Our society says, “don’t do drugs”. But what we really mean is, “don’t do the things that we have deemed to be culturally unacceptable”.
Alcohol is a drug. One of the worst. Tobacco is addictive more than heroine. Every sporting event is plastered with alcohol ads showing us how “cool” it is to do THAT drug.
Why is alcohol and tobacco legal? Why do we literally celebrate alcohol use and then scorn people who take andro to build their muscles? No one can give me a good answer to that, except to say because we are all hypocrites. Period.
I couldn’t agree with you more. I have never even tasted an alcoholic beverage or been intoxicated/high on anything- ever- not even once.
When I was a kid (after I lost weight) I was a pro skateboarder then made the natural segueway into the music industry as a drummer in a semi-popular band (Conditioned Response, ep out on Thir-Mal Records). So, in my rock star days all my friends were continuously high on something. I didn;t see how that benefitted us. After playing two Halloween shows with The Cramps our bass player wound up in the hospital with a heart problem he still has after a drinking binge. Our singer was the victim of abuse by an alcoholic and our guitarist/songwriter- who is now a very accomplished stick musician still active in the music industry had a brief substance abuse product too.
I saw all this and joined the Army.
One thing I have never understood is why, if alcohol is legal, why isn;t marijuana legal? You better believe Phillip-Morris (who I do own stock in) has packaging designs ready to go in advance in case a Democrate gets elected and marijuana is suddenly de-criminalized.
Ultimately, I don’t think common sense should be legislated. But personally, intoxicants don’t benefit me and I have an “All or nothing” personality that would not mesh well with intoxicants. Caffeine is bad enough- I abuse that.
Why people drink is beyond me. It smells like frat boy puke and makes you fat and stupid. I can do that on my own without alcohol if I wanted to, which I don’t.
Don’t disagree with the hypocrit comment. But there is another way to frame your “Why is alcohol and tobacco legal?” question relative to the hypocrit issue-i.e. Why are other drugs illegal?
from what i’ve learned, people on this forum don’t take well to being called hypocrites.
You are simplifying too much, but yes, cultural acceptability is the scale for which a culture will generally accept or reject the use and abuse of certian drugs. This is a well known and elementary concept.
“Tobacco is more addictive than heroine.” nicotine might be more addictive than heroine, but so is caffiene. Heroine just happens to be a tad bit more lethal, and gives you just a bit more of a buzz. Just a bit though.
Taxes and money.
Alcohol does not enhance preformance. Andro just might.
“Alcohol is a drug. One of the worst. Tobacco is addictive more than heroine. Every sporting event is plastered with alcohol ads showing us how “cool” it is to do THAT drug. Why is alcohol and tobacco legal?”
Not hypocrisy! It is all about the $$$$!!! Liquor, tobacco and oil!!! $$$$
That doesn’t answer why banned substances are illegal - which is related to the altruism and sport. Level playing field, etc.
Asking why tobacco and alcohol are legal is like asking why is it legal for every person on this to own a vehicle (sometimes more than one) that uses fossil fuels, raping the earth of natural resources, and then destroys the environment! Especially when there are alternatives available! It is all about $$$$$$
Of course that doesn’t make any of it morally correct…
Seems to me they tried to ban alcohol back in the 30’s and it wasn’t too successful as a legal or social experiment.
I’m not a hypocrit - I admit to drinking beer, wine and rum regularly. All clinical evidence indicates that moderate alcohol use is actually better for your health than abstaining. Red wine is good for the heart and beer may help fight Alzheimer’s.
Smoking is a serious health problem but smokers are all aware of the risks and make their own choices. I don’t smoke but have no objection to people smoking just as long as they’re not blowing secondhand smoke in my face. No smoking restaurants are a great idea.
Got mixed feelings about drugs and don’t really know what the solutions are. Other than smoking pot in my younger days, I’ve never touched any drugs. In Britain they take a softer approach and make legal exceptions for drug addicts as part of their rehab programs and it seems to be an effective way of dealing with the problem. I do feel that pot should be decriminalized and we seem to be maybe moving towards that route in Canada. Heck, I’ve smoked it legally in a cafe in Amsterdam where they have a minimal hard drug/crime problem compared to the US. The hard line US style so called “war on drugs” seems only to perpetuate the problem worse not to mention the fact that it just isn’t working.
I’m against all drugs (xept alchohol), but if any country ever gets in a bad economic destress, it should legalize marijuana and tax the hell of out if. I’ve heard of so many people who’ve said the only reason they don’t do it is because it’s ilegal. It if were legal it’d be soooo popular, and a good money source for the state.
