drogato, drogué, φάρμακο, droga, 薬... My take on it

During the weekend I opened the newspaper (which is a rare event these days), and got interested in a report of a Awareness campaign by the 2amn 3am(Jordanian security service?!) . What I find amazing in those reports is that they haven't really changed, EVER !

They are always making progress in their fight, that abuse is virtually non-existent, that we are a transitional country and not a user country, and that we should commend our security forces for protecting us from this evil that causes moral corruption , & lewd behavior.

Now I am pretty familiar with legislative history regarding this issue in a number of countries, what I am ashamed of is that I can't say the same regarding my country. Who was it that decreed that we need to invest in this area of security.

In the case that we actually take ourselves seriously regarding this issue can we please ground our selves in reality !
Drug use among the Jordanian population is actually rampant, let us not ignore the huge plantations that are spread across the country only because they are protected with a larger arsenal than the one that the security forces possess and for honesty sakes let us not fudge every bust that the security forces make (4 million pills for instance ).

Why I think it is pointless worldwide to invest in a war on drugs:

• Culturally speaking, the people who are going to use and abuse drugs will get their hands on it regardless of laws and regulations.
  
• No country will be able to thwart a product that sells for 1700% of its original price
• The war created a much more dangerous activity which is money laundering, it is practically much harder to move around the cash that is earned through illicit means than it is to move around the drugs.
• There will always people willing to take on the risk if the profit is high enough. When you legalize the drug, the price will drop and the cartels will not find it profitable to market that drug. That way the supply will diminish
  
• Technically speaking there was no laws or regulation, religious or not pre- 1900 that demonises drugs. To the contrary it has always been part of popular culture and in certain places it still is.
  
• Drug abuse also includes abuse of pharmaceutical drugs, which is actually more dangerous (synthetic alternatives of a drug are much more potent than their natural sources). This is in fact the easiest type of drug to acquire in Jordan, and hence the most popular among users.
  
• Regulating the market will be much more cost effective than it is to remain on prohibition terms with it. With regulation you will raise the average age of hard drug users (here) that incidentally means that the gate way theory of drugs is not true, and the allure of moving to higher drugs is reduced. Also it means that there are less new users in the population which is exactly what you want to achieve but was never able to.
• You will reduce the innovation in the field of drugs, the demand for stronger and harder drugs causes the innovation in the field. take out the demand by legalizing softer drugs.
• The legal system will have to shoulder alot less of the burden due to criminalization that pose no danger to the society, the money saved from this and other drug drains of the budget could be applied to strengthen health and education programs.
• I hate to add this point, but there is a great amount of money and revenue that could be earned in this area.
• Regarding Addiction, tobacco is proven to be the most addictive drug. In general tobacco is more damaging to the health too.
  
• If you allow tobacco and alcohol to be consumed even though they are not exactly socially tolerable (atleast not until 10 or so years ago) , why is it that you single out soft drugs.
• I am in no way advocating total free market with regard to drug control, but actually having governmental oversight which is a much better tool than prohibition. That applies mainly to soft drugs but that doesn't say that it is an ineffective tool against all drugs.
• The best way to combat a side effect of drugs, i.e. the cartels, is to reduce the price to a point where it is no longer feasible to invest in the business that is the bottom line. They are in it for the money.(I repeated that point again)
  

One last favor i have been looking to find a single fatwa or hadeeth that dates before the 1900's that classifies drug use as "haram", since it was prevalent during that time but only alcohol was mentioned. I am just wondering regarding that since I can't find the link between the hashasheen and where we are now.

Kids remember drugs & Alcohol are bad for you, unless you take them under the supervision of an authorized adult :P

ENJOY!
ps. I hope my lil' Egyptian troll gives his blessing to this post too
pps. I wonder how many slanders i will get for this. yes i can be blamed for troll baiting.