Legalising would give a chance to Latin America

[hatshepsut93]

I also think that it's naive to think that cartels will simply vanish if all drugs were to be made legal. They are so powerful that they can just switch to other activities and keep extending their control over society with their unmatched monopoly on violence. They have already amassed large amounts of money and resources which would allow maintaining their structure for a long period of time.

[jostorres]

In reality, this is not the case. Nowadays, as long as you live in a city or in a metropolitan area that is of a certain entity, say over 50K inhabitants, you can get all the heroin you want and without showing ID. Also, no matter where you live, nowadays with Bitcoin and the deep web you can also get what you want. The difference is that what they sell you as heroin you don't know what it is cut with.

So your argument that it would be easier to buy it if it were legalized does not hold water. Today you can get all the heroin you want, as long as you can afford it.

As I have said before, I am not sure if it should be just showing the ID or with some additional step, but of course that would end the power of the mafias and empty at least half of the prisons, besides making sure that those who consumed it did not die from consuming adulterated drugs.

So you are telling me comparing two worlds, one where it is illegal and you may die and you may get caught and jailed and there are fines and it is risky and you are getting it from people who you have no idea how they are producing it , versus a world where it is legal and you know where you are getting it from and even there is maybe FDA approval pending or done, where you can get it without worrying about doing anything illegal, would have similar situations or the first would even be better? I have to say that is bs. If it is legal then there will be more people who will have access without worrying about it at all.

Instead of getting from some thug in the ghetto, it will be a shop that you will get from. All in all you will be getting it a lot easier without any worry at all which is the proof that people will be using it a lot more as well since it is easier to trust and not worry and not fear.

[iv4n]

...

So you are telling me comparing two worlds, one where it is illegal and you may die and you may get caught and jailed and there are fines and it is risky and you are getting it from people who you have no idea how they are producing it , versus a world where it is legal and you know where you are getting it from and even there is maybe FDA approval pending or done, where you can get it without worrying about doing anything illegal, would have similar situations or the first would even be better? I have to say that is bs. If it is legal then there will be more people who will have access without worrying about it at all.

Instead of getting from some thug in the ghetto, it will be a shop that you will get from. All in all you will be getting it a lot easier without any worry at all which is the proof that people will be using it a lot more as well since it is easier to trust and not worry and not fear.

Michael Moore's "Where to invade next" (part in Portugal) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd7Dc9KTy20

Jostorres you can take a look at what happened in Portugal and how they did it! People will not use drugs more if they get decriminalized, not if you work on education, improve health care, and probably you can do with the money you get from taxing drugs that will be on the street anyway!

Maybe you can compare alcohol with drugs, you have it everywhere, it's more harmful than some recreational drugs that are banned, but not all people are alcoholics! And if we can learn something from prohibition is that prohibition creates people like Al Capone... and probably it's what we have today, people who are bigger and crazier than old All!

[bitgolden]

Living in a country where there are no rules governing the people and the law enforcement officers are not doing their jobs can be really but.

I understand how this can be, ‘cause I’ve seen it happen in some places. But that part from legalizing this, what do you think about the government coming out and doing their work?

Imagine in a situation where the law enforcement officers are doing what they’re meant to do by enforcing the laws and making sure that citizens are safe in the country, do you believe that would also make the country a better place? Or do you still think that the only solution to this problem is to legalize all these drugs?

[iv4n]

Imagine in a situation where the law enforcement officers are doing what they’re meant to do by enforcing the laws and making sure that citizens are safe in the country, do you believe that would also make the country a better place?

That would make the world better, definitely! When they deal with corruption (I guess the main problem), and with all other dangerous/bad/evil stuff first... maybe they can start with attacking nature!

Or do you still think that the only solution to this problem is to legalize all these drugs?

"All these drugs" sounds a bit complicated for me. What weed has with anything with all that... you plant a seed, you try to give it more light and water, and you get something nice! Why would that be illegal? Just can't get to me, why any plant can be illegal?! You give me your seeds and I will give you mine, it's nature... why would anyone go against that?!

[Finestream]

I also think that it's naive to think that cartels will simply vanish if all drugs were to be made legal. They are so powerful that they can just switch to other activities and keep extending their control over society with their unmatched monopoly on violence. They have already amassed large amounts of money and resources which would allow maintaining their structure for a long period of time.

Cartels are only so rich and powerful because drugs doesn't comes cheap and it gets more expensive because of its illegitimacy and it's illegal to make or to have. But if drugs will became legal in that specific country then it will become more cheaper is it gets like the tobacco industry because it's not rare or hard to find anymore.
Sure they've already amassed large amounts of money and already built the right connections including government authorities and uniformed personnels and it's already under their payroll.

