Questions tagged [drugs]
Questions related to drug policy or policies.
50
questions
27
votes
20answers
9k views
What policy arguments do people make in favor of legalizing marijuana?
I am not asking why people want marijuana legal, I am asking what arguments people make that legalizing marijuana would be beneficial to a society?
23
votes
6answers
3k views
Why are there laws for victimless 'crimes'
Shouldn't laws only stop one from harming other (socially, physically etc)? What is the purpose of other laws?
For example, if an individual takes drugs without causing harm to others - what gives ...
23
votes
2answers
2k views
Is there any evidence that Filipino president Duterte's war on drugs has been successful?
Is there any evidence to suggest that the war on drugs in the Philippines by president Duterte has proven to be successful, with regards to the reduction of drug-related crimes?
19
votes
1answer
458 views
How many people are in favor of legalizing marijuana, but have no intention of ever smoking it?
I know someone (an American) who supports legalization of marijuana, but he has no intention of ever smoking it. (He mildly disapproves of it, but doesn't think its consequences are severe enough to ...
18
votes
3answers
2k views
Why does the US government not enforce federal laws against Colorado's legalization of marijuana?
As far as I know, possession and trade of marijuana is illegal in the United States according to federal law. However, the state of Colorado (as well as some others) recently legalized marijuana for ...
17
votes
2answers
1k views
How are conflicts between constitutional and treaty obligations resolved?
The present Constitution of Bolivia, which came into effect on the 7th of February 2009, has this to say about coca (an English translation follows the original Spanish):
Artículo 384. El Estado ...
15
votes
1answer
635 views
Why will Canada prevent selling marijuana “in the same location as alcohol or tobacco”?
According to CNN, Canada has approved a law to legalize marijuana, but will require sellers a licence and will forbid sales to minors.
One point of the article is that
Marijuana will also not be ...
13
votes
2answers
1k views
Why was the prohibition of intoxicating liquor enacted through a constitutional amendment?
It seems to me that a constitutional amendment is a rather heavy-handed tool to outlaw alcohol.
Why wasn't it outlawed through an act of Congress? It seems to me that this is perfectly possible, ...
11
votes
2answers
1k views
Why didn't Canada leave the UN conventions on illicit drugs before legalizing marijuana?
According to this article, Canada would be breaking at least three UN treaties once it legalized marijuana in October. But why didn't the Canadian government just leave the treaties beforehand? It ...
11
votes
1answer
806 views
What's the position of Donald Trump regarding recreational use of marijuana?
Some states have recently legalized the recreational use of marijuana. But according to federal law, it is still a controlled substance, which means possession and trade is illegal. However, FBI and ...
11
votes
3answers
442 views
Has anyone attempted to quantify the effects of a full legalization of all drugs?
Many thought leaders (such as Richard Branson) believe that a full legalization of all drugs is the best approach for global drug policy. But has anyone ever attempted to calculate the effects of how ...
10
votes
2answers
591 views
Policy arguments against legalizing marijuana?
Polar opposite to this question - what popular arguments are made against legalizing marijuana and lifting the strict regulations on hemp?
Especially when compared with other abused plants like ...
9
votes
2answers
207 views
What caused the political interest in recreational substance control in the 1930s?
The 1930s featured an interest in Washington of controlling recreational drugs. Before the 1930s recreational drugs were only outlawed sporadically and by individual states. In the 1930s this changed ...
8
votes
5answers
3k views
Why did the US prohibit alcohol (instead of some other substance) during Prohibition
In the 1920s, why did the United States decide to prohibit alcohol instead of some other substance? There were many other substances available, presumably any of them could have been banned. Why was ...
8
votes
3answers
788 views
Why can't the U.S. stop drug production in Afghanistan?
Since the U.S. invasion in 2001 opium fields have grown rapidly. Why has the U.S. not done anything about it? In previous times the U.S. rather successfully suppressed traffic in Latin America. But in ...
8
votes
1answer
897 views
What does it mean to declare a national emergency under the Stafford Act or the Public Health Services Act?
The Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis issued an interim report.
The first and most urgent recommendation of this Commission is direct and completely within your control. ...
7
votes
1answer
555 views
Does the DEA have authority to prohibit any substance?
