Well im gonna sound like a junkie but the best move anyone could do it is to legallize drugs then the drug dealers will disappear, and if someone wants to walk down that abyss is by their own risk

Drug agriculture, manufacture, trafficking and dealing are such widespread problems that the only way to move forward is to eliminate the black market by legalising and heavily taxing drugs, and we all know how much America hates government owned public services, so that would simply turn into huge drug corporations making a fortune from addictive dangerous substances. So at least we don't live in a world like that, cough tobaccoandalcohol cough.

Alcohol - has long term effects on the body and mental state if used in excess

Weed - has long term effects on the body and mental state if used in excess.

My point being - weed is not just some harmless thing you smoke to have a good time, it's bad for you just as much as alcohol and tobacco is. The point here is, if alcohol and tobacco are legal, why isn't weed?

Yeah, of course, weed is harmeless........Short-term effects of marijuana include problems with memory and learning, distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch), trouble with thinking and problem solving, loss of motor coordination, increased heart rate, and anxiety. Marijuana smoke contains some of the same cancer-causing compounds as tobacco, sometimes in higher concentrations. Of course, it is a rather silly situation.

I obviously see why billions are chucked at fighting the problem but they chuck so much money at it for so little result and people still use drugs and sell it. Drugs are big business and a few narcotic federal agents aren't going to stop someone importing several hundred million dollars in cocaine, heroin etc.

Chances are it would have been, if not for various quirks of history. Tobacco is only still legal because it has been legal for long enough to be an enormous worldwide industry that simply cannot be contained. It's a runaway train. Alcohol, that's all a matter of tradition more than anything else. The Egyptians served their slaves very strong beer so that they would enjoy themselves for a little bit then fall asleep rather than incite a riot. Same thing now, working folks drown their sorrows on the weekends rather than actively look for ways to improve their lives.

It is more addictive and it dominates someone's life more than alcohol and tobacco does.

because weed market is far more successful than alcohol and tobbaco. i smoke, drink and smoke weed responsibly and think they all are ways of amusement or relaxation that can turn into an addiction (physically for alcohol and tobbaco and mentaly for weed, because maybe you don't *need* weed, but you're always thinking about it).
i will agree on the same everyone said: legalising (all around the world, because in countries like spain almost everyone smokes weed and in argentina is not really that way, but a lot of people smoke it, too) would end with the black market and be the start of a progress in that way. thought i don't know how it would be with other drugs. cocaine is pretty much addictive than other legal and illegal drugs are, and so are heroin and other stuff. so, they should legalise all drugs? because, even without weed, the black market would be still existing.

The people that wanted to have a drug business would have to pay a tax to the government and they'd use it to treat drug addcits.
That on a perfect world, it'd never happen.

There are plenty of people who have been involved in crashes because they are under the influence of drugs. Its just as bad getting behind the wheel of someone who is stoned (i was the passenger in a car driven by someone who was stoned and it was scary shit...this was along time ago as a teen) as opposed to a drunk person.

Yeah, figured I'd wait for other people to chirp in before I replied to my own post.

OK, well, I'll just come out from the off and to be perfectly clear, I'm pro-legalisation. But legalisation with restrictions.

OK, the drug trade is bad. It is full of horrible people who exploit others, kill many, many poor people, and so on. But that's why legalisation is the only realistic option. 40 years on from the declaration of war, drug use is up considerabley in the UK & the US, and presumably other western countries too. The war has failed miserably. People are still making obscene sums of cash from the suffering of others, and people are still using and ending up addicted to drugs.

If you legalise the actual drugs, you can then focus the money and the law enforcement agencies on tackling the black market people. Meanwhile, drugs would be taxed heavily to raise money for things like treatment to help addicts get off their habit, or to deal with medical issues, etc. They would be age-restricted (18+, 21+, whatever), and only sold in specially licensed shops, for use in the home only. Obviously people would still smuggle pills into clubs and so on, but the idea is to at least reduce the numbers using in public places, certainly for the very hard drugs.

It's none of my business if you choose to snort some cocaine. Entirely your perogative. I don't want to try any myself, but it's not hurting me so fuck it, fire away.

The other major bonus would be that it would help drag many people in the third world out of poverty. Give special licenses to farmers to grow opium poppies in Afgahnistan, to coca farmers in Bolivia, etc etc, you get the idea.

Of course, depsite the fact that it would reduce numbers in prison for offences which are ultimately minor and hurt nobody but themselves, would increase tax revenues and possibly mean a reduction in other forms of tax, would improve living conditions for many others, and would help put real scummy individuals out of business, real drug law liberalistion is not likely any time in the near future.