[paxmao]

I also think that it's naive to think that cartels will simply vanish if all drugs were to be made legal. They are so powerful that they can just switch to other activities and keep extending their control over society with their unmatched monopoly on violence. They have already amassed large amounts of money and resources which would allow maintaining their structure for a long period of time.

The reference we have is the Prohibition in the USA. When it finished, gangsters moved to other activities or simply became legal businessmen - arguably, some of them very successful politicians.

The key here is that even if they move to some other activity, or even if they choose to keep selling illegally, the massive amount of money and power that is currently distorting the society of many countries in Latin America would be much less and that would give a chance to people. It is the scale of the business that is massacring countries.

[Wong Gendheng]

This is good news if bitcoin is legalized, it has been proven that bitcoin has many benefits and can improve the economy of anyone who invests bitcoin, the growing community and active users are proof that all countries deserve to legalize bitcoin.

[STT]

The people who might benefit most would be the consumers due to all the unaccounted for negatives that are coming with it.   Supplied normally as any other drug you reduce the damage to society and increase information as to the true cost of usage.  The drug once legalized is just another way to distort your body in some way which we already have legally to some extent.  People would view it differently if legal then if something special pulled out, banned for being too good at its effect.
    If you take a drug the user must constantly struggle to maintain levels in their blood stream while the body is rejecting and throwing it out as a poison, you cant work or do much else as you are involved with the constant task of replacing or balancing the chemical effect it has.   Most drugs are easy to make and supply, banning them just alters the distribution outside known paths where it can be controlled and accounted for in its side effects.

Cartels are only so rich and powerful

Money is relative only in exchange is there wealth, if your neighborhood is on fire and destroyed you arent rich no matter how much money you have.

[Kodok Bencot]

I hope that more countries or regions legalize bitcoin, it has been proven that bitcoin can provide benefits for everyone so the reason for being banned is unrealistic, Latin America and other regions need bitcoin to be able to improve the economy so that it can be on par with European countries.

[nur rochid]

I hope that more countries or regions legalize bitcoin, it has been proven that bitcoin can provide benefits for everyone so the reason for being banned is unrealistic, Latin America and other regions need bitcoin to be able to improve the economy so that it can be on par with European countries.

economic problems in Latin American countries that made them legalize bitcoin. they seem to want to be freed from the usd bondage so that their country can recover, of course if it is done now it will have great benefits and impacts for the country's economy, because once it is legalized, of course, more people will have bitcoins, and that means they have invested

[BernyJB]

Latin America doesn't need a chance, they (we) need a collective brain transplant.
As stated above, to think drug dealers will just "pack up and leave" because drugs are being legalized would be a gross oversimplification. They don't need the money, the same way Elon Musk doesn't go to work for the money either. There's a known fact that Pablo Escobar offered to pay off Colombia's debt if they left him alone.
In Uruguay, prostitution has been legal for decades, yet prostitutes didn't cease to exist. The real difference is the state gets taxes from prostitutes, and they get medical attention, retirement plans, and the whole shebang, and the whole trade is a lot safer, both for the prostitute and for the customer, and the state saves taxpayers' money on paying cops and the whole system to fight against a crime they can't beat.
With the drugs it's a similar problem: under the "head in the sand" policy most countries are following now just to prove how "correct" they are, drug dealers thrive, because, once you reach  a certain level, nobody bothers you, especially not the police.
So legalizing drugs would not make much of a difference to the general public (other than the fact that a junkie would be able to go to a pharmacy and get better quality, regulated stuff, instead of the garbage they use today), but it could make a difference in terms of taxes, and expenses on law enforcement.
That said, the problems for Latin America are many, and most of them are way bigger than drugs. Sure, legalizing drugs would probably decompress the situation a bit, but I don't think it'd make much of a difference.

[Kakmakr]

Most of the women and girls that are being trafficked for the sex trade are being drugged to get them to become dependent on the drugs that are forcefully given to them. It is not just about taxes ....but rather the dark side to the drug industry..that are wrong in so many ways.

I have had friends that stole from their mothers and family members.. just to get money for drugs... and I know of several house burglaries and car hijackings that was done by criminals to pay for their drug habits.

So hard drugs are linked to many gruesome crimes and that is why it should not be legalized. 

[2double0]

Most of the women and girls that are being trafficked for the sex trade are being drugged to get them to become dependent on the drugs that are forcefully given to them. It is not just about taxes ....but rather the dark side to the drug industry..that are wrong in so many ways.

