• xigoi@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 year ago

    Yeah, which is why illegal drugs have more users than legal drugs (alcohol and tobacco). Except they don’t.

    • papalonian@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Their argument was that banning cigarettes wouldn’t eliminate their use, only drive people to continue doing it through other methods.

      What does your comment have to do with that…? Nobody said there would somehow be more users than before, just that people would continue doing it…

      • xigoi@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        My argument is that since illegal drugs have significantly fewer users, prohibition does reduce usage.

        • papalonian@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          That logic doesn’t flow, though. You need to compare number of current illegal users vs number of users before it was illegal.

          Have you heard of the US prohibition on alcohol? It’s a pretty famous counterexample to your argument showing that it absolutely does not reduce usage.

        • SCB@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          The same number of people, as a percentage, smoke marijuana as smoke cigarettes. Marijuana use is federally illegal and illegal in most states.

          So no, it really doesn’t reduce usage. Price and perceived risk are the two factors that reduce usage the most.

          • xigoi@lemmy.sdf.org
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            1 year ago

            I don’t know about the USA, but I see tobacco smokers every day and very rarely see marijuana smokers.

                • papalonian@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  When the government makes something illegal, they don’t do it in hopes of millions of people doing it anyways in private.

                  • xigoi@lemmy.sdf.org
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                    1 year ago

                    Maybe not for other laws, but it makes sense for drugs. The important thing is that people should have the right to breathe non-poisonous air, and forcing smokers to hide their smoking achieves that.