What Is The Primary Reason Why Drugs Are Illegal?

reply to post by Blue10110


so drugs doctors perscribe are completely different than narcotics eh? that doesnt even make any sense...

you've never heard of ppl ripping off LEGAL drug stores for products that contain ephedrine to make speed with?

the only difference between legal and illegal is law... if yer talking STREET drugs compared to pharm drugs.. well then the difference is purity, availibility and cost... sorry to say I fail to see what you are getting at.....

[edit on 22-7-2008 by ToolFanMael]

My son is a Criminolagy Major.

He insists the reason drugs are illegal is GUNS and street violence.

He says that every time there is a new drug craze, there is an upswing in the number of guns on the street and deaths and violence associated with them.

He said that some cities are still fighting guns that came along with the emergance of "Crack" in the late '70's.

[edit on 22-7-2008 by hlesterjerome]

Originally posted by hlesterjerome
My son is a Criminolagy Major.

He insists the reason drugs are illegal is GUNS and street violence.

He says that every time there is a new drug craze, there is an upswing in the number of guns on the street and deaths and violence associated with them.

He said that some cities are still fighting guns that came along with the emergance of "Crack" in the late '70's.

[edit on 22-7-2008 by hlesterjerome]

thats a good point my friend.. although again I think it depends which drug yer talking about.. I mean opiates and amphetamines ya people get insanely hooked on em and nothing else is as important as getting yer dope... but pot? not too many pot dealers and growers where i live have weapons (im in Canada) the only reason I can see is for protection.. but ive never heard of a robbery for weed and someone getting shot period over pot or pot plants.. at least not around here.

having said that I know alot of people are from the US here and things are obviously different... very good reply Jerome

To the previous person who replied, I agree with you.

Colombia is Cocaine capitol of the world right? And so what do you have? A rebel group several thousand strong in a percentage of the country, controlling it, and cultivating / smuggling the Cocaine to pay for their war effort. On the otherhand, the Colombian Government wants these same crops under their control, to hand off to their paramilitary cronies whom they send to murder rebel sympathizers and attack entire villages of them. Sure, some they'll destroy for the world media, to show how good they're doing, but in secret quite a few coca farms would fall into the hands of friends' of the government and military. Eliminating FARC will do nothing to stop Cocaine smuggling. Most of the crack coc aine in the USA is made out of Colombian Cocaine.

Onto Afghanistan. Yes, originally the Taliban, when they were governing the country, were very against opium harvesting and clandestine heroin production. They executed many drug smugglers and chemists, and clamped down hard on the farmers. It has been only since the U.S. invasion that toppled the Taliban from government has the country gone up to #1 world supplier of heroin, 90% of the world's heroin. For all the junkies out there, if you live in Europe be thankful; the heroin smuggling routes seem to run right through the Caucasus Mts and Khazakstan on the otherside of the Caspian, and the Caspian Sea itself, right into Russia and Ukraine. From there, it travels all through Eastern Europe and Central/Western Europe, even to the very shores of Great Britain, who was the first nation to try to enslave others via Opium sale (Think China, Opium Wars). In America, much of the heroin found on the street by law enforcement originates in Mexico or South America; but these cartels are not as advanced as the Afghani ones, and subsequently, the product is not as good. There's another line that comes in through Canada, into NYC, and then from NYC to the East Coast states and Mid West states. This Canadian line starts in Europe, and the stuff comes over the sea in a ships. Then it is manually taken from Canada over the border. This is how the "white" heroin gets into America mostly. The "brown" heroin is the Mexican, lower grade heroin. It commonly can contain impurities such as BRICK DUST.

So then, is the U.S. and British Government serious about their intentions in Afghanistan, that they are aggressively going after the Opium farmers as well as the Clandestine labs?

OR...

It could be that the U.S. and British Governments are folks operating such labs themselves, secretly producing heroin to smuggle via the intelligence services of that nation, be it US or UK, into that nation or whichever nation it is destined for in the case of a trade agreement.

