Americans say country is on wrong track, but votes to stay on it

[NxNW]

It would seem that alcohol deaths are higher overall simply because it's legal and available everywhere, and therefore easier to get ahold of. Not to mention the fact that it's legal and available in stores can mislead people into thinking it must also be safe.

How many people think cigarettes are safe?

 

[ozso]

Uh-huh
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And getting this stuff should be like getting a bottle of aspirin.

 

[ozso]

How many people think cigarettes are safe?

You mean out of the 31 million smokers in the US?

Really it's more a matter of considered safe enough to be sold for human consumption.

 

[Bradskii]

It would seem that alcohol deaths are higher overall simply because it's legal and available everywhere, and therefore easier to get ahold of. Not to mention the fact that it's legal and available in stores can mislead people into thinking it must also be safe.
Do the same thing with opioids, and the death numbers from that would no doubt surpass that of alcohol.

Yes. It would. So no-one in their right mind would make dangerous drugs as easy and as convenient to access as alcohol. And nobody has suggested it in this thread. But that doesn't seem to stop people wasting time and forum bandwidth claiming it would be a problem.

 

[ozso]

It would seem that alcohol deaths are higher overall simply because it's legal and available everywhere, and therefore easier to get ahold of. Not to mention the fact that it's legal and available in stores can mislead people into thinking it must also be safe.
Do the same thing with opioids, and the death numbers from that would no doubt surpass that of alcohol.

Personally I have no idea how to go about buying meth or heroin or whatever. But I sure know how to buy something at Walgreens. So for me, and I'm sure a great many others, it would go from not having a clue of how to get it, to being able to simply ordering it for home delivery. I think that, and no fear of getting caught by law enforcement, would induce a great many more people to start playing around with it, who otherwise never would have come into contact with it.

 

[DaisyDay]

88,000 versus 44,800 for alcohol deaths versus opioid deaths. So yes, alcohol is killing more people.

The Effects of Alcohol is Killing More People Than Fentanyl

Excessive drinking can kill you more than some drugs like opioids or fentanyl. Learn about alcohol addiction and what treatment options Caron offers.

www.caron.org

It appears you are correct in this. However, I don't think this would be a good reason to bring back prohibition.

Attitudes in the US have changed. When I was growing up, being drunk was considered a mitigating factor in a car accident homicide. Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Students Against Drunk Driving were among the groups that drove the change in legislation.

 

[Aldebaran]

How many people think cigarettes are safe?

Everyone who uses them until they get lung cancer.
But thanks for mentioning those. Just another example of a product "regulated and taxed" by the government that kills people in huge numbers.

 

[Aldebaran]

Yes. It would. So no-one in their right mind would make dangerous drugs as easy and as convenient to access as alcohol. And nobody has suggested it in this thread. But that doesn't seem to stop people wasting time and forum bandwidth claiming it would be a problem.

Making a deadly drug even more available and causing more deaths would be a problem.

 

[ozso]

Yes. It would. So no-one in their right mind would make dangerous drugs as easy and as convenient to access as alcohol. And nobody has suggested it in this thread.

More or less like alcohol, tobacco or cannabis in legal states. Production is regulated and taxed like any other industry. Adults get to use what they like so long as they are not doing so in a manner that violates other rights in which case legal intervention is justified.

 

[Bradskii]

Making a deadly drug even more available and causing more deaths would be a problem.

It would. So that wouldn't be done. You would strictly control who gets to use it and use it under controlled conditions. The drug would also be as clean as it could be so there'd be no danger of bad doses. You'd also have the opportunity to talk to the user with a view to discussing coming off the drug and also talking about any problems they are having connected with drug taking.

 

[Bradskii]

@MMXX
I'm pretty certain that @Desk trauma wasn't suggesting that ice and heroin and fentanyl would be sold in the local corner shop alongside bagels and milk or stocked at gas station next to the coffee dispenser. Can we please try to be reasonable in discussing this?

 

[Desk trauma]

@MMXX
I'm pretty certain that @Desk trauma wasn't suggesting that ice and heroin and fentanyl would be sold in the local corner shop alongside bagels and milk or stocked at gas station next to the coffee dispenser. Can we please try to be reasonable in discussing this?

Corner store no but this is one of my few ideological heels dug in lingering libertarian stances, adults get to chose the drugs they use so long as they are not used in a manner that violates the rights of others such as DUI.

 

[Hans Blaster]

@MMXX
I'm pretty certain that @Desk trauma wasn't suggesting that ice and heroin and fentanyl would be sold in the local corner shop alongside bagels and milk or stocked at gas station next to the coffee dispenser. Can we please try to be reasonable in discussing this?

Of course ice won't be sold next to bagels and milk, nor the coffee maker. Ice is kept in a freezer by the checkouts, in the vestibule, or even outside.

 

[SimplyMe]

Corner store no but this is one of my few ideological heels dug in lingering libertarian stances, adults get to chose the drugs they use so long as they are not used in a manner that violates the rights of others such as DUI.

Personally, if we did legalize harder drugs, I'd like to see a similar approach as to what the Dutch have. Basically, you'd be required to go to a controlled "shop," you'd be required to take the heroin, fentanyl, etc. on the premises and stay while you are under the influence of the drug. It ensures the drug is clean, taken correctly (and with clean needles, if required), and keeps them safe (both themselves and others) while they are high.