Rising GOP support for the U.S. taking unilateral military action in Mexico against drug cartels is increasingly rattling people on both sides of the border who worry talk of an attack is getting n…

Rising GOP support for the U.S. taking unilateral military action in Mexico against drug cartels is increasingly rattling people on both sides of the border who worry talk of an attack is getting normalized.

Wednesday’s Republican presidential primary debate featured high-stakes policy disagreements on a range of issues from abortion to the environment — but found near-unanimous consensus on the idea of using American military force to fight drug smuggling and migration.

  • PetDinosaurs@lemmy.world
    32·
    1 year ago

    You are exactly correct. We can legalize and sell marijuana (and certain other drugs, probably psychadelics. That’s for experts to decide.) like is already being done, but you simply cannot have recreational use of drugs like narcotics and cocaine.

    They are simply too irresistible. It would lead to a massive public health crisis with phenomenal social consequences and so, so much death.

    Now, I think drug abuse needs to be treated not criminally, but as the health issue that it is.

    However, there will still be demand, and that will have to be fulfilled illicitly.

    • tryptaminev 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺@feddit.de
      82·
      1 year ago

      The idea that Cocaine is simpy too irresistible is not convincing to me. As a matter of fact availability is not really an issue, yet most people are not cocaine addicts. Also of regular users the majority is not addicted in the sense of needing it daily. Further it is much easier to develop problematic drug use patterns, like with any addictive things, when it is socially taboo, so people cannot talk about it with people outside of their circle of users and hide it from friends and family.

      Addiction always is a social and psychological issue, whether it is cocaine, gambling or video games. Getting it out of the taboo is an important step to lower addiction.

      • PetDinosaurs@lemmy.world
        31·
        1 year ago

        I didn’t say most people are addicts.

        What would happen, though, is there would be a great deal more addicts.

      • Llewellyn@lemm.ee
        11·
        1 year ago

        Cocaine isn’t really as available as you, it seems, trying to show. Weed was / is.

        If cocaine will become drug of choice instead of weed, consequences will be dire.

          • Llewellyn@lemm.ee
            1·
            1 year ago

            And it’s significantly worse, than weed in terms of dependency, physical harm and violent behaviour.
            Do we need to add cocaine to the cocktail? I think not.

            • vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org
              2·
              1 year ago

              Yeah, I’m more on your side. Maybe with heavy regulation and medical examination to allow a person to legally take them.

        • tryptaminev 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺@feddit.de
          21·
          1 year ago

          You will find a cocaine dealer in every mid sized town. It is not difficult to get hooked up with any drug in most places, be it weed, cocaine or opiates. Availability is not the limitinf factor to consumption or addiction in the same way it isnt for weed.

          • Llewellyn@lemm.ee
            1·
            1 year ago

            We have quite different understanding of “available everywhere to anybody”, apparently. Stop exaggerating.

    • vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org
      21·
      1 year ago

      but you simply cannot have recreational use of drugs like narcotics and cocaine.

      Sorry for being obnoxious, but everything discussed, including alcohol, nicotine and caffeine, is a narcotic.

      I guess you mean ones causing serious dependency (the three I mentioned are kinda as bad as coke in this) and serious harm at the same time (alcohol is still one the list, but coke and heroine, ofc, are worse).

      • PetDinosaurs@lemmy.world
        2·
        1 year ago

        You are technically incorrect. Narcotics are the name for opiates and opiate containing drugs.

        It is the people that call all drugs narcotics who are doing so technically incorrectly. I’d prefer people use words correctly, but I refuse to be a prescriptivist.