Will California Become The First State To Decriminalize Psychedelic Mushrooms?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Abner, Aug 30, 2017.

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  1. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

  2. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    That would be far out, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan... ✌:nervous:
     
  3. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    And just like with cannabis, the sky won't fall. Thank goodness the tide has finally turned away from drug prohibition -- libertarians were right all along.
     
  4. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I draw the line at marijuana, I've seen way too many people hurt themselves or hurt other people while on psychedelic drugs.
     
  5. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I agree, Bruce. It doesn't end well when someone thinks he/she can fly and jumps off a balcony. I think all drugs are stupid. Stupidity itself is not criminal, or we'd need many more jails, but some feel society has a duty to protect stupid people from themselves. When drug prohibitions are dropped, some amount of protection from - or at least inhibition of - harmful stupidity is removed.

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 1, 2017
  6. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    The question isn't whether taking them is a good idea. The question is whether prohibition does more harm than good, and it does.
     
  7. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member


    We'd have to rotate between being inmates and guards.
     
  8. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  9. heirophant

    heirophant Well-Known Member

    I'm curious about why 'psychedelic mushrooms' are in for special treatment? What makes them better/safer/superior to other psychedelics? Is it because they are supposedly "organic" or "natural"? Because they supposedly have associations with "indigenous cultures"?

    If I was forced to choose a psychedelic drug for legalization, I'd probably choose MDMA (Ecstasy).

    But all in all, I think that all of these drugs are too strong and too dangerous for people to just be taking them on a whim.

    Marijuana is a little different, in relatively low doses it's kind of like psychedelic alcohol. It gives you a warm fuzzy feeling while it accentuates your senses. I don't believe that there are a whole lot of longer-lasting ill-effects. But psychedelics seriously disable one's cognition and ability to function in even simple tasks. They can have lasting effects in a subset of users and can cause many more to have serious accidents.

    So I guess that I too would draw the line at legalizing marijuana. I might support making small-scale possession of psychedelics an infraction that earns a ticket rather than a prison sentence, while keeping laws pretty much as they are regarding manufacture and sales.
     
  10. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    So I assume you are either a strict prohibitionist when it comes to alcohol or else you've never seen anyone hurt, or having hurt someone else, while under the influence of that same substance?
     
  11. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member


    Part of some aboriginal spiritual practices, I believe.
     
  12. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Prohibition of psychedelic drugs harms no one, other than the feelings of those who want to legally take them. Marijuana has medicinal properties (although I suspect a large number of "patients" are malingerers), not so for psychedelics, in spite of what Dr. Leary believed.

    Alcohol is responsible for untold amounts of deaths and injuries every day. However, alcohol is also used responsibly for millions of people every day, and 1-2 drinks for the average person isn't going to send them off to an alternate reality where they're going to become a danger and/or a drain on society. Alcohol has also been ingrained as part of the culture of most of the world for centuries, especially the United States, and the one attempt at prohibition was a disaster.

    If someone could snap their fingers and male ethanol disappear from the face of the Earth, in other words it just didn't exist and couldn't be made anymore, it would make my life a lot easier. I also wouldn't miss it, since I don't drink, but that's not going to happen anytime soon.
     
  13. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I'm just wondering why TOBACCO is still legal. We know one out of every two regular users dies of a smoking-related illness. I don't think that can be said of any illegal substance. The cost in terms of health care is astronomical. AND, unlike marijuana, it's addictive. I've heard of people who successfully quit heroin bitching about their inability to quit smoking!

    Sigh. It's a money-and-tax thing I guess. Wish I had the money I "saved" by not buying smokes since 1977, when I quit. Not putting it away taught me a lesson - I DO have every penny of the money I saved by quitting alcohol 13 years ago. Much less than 40 years of smoking cost, though...

    Oh well. Can't complain. I have adult grandchildren now that I'd never have lived to see even as babies, I'm sure. Worth it if I'd never saved a dime. :smile:

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 2, 2017
  14. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Probably because banning things that people want "for their own good" (1) doesn't work, (2) fuels organized crime, and (3) is antithetical to a free society.
     

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