Home Politics & Debate
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Read the community guidelines before posting ✨
Options

The 'ethics' of drug taking

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Some people when opposing narcotics legalisation state that a person should not abuse their bodies in such a manner.

Why not? Doesn't a person own their body (and therefore their life)?

Do you believe it's unethical for a person to take narcotics?
«13

Comments

  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If somebody want to take illegal drugs that's fine, so long as it doesn't interfere with others. i.e., if someone wants to smoke
    a joint in their own home.

    But things like herion are different because innocent people can get roped in because of one person's addiction (i.e., victims of crime).
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Do you believe it's unethical for a person to take narcotics?

    Since they're illegal, the person taking them is breaking laws. And unless you want to live in a society where everyone decides which laws they will recognize...breaking a law must be considered unethical by "society standards". And ethics are always society's standards by definition.

    Whew. That was a lot of thinking. :crazyeyes
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think if someone gets caught with illegal substances it should be taken from them but they shouldn't be charged, but the law
    should be very tough on dealers.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If someone wants to take drugs then let them get on with it, the only time id be concerned is when it affects me or others in the way of crime etc.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by dantheman
    If somebody want to take illegal drugs that's fine, so long as it doesn't interfere with others. i.e., if someone wants to smoke
    a joint in their own home.

    But things like herion are different because innocent people can get roped in because of one person's addiction (i.e., victims of crime).

    That's not my point.

    Is it 'moral' for a person to harm their bodies by taking drugs?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by monocrat


    Is it 'moral' for a person to harm their bodies by taking drugs?

    I would think if we are talking adults here then they are able to make their own minds up. If they want to do something that could harm their bodies they are old enough to make decisions and face the consequences.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Actually, you said unethical. But if you're asking is it moral....hmm. I guess if someone wants to trash their health. But maybe when the person decided to try the drug they didn't know it would be addictive. So do we say they should have known better...or do we step in and make the person get off the drug cause it's illegal. As a society, aren't things made illegal because as a society we're supposed to care about each other on some level?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by monocrat
    That's not my point.

    Is it 'moral' for a person to harm their bodies by taking drugs?

    Which do you want to know, moral or ethical?

    In the case of moral question, I think that it should be a personal choice, save if it affects others.

    I am unsure where ethics fit into drug taking at all. Essentially the truely ethical standpoint depends upon the law at the time, so if the drug is illegal it is also unethical, if it is legal, it is ethical.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by pnjsurferpoet
    Actually, you said unethical. But if you're asking is it moral....hmm. I guess if someone wants to trash their health. But maybe when the person decided to try the drug they didn't know it would be addictive. So do we say they should have known better...or do we step in and make the person get off the drug cause it's illegal. As a society, aren't things made illegal because as a society we're supposed to care about each other on some level?

    In my view things should be made illegal if they violate another's rights.

    But I agree a person should be free to harm themselves if they wish.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by monocrat
    In my view things should be made illegal if they violate another's rights.
    In a lot of cases taking illegal drugs does violate other people's rights. Think about a person who is addicted to heroin? Most people have family and friends. Think how it affects them to see their loved one addicted. Think how it infringes their rights to a peaceful lifestyle.

    I would argue the same about alcoholics also. They infringe the rights of the people they're supposed to care about.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I didn't mean it in that context.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think that people should have a freedom of choice when it comes to drugs. Even tough they are illegal, people still have somewhat of a free choice, because are so easy to get. But i see absolutely no problem in drug taking as long as it doesn't harm/involve anyone else.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's dealers who should be taken care of, I mean heroine dealers who make money out of other people's misery.

    As for people taking drugs, if they want to, let them. As long as they can accept the consequences.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by monocrat
    That's not my point.

    Is it 'moral' for a person to harm their bodies by taking drugs?

    I think in order to judge the morality of the situation you must know the many factors involved. If 'I' steal from no one to supply the drug. If I effect no one other than myself while under the influence of the drug, i.e. I do not show up to work or operate a vehical and I am not caring/responsible for any children under the influence of the drug. Then in that case it is as far as I'm concerned morally correct and fine. I understand that taking drugs harms your body but so does smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol and eating junk food (and sunbathing without sunscreen!). I think anything in execess can cause your body major problems.