Notice they say Afghanistan produces 90% of the world's H, not just Opium. This means since the toppling of the Taliban from power, the labs and the men with enough skill to work the labs have drastically, drastically increased on such a huge scale it is insane to imagine. Now I don't know about you, but I don't think in a poorly educated country such as the one we're speaking of that you could find that many people qualified and capable of producing the heroin from the morphine base (Opium) that had been harvested for them. It's not a simple process, and takes quite a bit of Chemistry knowledge. Sure, once you finally do succeed in performing each step the right way you may then be able to duplicate the process and get better at it, but the first few "batches" you succeed on are likely going to be very weak, or have something else wrong with it.

So to get to my point, there seems to have been a huge influx of people who are TRAINED TO SYNTHESIZE DIACETYLMORPHINE HYDROCHLORIDE, aka the big H, after the toppling of Taliban from power. Considering surely that we have patrols on the borders of Afghanistan, not just the Pakistan border but all of the borders, I highly doubt all of these excellent chemists could've snuck their way in. Sure, some did, and it does happen, but I'm talking about the majority of them. And theres alot of them, I dont think you quite understand the scale here..

Before Taliban was removed from Government, you could lose your head for even transporting ingrediants or base materials (opium), much less creating the drug in a lab, or transporting the drug itself. Now in such a short time, it has become the %1 heroin supply in the world. What needed to take place inbetween here? A bunch of people with the know-how to make heroin out of opium had to be inserted INTO the country. I'm sure the Taliban/Islamic Resistance forces have some harvesting and smuggling operations in effect to raise some money, but they couldn't be making all 90% of PLANET EARTH'S heroin supply.

This has to be an inside job .. there has to be something going on here. My opinion? The CIA and Scotland Yard, or whatever the heck they are called, have active heroin production labs and chemists active in Afghanistan, and as on person had said on this thread, it gets harvested by certain people who are in on it while the US soldiers are told to stand guard and secure the perimeter. Then, there's likely Opium farmers that the US/UK go to to purchase their entire harvest from, at which point it is taken to secret facillities where US/UK affiliated personnel literally produce the heroin. Where it goes after that I know not; I do know however that 90% of Planet Earth's finished product comes from Afghanistan; that is just staggering.

90% of the world's heroin .. That is just nuts to really, truly sit and consider. I mean that is proverbial butt-ton of the stuff. How could they get away with making it and smuggling it so damn easily! to where they can supply 90% of the world's heroin addicts? I mean come on .. in order to perform at that level, I dont care how many poppies your country can grow, you'd need ALOT of laboratories to refine and produce the finished product, the heroin. I mean a helluva lot .. like so frikkin' many labs that they would be absolutely, positively, without a doubt IMPOSSIBLE to completely hide. With those kinda numbers, there must be a local heroin chemist in every single little shanty town or tent city that dot the landscape over there.

You may be asking .. well how on Earth could that freaking many labs exist in a country of that size? Surely U.S. / U.K. / Canadin / Dutch patrols have come across such facillities in the past during their patrols of the countryside. I find it ridiculous that 90% can come out of a country under occupation. I think the US/UK Governments are in on the manufacture, transportation and sale of afghani dope, precisely what the UK had done to the Chinese via Opium harvested in India. The Dutch East India Trading Company. Only this time, the nations that are being attacked by this chemical scourge are those who are making it! That is the big kicker .. that these are wounds self inflicted. I guess yet another depopulaton scheme is what we have here. Pity that Aghanistan is radically Islamic; if it had a secular government it would be a prime place to live. You'd have all the Opium and Hair-0n you could possibly ever hope for! Oh yeah, Marijuana grows wild in Aghanistan too; particularly in the East, in the Hindu Kush mountains. Ever wonder why a particular strain of marijuana is called Kush? Because it grows naturally in the Hindu KUSH mountains!

[edit on 7/22/2008 by runetang]

It's been proven that all illegal drug laws are based on racism. They were passed to specifically to punish minorities. Pot laws were passed against Mexicans and blacks. Opium laws were passed to punish Asians who competed with whites as railroad workers in the early days. It was actually used as a reason in congress, on the record, that pot was making white women sleep with black men. It's no more than legal racism.

reply to post by runetang


yes you're right about the pot.. Hindu Kush is a land race.. theres only a few that are... and theres many different varities of "Kush" but stuff that grows wild is absolute garbage lol

I actually have seeds of 100% Indica Hindu Kush.. not too many people can say that! I won it in an online auction a while ago LOL

very good informative post ma man

one could say, the primary reason behind the substances in question being withheld by statute from legal common usage boils down to concentrating more wealth and power in the hands of the very few at the top, no?

simply put: money and power.

