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Originally Posted by martyh
I think a lot of the problem is lack of reliable facts and so much bias in both directions .I am very much against drugs for personal reasons ,i have had a family member ruin her life ,and good friends die from drug related illnesses .On the other side i know people who take recreational drugs like cocaine on the bog lid and hold down good jobs ,i smoke myself and have been known to enjoy a right royal tipple so in that respect i am somewhat of a hypocrite as most of us are .The decision to make is where does society draw the line and what are the governments motives behind this latest initiative ,are they trying to justify the cost of continuing the war on drugs or is there a moral aspect to it ?
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Very good point re bias in both directions.There really should be no place for point scoring and propaganda on either side.All drugs/drink.smokes/food/whatever have inherent risks and people need to be aware of them,without scaremongering!
The thing with drawing the line I think is that at the end of the day human beings will indulge in vices,be it gambling,prostitution,drinking,doing drugs or smoking....
since we can't stop people from doing it we need to regulate these activities so to they cause the least possible harm.To me these activities are self-harming,and as long as it happens with consent then I think people should be free to do what they want,as long as they don't harm others! Of course there is pain and suffering in families with addicts,and yet it is family and friends who are the ones who can and should help,if possible.No law will stop an addict from indulging!
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Originally Posted by martyh
I too doubt many of the statistics quoted on addiction ,that all depends on the definition of addiction .In the article i used they defined addiction as taking the substance repeatedly knowing it had harmful side effects .Addiction to me is not being able to carry out day to day life without taking the substance .As i said in my reply to Will21st getting reliable and unbiased info is very hard and most peoples perceptions of drugs are reliant on personal experience or what they read in the press
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Well,as an addict myself I'd say my definition is that it's a way of life,a state of mind.At the heart of it to me are scarcity and a certain immaturity of character.most certainly a spiritual deficit,too.
one thing I learned when I quit,and I've been sober for a while,is that when you quit the trouble starts! How to live without.... I'm happy to say though that it's possible.
All in all this is a very difficult subject and there are no easy answers.Selling Heroin and Coke at the off-licence is out of the question,equally I'm not sure we need so many places that flog cheap booze.....
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Originally Posted by Maggy J
One point I want to make is that yes I drink alcohol but I don't misuse it..and I do resent recent attempts to use price increases to control the use of alcohol.
Now I'm fairly certain that there are those who use recreational drugs who have self control to the point that they can hold down a job,maintain their life just as I do and can take it or leave it just as I do with alcohol.I'm pretty sure that not everyone becomes a ravening addict who uses drugs..
Also I'm pretty sure that it's not the drugs that ruin peoples lives..it's what they have to do to maintain a habit that does that.It's the illegality that sucks them in and spits them out.
If tobacco is ever banned I'm pretty certain that those addicted to it will find themselves doing illegal acts to maintain their addiction.Same with alcohol.
What I want to do is remove the crime that has become associated with drugs or rather reduce it.Something that's not going to happen with the present system.
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very well put,Maggie,far better than I ever could!
That's why you're a teacher and I'm an uneducated buffoon!
