I have never done drugs but I am thinking if the US legalized drugs the taxes could be used to improve treatment for people who become addicted. I think this would save so much money on trying to fight criminal activity related to buying and selling of drugs but obviously more young people would be exposed so overall rates of addiction in society might increase. Other countries such as portugal have done this. The organized crime would lose revenue so what would they do to make a living? What would be the unintended consequences for the US. Are there benefits to keeping things the way they are? Tobacco and alcohol are top killers and are legal so that is one argument against….but maybe if there was more open discussion of addiction those problems would be easier to get help for. I wish we had smarter people who were not corrupt in power. But it is a conundrum that very few smart people want to be in charge.
This question relates to the others. I usually debunk conspiracy theories, but I believe in the capitalist conspiracy that rich and powerful people know their riches come from poor people. It’s easier to get a few dollars from millions of people than it is to get profits by investing in products that actually improve our lives and lead to a better future. Education, clean environments, healthy food, jobs that are safe and pay well, all work against keeping the rich from getting richer. When people can’t succeed with long term strategies to improve themselves, they turn to short term fixes.
So we have this crazy world where millions of people voted for a plan to keep the drugs from coming across the border instead of a plan to help the people who are addicted to the drugs.
Drugs are heavily regulated for a good reason – they’re dangerous. And the tax revenue from legalization would not be worth the mess it would cause.
So why not make alcohol and tobacco illegal then. They kill way more people than cannabis. And no I do not use cannabis nor do I think it helps people think clearly or problem solve.
We tried that experiment with alcohol. Having it be illegal made it quite a mess. What we didn’t do and still aren’t is using revenue from recreational drugs to fund rehabilitation of people who get addicted.
We did make alcohol illegal for a while and it didn’t help society. Both alcohol and tobacco are not as damaging as most other drugs besides marijuana – but marijuana makes people stupid.
Drugs and their effects are not equal at all, and it is not always about what kills you faster. A functional society of drinkers and tobacco smokers is what we used to have.
However, a society of potheads would not be functional at all.
Lack of funding is not a big problem with rehab, so that’s a piss poor reason to legalize drugs. There are plenty of free rehab centers, and nearly all of the ones that aren’t free have numerous payment options.
You’re right that the problem isn’t using drug profits to fund drug rehab. More like a lack of political will to treat addiction as the disease that it is.
To care for addicts is necessary, but from a collective ans social point of view, it is as efficient as a plaster on a wooden leg.
The problem is systemic, drug abuses, mass shooting and so. Our Western societies are deeply sick, and as long as the disease is not treated, the effects of the disease will remain.
Agreed, and the disease’s name is Capitalism. I don’t know the technical term, maybe it’s late stage capitalism. It used to be not such a bad thing, spurs innovation, etc. And the goal of corporations, for the most part, was to make the best product for the least cost to the consumer, and that’s how you make money. Then something changed, so that it’s now how can they make the least quality product, “bare minimum” and charge as much as possible.
The biggest causes of the opioid epidemic are social and economic. Loss of community, loss of stable employment, and elites forcing the drugs into the most vulnerable regions is where it started.
And dont forgot the history of CIA drug mules flooding the USA with columbian 
Based on recent data, alcohol-related deaths exceed opioid-related deaths in the United States, although both represent major, rising, and frequently overlapping public health crises.
Alcohol-related deaths: Estimates from the CDC indicate that excessive alcohol use causes more than 178,000 deaths in the U.S. annually. This includes long-term chronic conditions (liver disease, cancer) and acute causes (alcohol-impaired driving).
Opioid-related deaths: For the 12-month period ending in September 2024, the CDC estimated nearly 87,000 drug overdose deaths, the majority of which involve synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Previous data for 2022 showed roughly 81,000 opioid-related deaths
Sources: CDC…so how are opioids more deadly. Alcohol has an illusion of being safer but many people use opioids recreationally and do not die. It is more stigmatized. Treatment for opioids is much more stigmatized.
Opioids are far more dangerous than alcohol because of the higher risk of overdosing and higher risk of becoming addicted.
Your claim that many people use opioids recreationally and don’t die is completely wrong. There is no such thing as healthy and productive junkies.
Opioid use is more stigmatized because it’s more dangerous. In the past, treatment might have been stigmatized, but it’s not today. The reason is American society has become so familiar with the opioid epidemic that it forces us to accept treatment as a valid option.