I was reading a book on social life of the upper-middle class and new rich of the American 1920s and realized so many things we now do proudly were considered socially taboo back then. This was especially the case for clothing, makeup, women in certain public spaces, etc. What do you think will be different in the 2120s? Or maybe even the next 50 years?
Prostitution is already legal in a number of countries, as is cannabis and some other drugs in some places eg Portugal
I’m in general agreement with you but would make an exception for some extremely high harm drugs such as meth
Drugs are not legal in Portugal. It’s decriminalised up to small amounts (ie personal use), which is different.
My understanding is that:
If you get caught with a couple of joints (or any drugs), they are confiscated, you are identified and you might have to pay a fine, do community service or go to an addiction consultation.
If you’re over that limit, but not overly, you get the above + go to court and will likely receive suspended sentence and will have a criminal record.
If you get caught with a truckload (obviously for distribution), if it’s your first offence you’ll likely also get suspended sentence, such is the state of our justice. If it’s not your first offence, you’ll likely do jail time.
What benefit does making ‘extremely harmful drugs such as meth’ illegal provide? In the US meth is illegal. In the US meth use is an epidemic. Prohibition doesn’t stop people from accessing or using drugs. It just puts a legal constraint that adds fear of repercussion and social stigma on users that is another barrier to overcome when attempting to seek help and treatment. Not to mention illegal drug trades mean potentially dangerous, unregulated products and the crime that drug trade is often associated with.
If you make most drugs legal bar the most harmful ones, people will gravitate towards the less harmful ones because of legal availability. The mistake the US made is to make all drugs illegal, blanket prohibition has been a disaster
And I think what @sudo wants is decriminalization - that a person who gets arrested for using meth is treated for their addiction rather than go to jail.
