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Debate Info

9
9
Yes, they should. No, they should not.
Debate Score:18
Arguments:13
Total Votes:20
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Argument Ratio

side graph
 
 Yes, they should. (8)
 
 No, they should not. (5)

Debate Creator

EnigmaticMan(1840) pic



Mind altering (specifically recreational) drugs should be legalised.

Yes, they should.

Side Score: 9
VS.

No, they should not.

Side Score: 9

The problem with making substances illegal is that it provides criminals with near endless capital to fund ever more elaborate and dangerous cartels.

Making recreational drugs legal would not only make them cleaner and safer, it would create untold tax revenue for the government that had the balls to do it.

If recreational drugs were produced by legitimate companies and monitored by government agencies then they would have the specific ingredients in them to produce the desired outcome and possibly the specific ingredients to reduce the negative effects.

Side: Yes, they should.
Warlin(1213) Disputed
1 point

If recreational drugs were produced by legitimate companies and monitored by government agencies then they would have the specific ingredients in them to produce the desired outcome and possibly the specific ingredients to reduce the negative effects.

I must, in this case, point out big tobacco.

Side: No, they should not.
ricedaragh(2494) Disputed
2 points

Not really a mind altering drug in the sense that is being discussed, but it is an example. The idea I set out could be seen as example of forward thinking.

Is anybody doing anything to try make tobacco safer? No, but they should be, I personally feel that the way this whole question of Illegal substances is approached is stupid. The matter of the fact remains that their illegality is funding crime and people aren't going to stop wanting them in the future cigarettes included.

Side: No, they should not.
1 point

Made legal, more stupid people who don't have the means to get it illegally would potentially be able to get them, and die from using them. That means less stupid people in an overcrowded, increasingly stupid population.

Side: Yes, they should.
1 point

They already are. Drug companies are constantly coming out with new mind-altering drugs, most popularly "anti-depressants." These are notorious for producing suicidal thoughts. And yet, they're still legal because the government gets to tax them, and probably gets to have a say as to what goes into the drug (I seriously wouldn't doubt it). But when it comes to pot, which is harmless overall, the government disguises its greed as concern.

Side: Yes, they should.

As long as the drug does no harm, I have no hang-up about it.

Side: Yes, they should.

All drugs should be legalized regardless what the effect.------

Side: Yes, they should.
2 points

Drugs can destroy people and their families. Making them more available to the public would make things worse.

Side: No, they should not.
2 points

having mind altering drugs legalized? Why? They would impair people's judgment even worse than booze. These kinds of drugs kill your brain cells.

Technically mind altering drugs are legal- anti-depressants, caffeine, nicotine and some amphetamines. But I'm guessing you are talking about hallucinogens? In that case definitely not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoactive_drug

Side: No, they should not.
2 points

Technically mind altering drugs are legal- anti-depressants, caffeine, nicotine and some amphetamines.

Hence, that is advocating a double standard. It is fine to use those drugs but hallucinogens are not. Drugs are drugs despite what the government defines as more harmful.

Side: Yes, they should.
trumpeter93(998) Disputed
2 points

Hallucinogens were legal at one point, but people started frying their brains, ODing and wrecking their lives. Those drugs were then outlawed.

Most anti-depressants and amphetamines are only available through prescription.

At my school there were some kids who thought it would be cool to take some "shrooms". Two of them ended up on the ground. One unconscious and the other one having a seizure. It's not a pretty site.

Side: No, they should not.
1 point

I agree with the point someone said earlier, that if drugs were legalized, that would take away revenue from gangs/criminals that they are able to use for capital (the likes of guns). However, simple economics - if illegal drugs were legalized, then both supply and demand will increase. This then has health risks for more people, which then will become a huge social costs.

I don't know about different places in the world, but I know in NZ we have huge anti-tobacco, pro-smoke free programs/advertising etc. - however there are still too many people here smoking, and this has huge social costs.

So I believe, the social costs would outweigh any other benefits (government revenue, less gang revenue etc),

Side: No, they should not.