Viewpoint: Legalization of Drugs

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Christina L. Nastav here,
It's been almost five years and three children later since I first weighed in on the drug war. After giving birth to my first child, a daughter, I became manic, then psychotic, then was baker acted, and put on VERY HEAVY ANTIPSYCHOTIC PRESCRIPTION PILLS, Dr's orders! Turns out, I've ALWAYS been Bipolar, always WILL BE Bipolar, and NO combination of drugs Rx'd to me lovingly by my very LEGIT, college graduated, worth the $130/15 minutes I pay for him Psychiatrist have actually made me "right". At some point, something triggers me, and I swing manic or worse, DEPRESSIVE, again. Why? LIFE IS NOT FAIR. Why? FREE WILL. Why? U.S. Constitution. WHY? I'm a REAL American and Patriot. I am Iroquois Indian and Austrian. My ancestors came here during the first World War to escape terror in their streets. My ancestors were also here FIRST, before any "American" today or their great great great great anyone showed up on a boat. MY people have been slaughtered in the name of freedom no matter which way you slice it. I have been through HELL and back trying to be a "normal, average, run-of-the-mill" citizen. As it would happen, I am NONE of those things. I am ME, I am a WOMAN, I am a LESBIAN, I am a MOTHER, I am a HUMAN BEING... I believe in my Higher Power so strongly that I would gladly lay down my life for my God, my family, or my country... and ESPECIALLY FOR the YOUTH of TODAY, OUR LEADERS OF TOMORROW.
I am NO LONGER ON PSYCH MEDS because the meds I was given while pregnant, at BEST, were Class C;
STUDIES IN ANIMALS SHOW DEFECTS, Studies in humans remain... "inconclusive".
MY SONS HAVE BIRTH DEFECTS. I HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD, I'm "CRAZY" if you ask the right person, and I'm a nuisance to almost everyone as soon as I say something they do not agree with.
TOO BAD.
My point? It remains the same. People HAVE ALWAYS used drugs, WILL ALWAYS use drugs, and if America as a whole, a Government, and a people as ANY SENSE AT ALL, we'll accept this blatant truth as the FACT it remains to be and will do something PRODUCTIVE WITH WHAT CANNOT BE CHANGED, else history is bound, BOUND... over and over and over again, to repeat itself. Welcome to WWIII, welcome to Prohibition all over again, welcome to Anarchy and Riots in the streets if you really think you can hold an individual down for the "greater good", because in the end, it only takes "An Army of One."
Happy New Year. May 2012 Bless Everyone richly.

Christina L. Nastav of FL 1:34PM December 31, 2011

The Constitution states; A Government should Promote the Sciences and the Arts! Drugs are intrinsic with these things.
The Declaration of Independence states; Once a Government becomes destructive, it should be replaced!!! I don't think We can or should replace Our government, but a 10 billion dollar a year drug war could have a better purpose! Drugs are bought with Money. We Print; In God We Trust upon Our Currency! I believe this gives it Religious Value. Plus, One Scriputre I've read; Through God, All things were Made! Drugs being a serious manifestation of the Holy Spirit! This is Our 1st Ammendment Right to Freedom of Religion and the Right to Practice It! Let Us Peaceably Assemble in order to Redress This Grievance placed upon Us by Our Government!!!

darwin rinner of CA 10:31AM September 10, 2009

1ST: THE WAY OUR MIND/MOOD ALTERING DRUGS THAT ARE LEGAL NEEDS ADJUSTED. Prescription abuse skyrocketing and more and more good American Citizens are becoming 'life long lossers' with crimminal records and bans...
2ND: Money for the government and 'regulation thru education'
3RD: KUDDOS to the previous mention about government being our superparents- They need some better perenting techniques.
I'll try to be brief- As an Adult American we are capable of choosing to DIE for our country!! RIGHT? We have 'rites of passge' and 'scare' and severe 'punitive' measures as our guidance....But the Privilage to operate a vichile as a beginer or first timer you MUST BE CEERTAIN AGE- MUST PASS KNOWLEDGE TEST. MUST PASS PERFORMANCE TESTING. MUST PAY TO KEEP 'RENEWED' PRIVILEDGE EVERY __NUMBER OF YEARS...getting the picture.
I say legalize it all and educate moderation and instill faith that we have be raised up right...HECK: DRUGS-SEX-GAMBLING (well the seven deadly sins--LOOK THEM UP FOR KICK AND PONDER..)IF these bad behaviors and practices WERE MASTERED BY HUMANS BY THE AGE OF CONSENT maybe we could find harmony---these seven traits lead to distruction and misfortune... drugs either legal or illegal have medicianal purposes and use If thier were no receptors for the drug to fit in it wouldn't create the mind change..If anyone is interested in the details of how the govn. would make revunue PLUS retain misappropriated funds and this F****** Country could get on with more important issues like GLOBAL WARMING- CARBON FOOTPRINTS AND THE SIMPLE FACT THAT IF WE KEEP UP THIS RATE THE WORLD WILL EXPLODE WHILE WE CONTINUE TO WAIST PRECIOUS TIME MONEY BRAIN POWER AND FOCUS ON 'a war about drugs- a drug is a substance that passes the blood brain barrier. OUR HERBS PLANTS TREES WHEN PUT TOGETHER CREATE THE SAME MOOD/MIND ALTERING EFFECTS--- I use g-mail for my newly formed organization to return citizenship back to Americans who broke a law against themselvs in must cases (prisons system overfull with 'DRUGGIES')thru peer based advocacy, education, and actions to create the ability to be 'reintergrated back to society..'we are Free & Fair Futures 4 Felons, in Oregon. thats freenfairfutures4felons...gmail me