According to the DEA’s Denial of Petition To Initiate Proceedings To Reschedule Marijuana from 2011, one reason for the cannabis plant’s Schedule I status is because it has “no currently accepted ...
7
votes
3answers
448 views
How did states react to the DEA?
The Trump White House intends to step up the war on drugs including certain substances that individual states have made legal for recreational use (marijuana).
Bearing in mind that Nixon, who signed ...
7
votes
3answers
2k views
Do municipal and state police have to cooperate with federal police?
To what level do local/state police have to cooperate with federal police when state law differs from national law, especially regarding the recent legalization of recreational marijuana in Washington ...
7
votes
1answer
314 views
Why doesn't Uruguay face penalties from the United Nations for legalizing marijuana?
Uruguay is a signatory to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs which requires that all signatories criminalize the manufacturing and possession of drugs, including marijuana. However Uruguay has ...
7
votes
0answers
135 views
How effective are ports of entry in detecting smuggled drugs?
It is commonly publicized about the amount of illegal drugs that ARE seized at the ports of entry to the US. Obviously illegal drugs that are NOT seized, can not be directly counted. So it is ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
Why is Medicare/Medicaid prohibited from bargaining for price in US?
The other driver of high US drug prices is a lack of bargaining power.
Other countries have centralized/universal health care organizations
that can and do negotiate with pharma companies on price....
5
votes
4answers
269 views
Would legalization of drugs increase the power of the FARC?
Libertarians have very compelling arguments in favor of drug legalization. I have been convinced by these (and similar) arguments. But recently I heard one counter-argument that seems very compelling ...
5
votes
1answer
510 views
If the U.S. government owns a patent that says cannabis has medicinal value, why is it a schedule 1 controlled substance?
Marijuana and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are separate schedule 1 drugs. The definition of a schedule 1 drug includes:
The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment ...
5
votes
1answer
191 views
Did Chile's productivity/capita go up during Pinochet's reign?
What effect did Pinochet's war on drugs and execution of drug users have on Chile's productivity per capita?
If you have data for the Philippines, that would be a bonus.
5
votes
1answer
410 views
Now that marijuana is legal in several countries, do any states plan to legalize further drugs?
While marijuana is still illegal in the US due to federal law, several US states and Uruguay have passed laws unbanning it. Canada would also legalize it soon and I assume most of the world would make ...
5
votes
1answer
382 views
Would the Trump administration's 'step up' on federal marijuana laws really impact the states where it is legal for recreational use?
In an article by CNN it notes that the Trump administration will allow federal involvement where state laws conflict with federal ones regarding Marijuana.
Would this really have an impact on the ...
4
votes
2answers
369 views
What's the position of Hillary Clinton regarding recreational use of marijuana?
Recreational marijuana was recently legalized in some states, but is still illegal according to federal law. The federal law enforcement agencies could still prosecute marijuana trade and possession ...
4
votes
3answers
434 views
Does the US “coerce” other countries to criminalize many drugs?
A comment on a question about taxing and legalizing soft drugs explains that the US may have used its political and economic clouts to force other countries to ban narcotics.
I find that hard to ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
Why did the Dutch government put XTC/MDMA as a hard drug?
https://www.government.nl/topics/drugs/difference-between-hard-and-soft-drugs
Schedule I lists the substances classified as hard drugs, for example heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, ecstasy and GHB. ...
3
votes
1answer
232 views
Is the current opioid epidemic analogous to the crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s?
A recent article from The Atlantic draws an analogy between the current opioid epidemic and the crack epidemic of the 1980s and early 1990s, and the political reaction to the respective crises.
[M]...
3
votes
2answers
135 views
Legalization of drugs
Suppose someday it is enacted a law saying something like "The use of chemical substances, natural or artificial, when used for recreational purposes, it is authorized" or "will not be criminally ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
What are the benefits of mass surveillance on U.S. citizens?
In 2013, Reuters reported that the Snowden leaks reveal how the NSA has been giving information to a division of the DEA called the Special Operations Division. Apparently they've been using this ...
3
votes
1answer
255 views
Are there any possible arguments in favor of sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine?
Before the passage of the Fair Sentencing Act in the United States in 2010, possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine, or 500 grams of powder cocaine, constituted a felony offense—a 100-to-1 disparity. ...
