That new synthetic drugs come out every single year is the perfect example of why prohibition fails. Great, they'll ban this synthetic marijuana. Guess what? People will just create a newer, slightly altered version, with effects that cannot be tested before going out to the public.
You know, if weed were legal, how many people would be smoking the synthetic 'version' of it? I've never actually met anyone that PREFERS the likes of spice to real marijuana. The only reason I ever see people smoking the synthetic version is because they wish to avoid either employer, or legal consequences, or they prefer to not deal with the black market, as the synthetic stuff is easily available online.
I mean really, though. Are we just going to keep going through this cycle over and over?
Synthetic weed is now illegal.
*six months later*
NEW substance XYZ, which has no clinical testing, is now available in bulk from internet stores. Buy it now and roll the dice, kids. After all, you can't smoke that evil marijuana which has been proven safe for consumption in the majority of folk who use it.
If your kid is going to do a drug, wouldn't you PREFER him to use marijuana? I mean, you might not want that to happen, but wouldn't you rather him smoke something that isn't going to kill him, or harm his health? Furthermore, can any of these prohibition zealots please explain how making it illegal will reduce the ability for children to obtain it? Plenty of kids manage to get other drugs which are already illegal, and not only can they obtain them, but in many cases they are EASIER to obtain than alcohol. Furthermore, drug prohibition promotes the corruption of children. It promotes gangs and cartels to recruit children as dealers, because when children are caught they get far lesser sentences. And, by the very logic that anti-drug people use, if you hook them at a young age you hook them for life.
It's a tragic story that anyone would lose their child to drugs. But to them, I ask these questions:
How many people, particularly in poverty stricken areas, have lost their children to the easy money of the black market?
How many INNOCENT people have died because of the corruption drug laws create in the police force? From raids gone bad, or from collateral damage?
How many non-violent drug users, and possibly very productive people, have lost their lives to imprisonment, or felony charges?
How many people in Mexico have died because of failed drug policies? How many have disappeared?
The amount of people that die to illegal drugs is rather low when compared to the damages of drug prohibition. Lastly, of all of the drug users in my extended family, and there are a LOT, the only people who ever managed to get OFF of drugs were the ones that did NOT get arrested. In fact, the only three people that don't have serious problems to this day are the ones that got voluntary help. The ones who were arrested sunk into a downward spiral. One from which I highly doubt they can ever now escape. Actually, I take that back. One of the meth addicts managed to switch over to alcoholism.
