Questions tagged [drugs]
Questions related to drug policy or policies.
63
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11answers
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Why do right-wing parties generally oppose the legalization of marijuana?
In a general sense, it seems that proponents of marijuana legalization tend to come from left-wing political parties, or at least, from the left-leaning factions within right-wing parties.
I am ...
27
votes
7answers
4k 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 ...
26
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1answer
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?
25
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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?
20
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3answers
3k 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 ...
19
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1answer
502 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
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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
844 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, ...
12
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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 ...
12
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3answers
498 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 ...
11
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1answer
924 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 ...
10
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2answers
1k 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
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5answers
4k 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 ...
9
votes
1answer
427 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 ...
9
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2answers
220 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 ...
9
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2answers
306 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 ...
8
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3answers
971 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
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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....
8
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2answers
668 views
How are U.S. states allowed to put marijuana legalization on ballots when it's against federal law?
Five states will now legalize marijuana for both recreational and medical use.
During the November elections, A majority of New Jersey and Arizona residents voted yes on ballot measures to make ...
8
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1answer
629 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 ...
8
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3answers
549 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 ...
8
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1answer
1k 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
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2answers
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 ...
asked Dec 29 '12 at 22:18
Sam I am says Reinstate Monica
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4answers
348 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 ...
6
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1answer
539 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
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1answer
213 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
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3answers
346 views
How much money would legalizing marijuana (both state and federally) save the US goverment on average?
One of the arguments for legalizing of marijuana is that it is suppose to save a significant amount of money spent in enforcing laws against the crime. Some of the cited supposed savings are:
Not ...
5
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1answer
549 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
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1answer
397 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 ...
5
votes
1answer
308 views
Is Mexico winning its war on drug cartels? (2019)
In 2006, Mexico's president Felipe Calderon declared a war on drugs. This was in response to the growing power of Mexico's cartels, who had acquired vast wealth from the proceeds of drug trafficking. ...
4
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2answers
143 views
Does the FDA regulate off-label use of pharmaceuticals?
In today's press conference (3/19/2020) the President is touting the FDA's approval of using (for example) an anti-malarial as a treatment for COVID-19. This drug has been in widespread use and has ...
4
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1answer
195 views
What is the death toll of war on drugs compared to death toll from drugs? [closed]
It is not obvious how successful the war on drugs is, in part because it is not clear what success is.
Drugs cause deaths, and the war on drugs causes deaths.
One possible metric is how many people ...
4
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3answers
571 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
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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
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2answers
413 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 ...
3
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1answer
242 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
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2answers
142 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
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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
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1answer
269 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. ...
3
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0answers
129 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) ...
2
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4answers
442 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 ...
2
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1answer
279 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 ...
2
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3answers
768 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
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2answers
264 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
1answer
130 views
What are efficient approaches to counter drug trafficking?
I recently heard that for a City/State it might be better to educate people and help them get away from drugs rather than fighting the drug dealers with more and more police force. Based on the ...
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2answers
281 views
Why did the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan fail to ban opium production?
Why did the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996-2001), despite claiming to be an Islamic state, fail to ban opium production? Can it solely be explained in terms of economical difficulties like not ...
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2answers
154 views
Does US have a national strategy to reduce Rx drugs consumption?
According to this article, Rx drug usage has greatly increased in the last 20 years:
The total number of prescriptions has increased by 85% while the total
population has increased by only 21%.
...
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2answers
161 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
437 views
Have any governments proposed relaxing drug/vaccine development requirements for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Given that a vaccine or an effective treatment for COVID-19 is the best way out of the current crisis, it seems logical that governments would take a "no holds barred" approach to making it happen as ...
