On Banning Things
Jan. 20th, 2018 02:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebI have a lot of half-written blog posts out there. It's time to get these out there!
Today's post is about banning things. I like that murder and theft and other bad things are illegal. But I've come to believe that many things should not be banned, even if they are in some way(s) terrible.
Alcohol
Without alcohol, we would have fewer traffic injuries and deaths. And alcohol can really wreck the lives of alcoholics and those who love and/or depend on them.
We tried banning it it with Prohibition in the 1920s. This did not work. There was still plenty of alcohol. But also a lot more mafia and weapons and I don't even remember what all.
Other mind-altering drugs
Several countries with drug problems have responded by legalizing the drugs and found that this reduced their drug problems. When you take away the stigma and criminality, it's easier for people to get help. When drugs are regulated, you have a lot fewer overdoses from unexpectedly strong batches and you don't have people cutting the drugs with questionable substances.
In the US, we have a war on drugs instead. "Just say no" is a good idea, but not everyone likes that idea. So we have drug lords. This has been particularly bad for Mexico and other countries in Central America; I know I don't want to go there. And we have more people in prison per capita than any other country. I'm going to say this doesn't work.
I don't recall reading about any culture, no matter how isolated in the depths of rainforests or whatever, that didn't love their mind-altering drugs. I am not a fan. I am so lucky that I am not unduly pressured to do these drugs. I want the right to not have to take mind-altering drugs. But I also am opposed to banning them.
Read more: In Portugal, Drug Use Is Treated as a Medical Issue Not a Crime - "It's cheaper to treat people than to incarcerate them. ... Portugal's drug-induced death rate has plummeted to five times lower than the European Union average. ... Drug-related HIV infections in Portugal have dropped 95 percent."
Coffee
Ha ha, can you imagine?
Sex
Again, this is a thing that people will do. I haven't thought about this topic as much, but I suspect it's another behavior that is best handled with education and regulation (such as banning it for minors). I know very little about religious groups that ban sex or how well that works. (Except that if your whole society bans it, that society tends to disappear.)
Birth control other than abstinence
This may really be the same topic as above. I know some people fear that teaching people about and/or providing them with birth control will increase the likelihood of sex. I don't know if that's true, but I do know it greatly reduces pregnancy rates in teens and other people who don't want children or don't want more children.
Abortion
Just as with mind-altering drugs, people will seek abortions even if they are banned. So I am similarly for making abortions safe and widely available as well as providing education and birth control methods.
Hear more: Abortion Stories Before Roe v. Wade - "In 2012, there was a total of four abortion-related deaths in the United States."
Guns
Living in Texas, I couldn't help learning that places with conceal-carry laws have fewer gun deaths (including accidental ones) than places without. Apparently, the fact that bad guys never know who's packing does make a difference. And it takes a lot of training (in regulations, safety practices, and shooting skills) to get that license (at least in my state).
Religion
I'm not a fan of religion myself, but disallowing it at all, like in Communist Russia seems cruel. (As does forcing people to change religions.)
Read more: Will Religion Ever Disappear? - "[R]eligion seems to give meaning to suffering – much more so than any secular ideal or belief that we know of."
**
Exercise update - After starting up too soon last time, I've stayed sick, so I'm taking it very easy on the exercise front. In other words, I'm not doing it. Except for walking (highly assisted) pushups.
Today's post is about banning things. I like that murder and theft and other bad things are illegal. But I've come to believe that many things should not be banned, even if they are in some way(s) terrible.
Alcohol
Without alcohol, we would have fewer traffic injuries and deaths. And alcohol can really wreck the lives of alcoholics and those who love and/or depend on them.
We tried banning it it with Prohibition in the 1920s. This did not work. There was still plenty of alcohol. But also a lot more mafia and weapons and I don't even remember what all.
Other mind-altering drugs
Several countries with drug problems have responded by legalizing the drugs and found that this reduced their drug problems. When you take away the stigma and criminality, it's easier for people to get help. When drugs are regulated, you have a lot fewer overdoses from unexpectedly strong batches and you don't have people cutting the drugs with questionable substances.
In the US, we have a war on drugs instead. "Just say no" is a good idea, but not everyone likes that idea. So we have drug lords. This has been particularly bad for Mexico and other countries in Central America; I know I don't want to go there. And we have more people in prison per capita than any other country. I'm going to say this doesn't work.
I don't recall reading about any culture, no matter how isolated in the depths of rainforests or whatever, that didn't love their mind-altering drugs. I am not a fan. I am so lucky that I am not unduly pressured to do these drugs. I want the right to not have to take mind-altering drugs. But I also am opposed to banning them.
Read more: In Portugal, Drug Use Is Treated as a Medical Issue Not a Crime - "It's cheaper to treat people than to incarcerate them. ... Portugal's drug-induced death rate has plummeted to five times lower than the European Union average. ... Drug-related HIV infections in Portugal have dropped 95 percent."
Coffee
Ha ha, can you imagine?
Sex
Again, this is a thing that people will do. I haven't thought about this topic as much, but I suspect it's another behavior that is best handled with education and regulation (such as banning it for minors). I know very little about religious groups that ban sex or how well that works. (Except that if your whole society bans it, that society tends to disappear.)
Birth control other than abstinence
This may really be the same topic as above. I know some people fear that teaching people about and/or providing them with birth control will increase the likelihood of sex. I don't know if that's true, but I do know it greatly reduces pregnancy rates in teens and other people who don't want children or don't want more children.
Abortion
Just as with mind-altering drugs, people will seek abortions even if they are banned. So I am similarly for making abortions safe and widely available as well as providing education and birth control methods.
Hear more: Abortion Stories Before Roe v. Wade - "In 2012, there was a total of four abortion-related deaths in the United States."
Guns
Living in Texas, I couldn't help learning that places with conceal-carry laws have fewer gun deaths (including accidental ones) than places without. Apparently, the fact that bad guys never know who's packing does make a difference. And it takes a lot of training (in regulations, safety practices, and shooting skills) to get that license (at least in my state).
Religion
I'm not a fan of religion myself, but disallowing it at all, like in Communist Russia seems cruel. (As does forcing people to change religions.)
Read more: Will Religion Ever Disappear? - "[R]eligion seems to give meaning to suffering – much more so than any secular ideal or belief that we know of."
**
Exercise update - After starting up too soon last time, I've stayed sick, so I'm taking it very easy on the exercise front. In other words, I'm not doing it. Except for walking (highly assisted) pushups.