I have had friends that stole from their mothers and family members.. just to get money for drugs... and I know of several house burglaries and car hijackings that was done by criminals to pay for their drug habits.

So hard drugs are linked to many gruesome crimes and that is why it should not be legalized. 

IMHO drugs must be completely banned to save the current and upcoming generations from extinction, because drugs are making a person kill another just to steal his money and buy drugs. I have also seen children being drugged to make them beg for those bastards who are behind child trafficking, which is heartbreaking and ridiculous. Even if drugs get legalized, the drug mafia will not let things go normal because they want all this to happen so to keep their business booming.

[savetheFORUM]

So how would legalizing cryptocurrency in these countries solve the issue of bad cops and narcos in the society? I believe that there are ways that cryptocurrencies can help the economy of a country, but I don’t really think that in a situation like this where there is chaos that cryptocurrency can really do anything to quench the chaos in that country.

In a situation like this I believe that it is the work of the government to step up and do what they’re supposed to do, and it is also the work of the citizens to come out in huge numbers and protest for what they believe is their right. When the law enforcement agencies start playing their roles effectively, it’s going to help to make the society a better place.

[Semar Mesem]

El savador already made a profit when his country officially accepted bitcoin and started buying bitcoin 2 months ago, of course not all countries can accept bitcoin and it takes a long process because usually the senate will always audit all state expenditures, the first step that can be done is to legalize bitcoin so that can be useful for citizens.

[Pejoh Asu]

Although currently many countries have banned bitcoin but I'm sure they will soon follow countries that have legalized bitcoin like El Salvador, it's time for countries to think about making their people prosperous and bitcoin is a great opportunity to improve everyone's welfare.

[fiulpro]

Legalizing would be great if it was for things like : Weed
But here we are talking about : Hard drugs
Their health effects, the adverse mental stimulation, how it makes the user addicted, how it might cause chaos is something we all understand. Not everyone is a drug user and not everyone needs to summed up in one situation. Legalizing it medially would be a wise choice but other than that just letting people freely exchange and consume whatever they want is not how things are done. It's not just about the taxes, might as well allow alcohol for teens, you understand why there are rules right ? Even though people might not follow them it would make it harder for them to put their hands on things.
I strongly oppose legalizing hard drugs.
Soft drugs on the other hand might be good for the people and taxes as well. But other than that we cannot let things slide so irresponsibly.

[naira]

It is time to assume the truth and legalize. And get taxes from it. Is that ethical? I think so.

The impact on Central America would be huge, as this huge market would surface and there would be no need for all the violence that surrounds it. It will give a decent chance of survival to a number of government systems that are failing against the might of the cartels and contribute with taxes and exports.

In US, just as when the "Prohibition" ended in US, the dark economy was greatly reduced. Drugs would have controls and would be no different from Alcohol (a drug arguably) and the recently legalised cannabis.

I don't really understand how and what kind of impact the various types of drugs have. Because since childhood I was educated from a fanatical family about such things. Until now, I probably don't know about drugs that are considered illegal, even drugs that have class 1,2 and so on are considered by the government as a threat.

It makes me curious, in some places in the US this is kind of a blunder. On the other hand, the proliferation of distribution has become a normal activity. But the government itself made the decision to fight. So from these two sides, the government actually has two roles at once. Not only as exterminators of illegal drugs, also not a few of them are involved.

[paxmao]

It is time to assume the truth and legalize. And get taxes from it. Is that ethical? I think so.

The impact on Central America would be huge, as this huge market would surface and there would be no need for all the violence that surrounds it. It will give a decent chance of survival to a number of government systems that are failing against the might of the cartels and contribute with taxes and exports.

In US, just as when the "Prohibition" ended in US, the dark economy was greatly reduced. Drugs would have controls and would be no different from Alcohol (a drug arguably) and the recently legalised cannabis.

I don't really understand how and what kind of impact the various types of drugs have. Because since childhood I was educated from a fanatical family about such things. Until now, I probably don't know about drugs that are considered illegal, even drugs that have class 1,2 and so on are considered by the government as a threat.

It makes me curious, in some places in the US this is kind of a blunder. On the other hand, the proliferation of distribution has become a normal activity. But the government itself made the decision to fight. So from these two sides, the government actually has two roles at once. Not only as exterminators of illegal drugs, also not a few of them are involved.

It is a self reinforcing circle in which the only losers are the people of Latin America that want nothing to do with the cartels and even the small delinquency that is generated due to lack of prospects is partially due to the drug trafficking. Who would like to invest in a region in which they have to deal with a corrupt and inefficient government that is unable to provide an effective rule of law and security? The answer is companies that are going to take from the land and never create local value.