, who would have ever suspected that Darth Vader was Harry's father!? I know I was surprised.