2
votes
3answers
743 views
What are the negative consequences of stricter opioid prescription policies?
Several states and the DEA have spent the past few years “cracking down” on doctors who prescribe opioids such as OxyContin. However, we are now experiencing a heroin epidemic and the opioid problem ...
2
votes
2answers
257 views
What would explain prohibition of narcotics in most world? [duplicate]
I've been trying to analyze here.
A most common theory is that polices make more money enforcing anti narcotics laws than enforcing other laws. They can demand $100k as bribe every time they caught ...
2
votes
0answers
123 views
Why doesn't Colorado legalize other drugs?
I've heard that Colorado is quite a libertarian state. So why does Colorado legalize only marijuana? Why doesn't it legalize other soft drugs?
I understand that in Colorado more people use (or abuse) ...
1
vote
4answers
379 views
Why did cannabis get legalized first?
The number of drug "addicts" are about 5% of users. So most users are not even addicts.
This one says 10% of users become addicts. I am sure it means 10% of illegal drug users.
First, medical ...
1
vote
1answer
248 views
What percentage of “War On Drugs” prisoners could the POTUS pardon? (aka. State Prisoner % vs Federal Prisoner %)
If the POTUS wanted to do a mass pardon for victims of the drug war; those imprisoned for merely having/using drugs, then what percentage of these people could he free unilaterally? And what ...
1
vote
2answers
146 views
What political barriers prevent the legalization of Marihuana on the federal level in the United States?
Multiple US states have legalized the recreational use of Marihuana. Why is US federal law still anti-marijuana? A Democratic president, Barack Obama, was in office for 8 years and could have started ...
0
votes
3answers
331 views
Why are medicine and certain medical procedures so expensive? [closed]
In countries such as the United States many prescription medicines are really expensive, and it seems like those medicines wouldn’t be that expensive to make. Also many medical procedures seem to be ...
0
votes
2answers
1k views
Is the War on Drugs a declared war?
Wikipedia says:
”However, two years prior to this, Nixon had formally declared a "war on drugs" that would be directed toward eradication, interdiction, and incarceration.”
I understand that only ...
0
votes
1answer
154 views
Why do laws prohibit possession and usage of narcotics separately?
In Indonesia there is article 112 that prohibits the possession of narcotics, this carries a minimum sentence of 4 years. Then there is article 127 which prohibits using narcotics, which carries a ...
0
votes
1answer
231 views
Will brexit affect (and if so, how?) orphan drugs?
(Not 100% sure about this being the right place to ask)
According to here, orphan drugs have a market exclusivity of 10 years in Europe.
UK is now (...sooner or later) getting out of Europe, so will ...
-1
votes
3answers
314 views
Does China have the power to stop fentanyl from being shipped to the U.S.? [closed]
In a recent interview with CNBC, Senator Rob Portman claimed that China could stop all the fentanyl from being shipped to the U.S.? But is it true that China holds such power?
I have done some ...
-2
votes
1answer
268 views
Do police really care about drug dealers? [closed]
If we are to believe the statistics, a lot of young people take drugs or have "experimented in college" with or without inhaling.
Now some of these people will end up in the police force tasked with ...
-4
votes
3answers
747 views
Why are many safe narcotics illegal?
Ganja, LSD, Salvia, MDMA.
Those are not dangerous at all.
What about coffee? Why coffee is legal and MDMA isn't?
I suspected that it has a lot to do with the market value of those substance. The ...
-4
votes
3answers
231 views
Why very few countries/states try taxing and legalizing safe soft drugs? [closed]
Perhaps a better title of this question would be, why competition among states and different cultural preferences among people in many states do not make more states try legalizing safe soft drugs?
...
-4
votes
4answers
243 views
If drug prices are much higher in US, and the US government prohibits import, why not just import online for all personal uses? [closed]
If medication prices in the US are higher than in other countries, why not import from there?
This is a natural extension of this question.
Basically
Drug prices in US are high
A Free market could ...
-10
votes
1answer
632 views
is the USA afraid of Venezuela? [closed]
According to Wikipedia:
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves, and the eighth largest natural
gas reserves in the world, and consistently ranks among the top ten
world crude oil producers.
...
