"The best way to reduce drug-related crime and disorder, AIDS, hepatitis and other infectious diseases from heroin is to stop it from coming into our country. Less supply = less new users!"

The evidence doesn't support that view ... the harms are worse in the prohibitionist parts of the world and least in the harm-reduction parts.

Basically, you haven't addressed these two points - ever - in your replies:


1) There's no way to stop it. 2) People arn't livestock - they should have medical autonomy.

There is no way the American people will ever vote to legalize heroin.

Which proves my point about the mentality of the average Amerikkkan voter.

"There is no way the American people will ever vote to legalize heroin."


"History holds one final lesson for those who cannot imagine any future beyond drug prohibition. Until well into the 1920s most Americans regarded Prohibition as a permanent fact of life. As late as 1930 Sen. Morris Shepard of Texas, who had coauthored the Prohibition Amendment, confidently asserted: “There is as much chance of repealing the Eighteenth Amendment as there is for a humming-bird to fly to the planet Mars with the Washington Monument tied to its tail.”

History reminds us that things can and do change, that what seems inconceivable today can seem entirely normal, and even inevitable, a few years hence. So it was with Prohibition, and so it is—and will be—both with drug prohibition and the ever-changing nature of drug use in America."

http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1993/1/1993_1_41.shtml

"What you are promoting is a drug that entraps the free will."

So does alcohol and tobacco. Tobacco has the same relaps rate (75%) and, unlike heroin, you can die from alcohol withdrawal.

But the real truth is that 1) You can use or misuse all of these drugs, and 2) prohibition just increases the abuse.

Now ... I triple dog dare you to BACK UP WHAT YOU SAY WITH EXAMPLES, STATISTICS or some sort of PROOF. You're uninformed opinions are getting tired.

Ask the six members of the Bali nine that have been sentenced to death , just before they face the firing squad (yep, the Indonesians execute using FIRING SQUADS!) which has been more harmful to their lives. The drug, or the laws fabricated to draw attention away from Nixons problems...oh sorry,drafted to "protect young lives"(yeah, right!)? The answer is painfully obvious, even to a knucklehead like Hand.
Check out the details of this case, Dave. It'll be no less than you would expect from the likes of a Howard Govt. run Australian Federal Police, but disgusting to anyone with any sense of "fair play" or justice y'know? The fact that the A.F.P. chose to tip off the Indonesians, knowing the death penalty would be imposed, rather than letting these silly, misguided kids get home before pinching them (20 years, out in eight to ten if you behave yourself.) was truly scary stuff. Check it out and tell us what you reckon, yeah?
This may be an extreme case, but it does clearly demonstrate how these laws, drafted and imposed worldwide in the early seventies for party political reasons alone (we need not argue Nixons motivations for his phony "War on Drugs", it's been proven fifty times over. It was a distraction from the truly important events, and nothing more) have done so much more damage than any amount of heroin, or any other illicit drug possibly could have!

It's time to put away the leather shorts, mask and whip Mr. Hand! The heavy discipline approach to every problem is obsolete ol' mate! It doesn't bloody work, and never did! Here's a revolutionary idea...Lets try to work out the roots of the problem (poverty, social bias, corruption of the powerful...who knows?), and address them. At the same time, we could clean up a really big mess by helping those currently caught up in it by making sure that what they feel a compulsion to do is avaliable to them in the form of pure, pharmy grade Bayer Heroin and not cut with Christ knows what. Doing this would remove an awful lot of money and power from the larger, more organised criminals and remove the millions of desperate, opportunist street dealers, most of which are themselves addicts as well. Surely you of all people would be happy with that outcome, Mr. Hand?
See? A double win! What could be better? We've tried your approach, and it hasn't worked. I say it's time for a fresh approach. It couldn't turn out any worse than Prohibition has...just ask the Bali Nine.


Sorry Dave. Just realised it looks as if I'm replying to you. I wasn't. I was just making a general comment, not really a reply to anyone, cool?

I'm not a Jehovah's Witness but if I was I would be able to quit under my own free will unlike Heroin.

Most people who are addicted to the heroin you say "people should have the freedom to use", do not have the same freedom to just quit like marijuana.
What you are promoting is a drug that entraps the free will.

Quote:

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Now ... I triple dog dare you to BACK UP WHAT YOU SAY WITH EXAMPLES, STATISTICS or some sort of PROOF. You're uninformed opinions are getting tired.

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Are you asking for proof that heroin is addictive?