...and not in the hands of the little people; after all, someone's got to pay.

as was mentioned by our myopic friend SavageHenry - such a savage wit! - the biggest players always play both sides of an equation - that's why they never lose - and why the losses are wholly incurred by everyone - and everything - else.

follow the money down the rabbit hole, alice

Does the state really care about your own
misguided will? - no. they're protecting the
profits of the pharmaceutical and tobacco
corporations. and you must suffer, for the
oligopoly of the few

Quoted from
Political prisoners
by Insurge

The real reason Cannabis has been outlawed has nothing to do with its effects on the mind and body


MARIJUANA is DANGEROUS. Pot is NOT harmful to the human body or mind. Marijuana does NOT pose a threat to the general public. Marijuana is very much a danger to the oil companies, alcohol, tobacco industries and a large number of chemical corporations. Various big businesses, with plenty of dollars and influence, have suppressed the truth from the people.


The truth is if marijuana was utilized for its vast array of commercial products, it would create an industrial atomic bomb! Entrepreneurs have not been educated on the product potential of pot. The super rich have conspired to spread misinformation about an extremely versatile plant that, if used properly, would ruin their companies.


Where did the word 'marijuana' come from? In the mid 1930s, the M-word was created to tarnish the good image and phenomenal history of the hemp plant...as you will read. The facts cited here, with references, are generally verifiable in the Encyclopedia Britannica which was printed on hemp paper for 150 years:

The Marijuana Conspiracy Science Mysteries

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Introduction
Taken from the Hempola Trivia Trail

Did you know, it is estimated that hemp has approximately 25,000 uses? From food, paint and fuel to clothing and construction materials, hemp is used. There are even hemp fibres in your Red Rose® and Lipton® tea bags. And several cars made today contain hemp.


The oldest relic of human industry is a piece of hemp fabric (canvas) found in ancient Mesopotamia dating back to approximately 8000 B.C. The oldest surviving piece of paper was made over 2000 years ago in China and was also made from hemp fibre. In 2500 B.C. the pharaohs used hemp in the construction of the great pyramids.


Hemp was so important in England in the 16th century that King Henry VIII passed a law in 1553 which fined farmers who failed to grow at least one quarter acre of hemp for every 60 acres of arable land they owned. There was even a time in history for over 200 years when you could pay your taxes in America with hemp. In 1850 there were more than 8,300 hemp farms in the United States.


Every 3.6 seconds someone in the world dies of hunger. Hemp seeds are the most nutritious and economical solution to end world hunger. With an 80 percent concentration of "good fats" our bodies need for good health maintenance and protein with all eight amino acids plus optimum dietary fibre, hemp truly is a "perfect balance" food source.

Online sales of hemp foods: www.healing-source.com


The first diesel engine was designed to run on vegetable oils, one of which was hemp oil. In the 1930s Henry Ford produced an automobile composed of 70 percent hemp plastic which also ran on hemp based fuel and oil. In 2001 the "Hempcar" circled the North American continent powered by hemp oil.


The paintings of Rembrandt (1606- 1669), Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) and Thomas Gainsborough (1727- 1788) were painted primarily on hemp canvas, often with hemp oil based paint. Over 50 percent of all chemical pesticides sprayed are used in the cultivation of cotton. Hemp is eight times stronger than cotton and more air-permeable. Hemp can grow vigorously (up to 16 feet) in 100 days without the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides... healthier for your skin and the environment.


One acre of hemp can produce as much raw fibre as 4.1 acres of trees. Pulping hemp for paper would produce a strong paper that lasts incredibly long and doesn't yellow with age. Also, using hemp as a raw source for paper would eliminate the need to cut down our dwindling old-growth forests which contribute to climate control and clean the air we breathe.