Jherie Nelson of OR 11:02PM July 27, 2009

I respectfully disagree with the notion that legalization can work -- no matter what the economists, pundits, and typical internet commenter have to say about it, I don't believe it's a viable solution. I recently wrote an exhaustive post about the topic. Please give it a read if you'd like to see things from a different perspective. You can find the post here: http://thefrankspot.blogspot.com/2009/04/legalizing-drugs-zero-percent-solution.html

{ frank } of NY 5:21PM June 07, 2009

if america makes drugs legal, starting with pot and slowly working it's way up as it gets more and more desperate for a scapegoat, the economy might become more stable, but what about the people?
will america be proud of all the people who spend money not on cars or movie tickets, like we did in our most prosperous decades, but on marijuana, and cocaine, and everything else you can think of? will america be proud when its politicians become heroin addicts; when the president gives his speeches high? when both blue and white collar workers alike go to their careers stoned?
maybe it would be better for the american economy, or for the ignorant americans who have yet to realize that hey! drugs do affect you. but will it be better for the heart of america?
it's like the entire country lost its job in the economic crisis, and instead of looking for a new job, become a drug dealer instead.

Becca Wynn of CA 7:25PM May 12, 2009

drugs, yea it sounds bad but if you look at the big pic. it really is not the way people make it out to be, now some drugs are horriable and should never be touched! But marijuana is not a drug it is made by the creater of this world we live in today, it is a plant and a herb that grows in the ground and statistics show that marijuana has never hurt or killed anyone. Also if this would become legal and people were alound the use of marjuana the crim in this world would be so much better our prisons would have enough room for those people that really deserve them! All i am saying is that marijuana is not a drug and it should be legal it would save the united states a lot of work on trying to catch people with marijuana we have bigger and better things to with that time. There are people out there that rape,murder,steal,kidnapping, but we as a country would reather let them go, put them off until later and catch someone with a lil marijuana but anyways if you are reading this you need to really think about it, it simply just needs to be leagal.

Charles William Hull III of PA 12:54PM April 22, 2009

I'm wondering when the country will grow up. The "War on Drugs" gave a rise to gangs, methamphetamine, terrorism and didn't stop anything else. The generation so hell bent on keeping drugs illegal is the same generation that would have been toddlers or elementary school students when drugs were made criminal in the 30's. So they grew up hearing about drugs and how horrible they are, but don't actually know. There are always stories about people who ruined themselves with drugs, but let's be real...you can and will ruin yourself with almost anything...I've seen stories about people who ruined their lives with role playing video games. Legalization is coming...hopefully soon enough to stop the escalating violence and terrorism that it inspires, but I think we might need everyone over 60 to die off or have no influence first. And for the record, I don't use illegal drugs, but I have smoked Marijuana about 20 times in my 43 year old life.

Cynthia Boulais of FL 9:06PM April 15, 2009

The amount of money and lives we waste trying to keep people from getting high is beyond absurd - and people who want to get high are still able to do so. Legalizing all drugs derived from plants - cannabis, opium poppy, coca plant, mushrooms and cactus - would do more toward creating world peace than anything else that's been tried. Treat these organic substances as agricultural products and buy them from growers throughout the world. If enough were grown, prices would be low enough that farmers would have incentive to grow food crops as well. Retailers would have to be licensed to sell the products (much as alcohol sales require a license) in order to tax them. There would be drug markets where people would have to be of a certain age (18?) to purchase them (A limit would be placed on amounts). As part of the licensing agreement, each market would be required to be linked to free drug treatment programs. Incentive for enrolling in drug treatment would be a jobs training program. In order to participate in job training, each person would have to remain drug free, but there would be no consequences for dropping out of either treatment or job training. Keeping prices low enough would discourage black markets and education about drugs in schools would, it is hoped, limit underage usage. Clinics and drop-in centers for drug users would be available in all communities, funded by drug taxes. No more drug-funded mafia or drug cartels. Gang violence and drug-related crime would pretty much be eliminated. Terrorist organizations could no longer raise money through illicit drug production and sales. Far fewer people would be in jail learning new ways to profit from crime. Some people (mostly from the right, of course,) would scream their opposition. So, try it for a year and the positive political and social difference it would make will be so dramatic that it would become widely acceptable.

Hal Mathew of MT 7:04PM March 30, 2009

One look at prohibition should tell us that making anything illegal just doesn't work. I begin to wonder if the war on drugs and the money made from it, is keeping drugs illegal? Why in the world would we keep trying to stop drugs, when some of the best minds in the world say, "the war on drugs is not working".
As a side benifit, the money the goverment would see and the number of new jobs that would be created by just the legalization of marijuana, would be in the billions of dollars and 1000's of new jobs...
what gives???

PR of WA 4:25PM March 25, 2009

drugs will do harm to you, they will do harm to your family and friends if they are abused. but, that is a choice one must make for themselves and not let the government decide for them.
the prohibition, the war on drugs, has not worked. period. a different approach must be taken. do not just legalize marijuana. legalize and regulate ALL drugs and spend the money made from taxing them on what has worked - education. although it may be contradictory, it also may work. (the opposite, we've seen, has NOT)
not only will our prison population decrease for victimless crimes, but the main source of funding for terrorism (drugs...) will be obsolete.
what is most important to me? having my constitutional right, my personal right, to put - or not put - any substance i want inside my body, granted to me. as long as it does not directly affect another individual (e.g., getting behind the wheel of a car while under the influence of that substance) it needs to be legal.
i'm a user of heroin, cocaine, prescription painkillers, amphetamines and marijuana.
lastly, if there is a demand from people like myself, there will be a supply.
don't use drugs. but if you do, educate yourself and know what you are doing. and most importantly, be aware of the potential consequences.

J.B. of PA 11:58PM March 18, 2009