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Heroin or diacetylmorphine (INN) is a semi-synthetic opioid. It is the 3,6-diacetyl derivative of morphine (hence diacetylmorphine) and is synthesised from it by acetylation. The white crystalline form is commonly the hydrochloride salt, diacetylmorphine hydrochloride. It has a high addiction potential, and frequent repeated ingestion causes a fast development of tolerance to it when compared to other substances, although occasional use without symptoms of withdrawal is also possible.[1][2] Internationally, Heroin is controlled under Schedules I and IV of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.[3] It is illegal to manufacture, possess, or sell heroin in the United States but, under the name diamorphine, heroin is a legal prescription drug in the United Kingdom. Popular street names for heroin include dope, diesel, smack, skag, heron, black tar, horse, junk, jenny, brown, brown sugar, dark and H
heroin
Heterocyclic compound, a highly addictive alkaloid derivative of morphine (chemically, it is diacetylmorphine) that makes up a large portion of illicit narcotics traffic. Easily made from morphine, it was developed and first used as an analgesic, but its undesirable effects outweighed its value, and it is illegal in most countries. Injection brings an ecstatic, warm, glowing sensation, followed by relaxation and contentment. Within half a day withdrawal symptoms set in, with a craving for more. Development of tolerance, requiring ever greater amounts for the same effects, leads to drug addiction. Illegal street heroin is usually only 2–5% pure; unwitting injection of relatively pure heroin is a major cause of overdose, resulting in depressed respiration, coma, and death.

heroin (hĕ'rəwən) , opiate drug synthesized from morphine (see narcotic). Originally produced in 1874, it was thought to be not only nonaddictive but useful as a cure for respiratory illness and morphine addiction, and capable of relieving morphine withdrawal symptoms. Later it was discovered to have the same pharmacologic effects as morphine and to be just as addictive. In many parts of the world, it is used as an analgesic (for relief of pain), particularly for the terminally ill. Although in the United States the manufacture and importation of the drug are prohibited and it is not used medically, heroin predominates in illicit narcotics traffic because it provides more potency for less bulk than morphine and is thus easier to smuggle.

Heroin is a central nervous system depressant that relieves pain and induces sleep. It produces a dreamlike state of warmth and well-being. It may also cause constricted pupils, nausea, and respiratory depression, which in its extremes can result in death. Heroin activates brain regions that produce euphoric sensations and brain regions that produce physical dependence—hence its notorious ability to produce both psychological and physical addiction. Its addictiveness is characterized by persistent craving for the drug, tolerance (the need for larger and larger doses to get the same results), and painful and dangerous withdrawal. Withdrawal symptoms include panic, nausea, muscle cramps, chills, and insomnia. Heroin use during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. Infants exposed to heroin in the womb go through withdrawal at birth and exhibit various developmental problems. Besides the danger of overdose, addicts are susceptible to malnutrition, hepatitis, pneumonia, and AIDS



Heroin is usually injected intravenously, but may also be injected intramuscularly or under the skin, smoked, or sniffed; effects last three to six hours. In some cases addicts gather in places called “shooting galleries,” often located in vacant buildings, which supply the necessary paraphernalia (e.g., hypodermic needle and spoon to heat and liquefy the heroin). Sharing of heroin needles significantly increases the risk of acquiring AIDS (from contaminated blood left in the syringe). Different distributors of heroin often assign “brand names” to their products to enhance rumors of their strength (“Death Wish,” “DOA”) or effects (“Evening's Delight,” “Magic”). Because the drug's strength and purity are unmonitored, each administration brings with it the possibility of overdose, illness from contaminants, or death. Multiple drug use involving heroin is increasingly common and results in many emergency-room visits. For example “speedballing,” the use of heroin with cocaine intravenously, moderates the expected post-cocaine “crash.” Instances of overdose are also increasing among the growing group of middle-class users that emerged in the 1990s as a potent powdered heroin became available.

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Heroin is a highly addictive drug, and its use is a serious problem in America. Current estimates suggest that nearly 600,000 people need treatment for heroin addiction. Recent studies suggest a shift from injecting heroin to snorting or smoking because of increased purity and the misconception that these forms of use will not lead to addiction.



According to the University of Michigan.s Monitoring the Future Study in 2002, 1.6% of 8th graders, 1.8% of 10th graders, and 1.7% of 12th graders surveyed reported using heroin at least once during their lifetime. That study also showed that 0.9% of 8th graders, 1.1% of 10th graders, and 1% of 12th graders reported using heroin in the past year

www.drug-rehabs.org/drug-statistics.php

"Are you asking for proof that heroin is addictive?"

If you responded to everything I said instead of just selecting what you wanted to respond to, you could no longer play stupid and drag this out.

I will repeat myself ... I said:

1) You can use or misuse all of these drugs, and 2) prohibition just increases the abuse.

Now ... if you have any evidence that 1) and 2) are not the case, I would like to see it. If you don't, just admit defeat and stop posting false statements in this forum.