Smack Ain't Whack Act of 2014

[Lumine]

Legalizing hard drugs like cocaine and heroine along with amnesty for those to sold them among other things? Seriously? The part of lowering the age to sixteen is already something I cannot support, and I fail to see how this whole bill would be a good idea. It would be a complete and utter disaster to allow such dangerous drugs to be fully legal while granting amnesty to god knows how many drug dealers, and that is one of many problems that this bill would bring.

[Lumine]

Even assuming we could keep heroin regulated and safe (and I don't think this is possible for a moment), what about meth and cocaine? Do we really think we can solve that issue by just legalizing them when we know how dangerous they can be?

[Lumine]

Hate to break it to you, but high schoolers are already doing these drugs. I'd rather them do them safely than in an alleyway somewhere with a needle they could be contracting AIDS or hepatitis from.

Legalizing those drugs will only cause more and more of them to use it, and even if we can prevent some issues like those risks in illegal drugs, the consecuences would offset that by a lot. Regardless of what one thinks of the War of Drugs and related topics, I refuse to believe that this path will lead to a more conscious and safe use of drugs. Last time I checked, the effects of drugs like cocaine where neither positive nor measured. That some of them are already doing those drugs doesn't mean we have to make them legal.

[Lumine]

I never thought I'd say this, but I agree entirely with Sens. Lumine and Yankee. Perhaps we could amend this to include only the softer drugs (LSD, shrooms, etc.)? Or are those all already legal?

Yeah, this is one of those bills with a strange outcome, xD.

Look, like Yankee I can understand and support marijuana, it has positive effects and the negatives are rather minor. Cocaine and most hard drugs can destroy a human being and fuel him with paranoia and god knows what, and that is not a minor difference.

[Lumine]

Since discussion seems a bit dead here and this bill is a divisive one (in my personal case I wouldn't know how to amend it to vote for it), perhaps we should move to a final vote?

[Lumine]

Senators who oppose this: what substances could you see yourselves voting in favor of legalizing, if not all of them?

Opium and morphine, perhaps, but under no circumstances I can vote in favor of cocaine and heroin.

[Lumine]

Cocaine and heroin are the ones that have the absolute largest black market impact, and I'd say if we're going to legalize any of them, it has to be those two, precisely because the impact legalization would have.

Even assuming it would have a benefit in terms of revenue and reducing the black market (and I'm not convinced of the second one), what about the social and biological effects of these drugs? They are incredibly dangerous, and not only for a single individual, they are harmful to whoever surrounds him. Do we really want to allow for people to eventually develop paranoia and other pathologies thanks to this?

[Lumine]

Given that many oppose legalizing any of the drugs stated on the bill, perhaps a final vote would be wise if the sponsor has no further amendments?

[Lumine]

Bump!

[Lumine]

Nay.