Source: www.coolhemp.com...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Marijuana Conspiracy
THE REAL REASON HEMP IS ILLEGAL
by Doug Yurchey



Online sales of hemp foods: www.healing-source.com


And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more
consumed with hunger in the land.


-- Ezekiel 34/29



The real reason Cannabis has been outlawed has nothing to do with its effects on the mind and body


MARIJUANA is DANGEROUS. Pot is NOT harmful to the human body or mind. Marijuana does NOT pose a threat to the general public. Marijuana is very much a danger to the oil companies, alcohol, tobacco industries and a large number of chemical corporations. Various big businesses, with plenty of dollars and influence, have suppressed the truth from the people.


The truth is if marijuana was utilized for its vast array of commercial products, it would create an industrial atomic bomb! Entrepreneurs have not been educated on the product potential of pot. The super rich have conspired to spread misinformation about an extremely versatile plant that, if used properly, would ruin their companies.

Originally posted by Briles
Me & my friends were discussing what the main reason is as to why drugs are illegal. Here were some of the ideas:

1) They can make a person un-predictable.

2) They are addictive and therefore people will commit other crimes to access them.

3) They are damaging to the human body


Now i am sure there are plenty more but what do you think is the MAIN reason? I have read numerous threads that suggest it is because that drugs help people access a higher level of conciousness and therefore perhaps unlocking secrets that none drug users cannot access. I am sceptical although it is well documented that alot of well respected literary & artistic documentation was created by people taking hallucengens & mind altering drugs.

Just looking for some ideas?

Mod Edit: All Caps – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 7/21/2008 by Gools]

Alcohol applies to all those points you made, so it obviously can't be because of any of those reasons.

I would say many of the illegal drugs are illegal because they have no purpose beyond getting the user into an altered state. That being said, you will probably argue that alcohol and cigarettes have no purpose either. To that I would like to point out it is all about what is socially acceptable. It is a cultural thing. I would also like to add that at least with alcohol there is a standard set that can determine how intoxicated you are. This is important when things like driving are considered.

Regardless of that, I do think that all drugs should be legal. To this I point out the argument used to advocate pro-choice/abortion. It is your body and you should be able to choose what you do with it.

As for the legality, police are suppose to protect and serve. They tell drug users that they are protecting the user from themselves. I am living proof that if drugs are used responsible then the effects of the drugs are far less harmful than what the potential charges are. Drug charges ruin just as many lives as drugs alone.

What ever happened to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? What if some of my happiness just so happens to come in the form of a drug? Will you take away my life and my liberty because of it?

[edit on 22-7-2008 by Draves]

[edit on 22-7-2008 by Draves]

Hi Guys,

As I put in a previous post I found it really strange that US troops would harvest a crop of opium while my friend (British Special Forces) held the area.

Now it seems obvious that UK and US governments are using the elicit sales of drugs to fund various sectors of their annual spending.

IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT THIS IS A PERFECT WAY TO FUND BLACK OP'S SINCE THE DRUGS TRADE IS WORTH BILLIONS PER YEAR.

winnipeg.indymedia.org...

reply to post by ToolFanMael


The point is that we can't just let people get addicted to drugs. That's why the narcotics are illegal and addictive legal drugs need a prescription! It's the doctor's duty to not let his patients get addicted to drugs he prescribes. If you live in a country where doctors don't care then good luck.

But seriously. What's the point of this thread anyway??
What will the next thread be about? Why does alcohol have age limitations?

Originally posted by Level X
1. The illegal street price will always undercut the legalized price...

Sorry, but no way. If marijuana ever becomes completely legalized, you will see packs of prerolled joints similar to what you see now for cigarettes. You really think that the local grower is going to be able to outprice "Marlboro Toker 100s"??

Originally posted by Level X
2. Because of it's underground movement it could never be taxed...

Again, I think you're wrong. The minute it's legalized all of the cigarette companies will jump on the bandwagon and their product will be taxed. The average person isn't going to go through all of the trouble that comes from buying through a local dealer when they can get all they want at the local gas station or liquor store and probably pay less.

Originally posted by ElusiveGoddess
Chemical compounds yes. But not if it was growing, legally in your garden.

