Illegal drugs..

Ok, this came up in another thread. And I'm too lazy to say a whole lot about it, so I'll just put the question out there:

Is it morally wrong to use illegal drugs? Why? Why not?

I believe that it IS morally wrong because..well its breaking the law..and thats like bad..morally..uh yeah...whatever, you get it.

I don't think it's morally wrong *just* because it is illegal. But some of the drugs are morally wrong to use because of the consequences they inevetably create. Crime violence, abuse, self destruction, pain, despair...those are the consequences that are morally wrong to do to others and to yourself.

Well if being illegal makes something morally wrong, is it morally wrong to j-walk??

Hm, but aren't some of those consequences only there because the drugs are illegal in the first place?

(I'm not trying to advocate using drugs here -- just being a pain in the ass)

Well, its not because they're illegal its because of the harm you can cause to yourself and the others around you.

legal drugs can cause just as much harm.

Well, lots of legal things can cause harm. Is it morally wrong to drive a car??

Not at all. Lets imagine that cocaine is legal for instance. Will that make it less dangerous? less harmful to your body, your mind and your sanity? Will it be less addictive? Will you be less desperate if you run out? Would you be less likely to rob or attack someone if you did? Legality is not the issue, consequences are.

Well it would be less dangerous because you'd likely get it from a licensed dealer or the government rather than on the street where it's cut with god knows what. Also, the price would probably go down since the supply would be less restricted so there might be less robbing and attacking going on to get money for a fix.

well, lets look at alcohol as an example of a legal drug. Milliopns of families are destroyed and/or seriously damaged by the effects of alcohol. But it is legal. Does that mean it's not dangerous? It is bought by legitimate stores, contains no mystrious ingredients, and is very cheap to get.

True, but look what happened in prohibition.

- The alcohol people got killed them more often because it was made in a bathtub
- Organized crime got it's start in bootlegging
- One estimate I heard said that alcohol use actually increased during that time (the whole 'reverse psychology' aspect)
- Etc.

Anyway, I'm off for now, I'll be back later to be a pain

I'm not saying that legalizing the drugs wouldn't be a benefit. on that point I agree. I'm just saying that being legal or illegal is not a reason for it to be moral or not, it is because of what it does to people.

no!

ok, well that makes sense. I agree that most the time it's quite stupid, on the morality point I am undeided, however. I guess I'm not that big on morality