Hee hee! This thread is about to get interesting… First hypocrisy, now Canada is better than the US! Which of course it is in so many ways!!! Haven’t you been watching the news lately, the US is specifically responsible for all evils in the world these days!
I don’t mind drugs, I just mind that health care has to pay for the diseases that are a direct result of smoking (and other severe addictions) - which is making the country bankrupt (yes, I’m Canadian). Smokers have no clue… Kills everything including the kidneys! They have NO CLUE how much two months of dialysis costs for one person. That money could support a family for a year! We tax our smokes, but not enough, I say.
"I have never even tasted an alcoholic beverage…“All or nothing” personality "
Tom, you’re very, very different that’s for sure. Sounds like you’ve had some bad experiences in your life and have closed your mind to alternatives. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Anything can be abused and be bad for the body including exercise. Everything in moderation.
As for myself, I couldn’t imagine dating a woman who wouldn’t enjoy a nice bottle of French red over a candle light dinner. Would have to send her back to the convent if that was the case.
“You better believe Phillip-Morris (who I do own stock in) has packaging designs ready to go in advance in case a Democrate gets elected and marijuana is suddenly de-criminalized.”
In many states, possession of personal use marijuana has already been de-criminalized (ie Arizona, Alaska, parts of California). In most metro areas, it’s de facto: the police simply don’t have the time or inclination to deal with every kid smoking a J.
But, de-crimalization does not mean legal. So, even if marijuana was de-criminalized nationwide, it still couldn’t be legally sold. For that to happen, it would have to be legalized. Which I don’t see happening any time soon.
As far as the impact of alcohol vs. MJ, there’s no contest: alcohol is far and away more costly on every level (except criminally).
In my experience, most pot smokers are not ‘criminals’ or drug addicts in the traditional sense. And I’d much rather deal with a stoned Phish Phreak than a drunk Frat Rat. The former is more likely to offer you a toke, while the latter will very likely take a swing at you (a gross over-simplification, sure; but illustratively true).
We, as a society, have determined that some substances are so harmful/damaging/addictive/bad that they should be illegal. Their ill effects to the individual and to society as a whole far outweigh their benefits. We say that there is no way to use these substances responsibly, or at least that it is extraordinarily rare. There aren’t many social meth users, for example.
Other substances, in our judgement, can be and are used responsibly by millions of people, and they have significant benefits for those people. Additionally, the ill effects of these substances are often a result, not of their use, but of their abuse. So while there are a lot of alcoholics who have ruined their lives, they did so by abusing alcohol. And there are a lot more people who have used alcohol responsibly for their enjoyment.
There can be, I think, a legitimate argument about where the line between “licit” and “illicit” drugs should be. Maybe pot really is benign and should be legal. Maybe tobacco is the scourge of humanity and should be banned. That’s all debatable. But to argue that having any line at all is hypocritical is silly. Surely you’re not going to argue that, in the real world, it doesn’t make any difference if I go home and have a beer after work, or if I go home and take a hit off the crack pipe. Are you?
"First hypocrisy, now Canada is better than the US! "
I never said that although I’ve lived in both countries and made my choice.
There has been talk of decriminalizing pot in Canada and frankly I’d rather have tougher hand gun laws and milder pot laws than the other way around. I don’t know if pot will be decriminalized up here and there has no doubt been a lot of American government pressure on the Canadian government not to do so. This might change once Bush is voted out of office in the next election.
You’re saying there should be a line drawn between licit and illict drugs? Is that a correct interpretation of your insight?
That does open the controversy over where that line belong, as you mentioned.
FWIW, IMO in a perfect world we wouldn’t need legislation for substances like this, or, for that matter, what consenting adults do in the privacy of their bedroom. but then again, it sure as heck ain’t a perfect world, is it?
There’s seems to be a circular logic in this country when it comes to drugs:
“They’re bad, so they’re illegal. What makes them worse than booze/cigarettes? Because they’re illegal!” And yes, I do think it is pretty hypocritical. I’ve never heard a rational argument for why pot is a greater health risk than alcohol or tobacco. It always seemsto be an instinctive, visceral reaction that anything illegal has to be terrible and anything legal is just fine. From a more scientific perspective I don’t buy it.
It would take a lot of political courage to really look at each drug, compare the health risks with the societal cost to keeping them illegal. Don’t think that if “the Democrats” are elected this will happen. There may be a couple with the desire and the balls, but you sure didn’t see anything from Clinton.
My personal opinion is that if a distinction between use and abuse can be made, that drug should be legal. Just as all drinkers aren’t alcoholics, not all pot smokers are incapacitated addicts. On the other hand, I don’t think you see many recreational, functional heroin or crack users, so better to keep those illegal. IMHO of course…