Celevia “Big black markets are harder to eradicate than small ones.”

I disagree, it is easier to brush small black markets under the carpet, pretend all is lovely and that would work if drug use was not addictive and not “the active ingredient” in greater crime from theft and public disorder to more serious acts of violence.

Additionally, drug addiction and the pattern of criminal and violent anti-social behaviour which accompanies it are harder to minimize when founded and endorsed as a legally accepted practices, than when legally ostracized

The easiest way of increasing the aggregate deprivations produced from drug abuse, drug addiction and their attendant evils is to legalise them.

US I agree with the sentiment of Philos post, although my words would differ.

How we end up (worm food) is irrelevant to how we life and balance responsibility for self against respect for others. Funding a drug habit be stealing because one is incapable of holding down a job and attacking people because of a drug induced psychotic episode is “All Self” and no responsibility.

Fractelle, the numbers of people who use drugs is a small minority, a far smaller % of the population than the 24% of violent crimes they incur. Therefore, it can be reasoned with some reliability that taking drugs increases the users probability to degenerate into criminal violence.

Far more people use alcohol than illicit drugs, whilst they contribute to 15% of violent crime, it can be reasoned the probability of alcohol users degenerating into criminal violence is less probable than if using illicit drugs.

The rest of your rant is to ‘fractured’ to comment on.

Fester – as one who initiated calling me names and indulging in attacks upon me because you could not challenge my reason, I hardly think you are in a position to criticize my attitude to the works of anyone you trawl up from the depths of where-ever. Like I said, you want a “denier”, they are easy to find. Far easier than REAL initiative of suggestions.

CJMorgan I see you choking on your own hypocrisy

Col

No not legalize it- decriminalize it.
Under that act you can still go for the big fellows and yes if you like make it death after two charges -pending size of the operation and bust naturally.

Think about this this. The global illicit drugs market is worth billions at the wholesale end of the market. The next largest “legal” global wholesale export market is meat. From cultivation and manufacturing through to use, the global illicit drugs market is worth billion +billion. The global illicit drugs industry is larger than the GDP of 88 per cent of the world’s countries. That’s because demand is high - 5 per cent of the world’s population - 200 million people - use illicit drugs.
These figures - unbelievable though they may sound - are tabulated in the 2005 United Nations Drugs Report.


And just as one country’s drugs industry is slowed down by law enforcement and crop eradication, another is booming. While Columbian coca production has declined by 50 per cent in the past five years, this year, Afghanistan produced 400 tons of heroin valued at around 2.7 billion.
.
The links between organized crime, terrorist activities and drugs are well established. And the victims of the current zero tolerance policies include impoverished subsistence farmers in countries such as Bolivia, Thailand and Afghanistan, as well as countless numbers of young men and women who languish in jails around the globe as a result of committing drug induced crimes.
“What if we decriminalized drugs?” “If you knock out all the profits, then there would be no more Colombian cartel. There would be no more Mexican cartel. They would be broken,” he said. Drug offences should be treated as a medical problem. Out, “ Think what could we do with the money we spend on sending people to jail?” for the elderly and aboriginal just to mention a few.

Fractelle, said

PALE - beyond the pale, I guess some animals are more equal than others. Drug addicts are victims, legalization would eliminate the majority of the parasites who supply illegal and unsafe drugs.

Pale replies
Crap drug abuse is self inflicted. More often than not by people on welfare. The Government to stop paying alcoholics and junkie’s cash money about pays their rent instead. MY goodness they advise parents of these people NOT to give the kids cash so why does the Government do it?

Steel
You would feel different if your child died. Then you might call drug dealers murders! Of course they are. The only difference is they don’t know their victims personally- there’s too many of them.

Philo,
Yes but as long as the person is free ‘to choose’ their spiritual counseling and not like the one government set up with old Tony Abbott for the women’s counseling... As a favor to the Churches in return for votes. Nasty business that was and we are trying to move away from corruption not embrace more:)

You must be aware for eg of the high corruption of police when abortion was illegal and the people who died. We don’t want the same system for drug users because it spreads corruption and only serves to assist the drug dealers.
Philo said
China at least delivers on time quality products to fulfill demands with no insurance claims.
PALE comments
"Oh so blind." Every good parent supplies its children as each Government is responsible

Polycarp,
Well said.
Celiva. Good work as usual.

It's good to see that the usual posters are not allowing themselves to be prevented from making a comment on a subject just because they don't know anything about it. Consistent, if hysterical and pointless.

Col

Dr Newman is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

http://www.royalhistoricalsociety.org/aboutus.htm

"The Royal Historical Society began life as the Historical Society for Great Britain; in 1868, after a campaign championed by Henry Austin Bruce, Lord Aberdare, it received its 'Royal' Charter from Queen Victoria.

Since then the Society has evolved from being a club for scholarly gentlemen to its current status as the foremost body for those engaged professionally in the study of the past. The membership of nearly 3000 Fellows and members draws together individuals from across the world, engaged professionally in researching and presenting public history, whether in archives, libraries, museums or the heritage industry. The Society aims to maintain professional standards within the discipline, and to represent the views of its membership to government bodies and to the public at large."

http://www.royalhistoricalsociety.org/membership.htm

"Fellowships are awarded to those who have made "an original contribution to historical scholarship in the form of significant published work", normally a book or several substantial scholarly articles or alternatively "by the organisation of exhibitions, collections, or conferences, or by the editing of local history serials"."

I couldn't find David Irving there. The challenge to Newman's work comes from the fact that only English language records were used, not the scholarship.

"Far easier than REAL initiative of suggestions."

Medical research has far more to offer, like the potential of vaccines to control opiate addiction.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TD4-4J72Y01-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=15b333db5610ac98980866c3289f921f

"I found the limit on overdosing on alcohol when I did drink heavier, in my youth: any overdose was prevented by ones glass being unable to find ones mouth"

Didn't help this kid, Col:

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24123891-2,00.html

The following is an extract: the full article is at:
http://www.australian-news.com.au/drugs.htm

The Current Situation
Tobacco.

Smoking kills more than 18,000 Australians a year. One in two lifetime smokers will die from their habit.

• Smoking is responsible for 30% of all cancers and 25% of heart disease and costs Australia $12.7 billion a year in health care and other related costs.

• Tobacco smoke contains over 4000 chemicals, at least 43 of which are known to cause cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, lung, pancreas, stomach, kidney, cervix, vulva, penis, bladder and anus.

Alcohol

Alcohol is responsible for every sixth hospital bed and around 3,200 Australian deaths per year from car crashes, assaults, suicides and medical problems such as strokes and cirrhosis. It is also responsible for family breakdowns, bashings, violence and sexual assaults.

Notwithstanding the enormous carnage created by excessive alcohol consumption, (the) Australian governments, bowing to the lobbying muscle of the legal-drug corporations, allow ..saturation advertising of alcohol in all media, while raking off billions in taxes to finance .. re-election campaigns.

The marketing blitz has created a culture of binge drinking amongst Australian youth.

Heroin.

Heroin is a prohibited drug, responsible for around 1,000 deaths per year mainly because of quality control problems. However, its prohibition causes enormous secondary damage to the community.

• Massive amount of crime associated with addicts desperate attempts to get funds to pay extraordinarily high prices for the product due to the supply and demand situation.

• Jails filled with ordinary people turned into petty criminals.

• Addicts sink to a life of despair and degradation, mainly associated with committing crime or resorting to prostitution.

• Huge sums of money flows to organised criminal gangs, who use some of these funds to subvert or murder law enforcement officers. International drug trade estimated at US$400 billion per annum.

The war on drugs is lost. Criminals have won.

Cont’d