How many people are going to spend the time and money growing their own when they can go to the nearest liquor store and get a pack for $5 or $10?

Originally posted by BlueTriangle

Originally posted by ElusiveGoddess
Chemical compounds yes. But not if it was growing, legally in your garden.

How many people are going to spend the time and money growing their own when they can go to the nearest liquor store and get a pack for $5 or $10?

how much time and money does it take to propagate and dry a weed?

now compare that to the process whereby a raw tobacco plant is transformed into something pleasurable to smoke, or the raw materials and processes involved in producing an alcoholic beverage

no comparison

that's why cannabis is such a "threat"; anyone can throw down some seeds and grow their own

to control it they made it illegal, and the few got rich off the scheme

nothing personal; they don't care about you personally, it's only business



there are sensible members of law enforcement against prohibition:

LEAP

COPS SAY LEGALIZE DRUGS!
ASK US WHY
After nearly four decades of fueling the U.S. policy of a war on drugs with over a trillion tax dollars and 37 million arrests for nonviolent drug offenses, our confined population has quadrupled making building prisons the fastest growing industry in the United States. More than 2.2 million of our citizens are currently incarcerated and every year we arrest an additional 1.9 million more guaranteeing those prisons will be bursting at their seams. Every year we choose to continue this war will cost U.S. taxpayers another 69 billion dollars. Despite all the lives we have destroyed and all the money so ill spent, today illicit drugs are cheaper, more potent, and far easier to get than they were 35 years ago at the beginning of the war on drugs. Meanwhile, people continue dying in our streets while drug barons and terrorists continue to grow richer than ever before. We would suggest that this scenario must be the very definition of a failed public policy. This madness must cease!

the answer is so simple.drugs are made illegal to criminalize and control large swaths of the population.marijuana was first made illegal to control mexicans.blacks followed.this is how they make a criminal out of a peaceful person who harms nobody.in this society,noone is outside of the scope of the law.any one of us,under extreme scrutiny,will be found to have violated any number of laws in one way or another.another reason is money.bringing it in covertly makes money off the books,for a ''black''budget,and then putting the ''criminals''in privately owned prisons means even more profit.look at the recent documentary ''american drug war,the last white hope''for more info.good topic.

Originally posted by Draves
I would say many of the illegal drugs are illegal because they have no purpose beyond getting the user into an altered state.

Well so what?
What is wrong with that?
Mankind has been using mind altering substances since we climbed out of the trees!
Who is anyone harming, (other than possibly themselves), if an individual uses "illegal" drugs?
As long as they are controlled in the same manner as alcohol and cigarettes, just exactly what is the problem apart from offending some outdated moral prejudices.
If an individual works hard all week and chooses to spend their own money on something that helps them relax or enjoy themselves or forget about their otherwise boring existence in this god awful world then why should anyone stop them.

It is just another case of one section of society wanting to impose their morals, standards and opinions on anothers.
The pompous, self-righteousness of these people really p's me off.

It is your body and you should be able to choose what you do with it.

Exactly!
My life, my choice!

I am living proof that if drugs are used responsible then the effects of the drugs are far less harmful than what the potential charges are. Drug charges ruin just as many lives as drugs alone.

Ditto.
I suspect Bill Hicks said it best of all.

It is the associated crime that go's with the illegality of drugs that ruins far more lives than the drug use itself.
In whose best interests is it to maintain the current situation?
Who gains by maintaining the status quo with crime ravaged areas in every population centre throughout the world?

What ever happened to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? What if some of my happiness just so happens to come in the form of a drug? Will you take away my life and my liberty because of it?

I couldn't agree with you more.
However, if anyone truly thinks that we live in a world where "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" was meant for the general population then they are far more naive than I thought posible in this day and age.

Current policies have failed to adress any of the issues but still socety insists on using "traditional" policing methods.
Why?

My opinion is that it has everything to do with control and power and very little to do with the welfare of the general population.

I am a paralegal at my Father's law office. He is a Harvard graduate, class of "68". Petty crime associated with people who are addicted to various drugs is the main reason that drugs are illegal. Harsh penalties are due to a politician getting votes by saying to his/her constituency that they are, "hard on drugs".