Re:California ballot measure to decriminalize adult use of h...
by cracell on Tuesday August 29, 2017 @08:30PM
(#15128790)
Just because something does social harm doesn't mean it should be illegal.
I think alcohol is a great example of this because we made it illegal and saw that the consequences of it being illegal were far worst than the consequences of it being legal.
Re:California ballot measure to decriminalize adult use of h...
by lawpoop on Tuesday August 29, 2017 @09:20PM
(#15129007)
>> I'd like to know, how do you feel about the legality of cigarettes and alcohol.
> I wish they were illegal. I don't see any societal benefit with cigarettes, and I don't drink alcohol so am only left to deal with its consequences.
Weren't the consequences much, much worse when alcohol was illegal? That was the era when the word "gangster" was invented.
Re:California ballot measure to decriminalize adult use of h...
by mirimir on Tuesday August 29, 2017 @10:25PM
(#15129290)
> I don't think the masses are good at making decisions.
What you mean, I think, is that the masses aren't good at taking the decisions that you would take. That way lies authoritarianism.
Re:California ballot measure to decriminalize adult use of h...
by johnwheeler on Tuesday August 29, 2017 @10:43PM
(#15129353)
There are elements of authoritarianism that aren't categorically bad. The example that comes to mind is Lee Kuan Yew who took the city-state of Singapore from a swamp to having one of the highest GDPs per capita through benevolent dictatorship.
> I'd like to know, how do you feel about the legality of cigarettes and alcohol.
I wish they were illegal. I don't see any societal benefit with cigarettes, and I don't drink alcohol so am only left to deal with its consequences.
> but are rarely used to do so because people understand the negative tradeoff associated.
I don't think the masses are good at making decisions. You have to weigh the benefits of glue and paint against the small number of people who are going to injure themselves with them. I think we've gotten along fine without psilocybin, and any societal benefits are outweighed by the problems it can cause.
I don't think mushrooms are all out bad. If they're used responsibly, they probably help you think about things in a more intelligent way. But I don't want my kids eating psychedelic mushrooms. They can be horrifying and torturous for 8+ hour stretches of time.