    I used the word 'I' in that but I do not take drugs anymore.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Mist
    Which do you want to know, moral or ethical?

    In the case of moral question, I think that it should be a personal choice, save if it affects others.

    I am unsure where ethics fit into drug taking at all. Essentially the truely ethical standpoint depends upon the law at the time, so if the drug is illegal it is also unethical, if it is legal, it is ethical.

    So breaking the law is ALWAYS unethical? :)

    I don't believe so. Some laws can be unjust.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by monocrat
    So breaking the law is ALWAYS unethical? :)

    I don't believe so. Some laws can be unjust.

    What you personally believe is irrelevant in the scheme of ethics. Breaking the governing law is by definition unethical.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    By what standard?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by monocrat
    By what standard?

    What do you mean by what standard?

    :/

    The whole sense of ethics is a person's duty to abide by a set of laws. You cannot simply pick and choose which parts of the system you want to agree with. Well, you can, but to do so is, essentially unethical.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by pnjsurferpoet
    Since they're illegal, the person taking them is breaking laws. And unless you want to live in a society where everyone decides which laws they will recognize...breaking a law must be considered unethical by "society standards". And ethics are always society's standards by definition.

    Whew. That was a lot of thinking. :crazyeyes

    Yes, but when the laws were instated the ethics of society as a whole were different. Hence the huge amount of drug taking today.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by pnjsurferpoet
    Actually, you said unethical. But if you're asking is it moral....hmm. I guess if someone wants to trash their health.

    Thats the only reason they do it, sorry i forgot that was the case...
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by duffy_2k
    Yes, but when the laws were instated the ethics of society as a whole were different. Hence the huge amount of drug taking today.
    I don't believe it is as huge as drug users would have non drug users believe.

    I personally don't class those who smoke weed as "drug users" in the same sense as I would a crack addict.

    I still think the majority of society would see the taking of drugs as unethical and immoral.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by monocrat
    So breaking the law is ALWAYS unethical? :)

    I don't believe so. Some laws can be unjust.

    Example?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    In my own opinion, laws against (for example) narcotics and prostitution are unjust as no one's rights (be they civil, natural or human) are violated in those activities.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by monocrat
    In my own opinion, laws against (for example) narcotics and prostitution are unjust as no one's rights (be they civil, natural or human) are violated in those activities.
    They can be actually.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Mist
    What do you mean by what standard?

    I mean by whose ethical standards.
    :/

    The whole sense of ethics is a person's duty to abide by a set of laws. You cannot simply pick and choose which parts of the system you want to agree with. Well, you can, but to do so is, essentially unethical.

    Again by whose ethical standards is it absolutely wrong to break the law?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by monocrat
    In my own opinion, laws against (for example) narcotics and prostitution are unjust as no one's rights (be they civil, natural or human) are violated in those activities.

    So, the exploitation of women is not a violation of human rights?

    Prostitution is a last resort for women who end up strapped for cash or on the streets. People who are desperate for money enough to sell their body so a man in a suit can fuck them. They're pimped off and their body, which is supposed to be sacred is being violated. What about if a prostitute or a client gets HIV?

    As for narcotics, which drugs in particular and where do you draw the line? I personally am for the legalisation of cannabis, but only once a roadside test of some sort can be taken out or when detection is made easier because it can affect the way you drive.

    If you have an opinion, please write more or be less ambigious as thick people like me get confused.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Creeper
    So, the exploitation of women is not a violation of human rights?

    Not if a woman (or man even) enters the profession of their own free wil.
    Prostitution is a last resort for women who end up strapped for cash or on the streets.

    So?
    People who are desperate for money enough to sell their body so a man in a suit can fuck them. They're pimped off and their body, which is supposed to be sacred is being violated. What about if a prostitute or a client gets HIV?

    Well I always thought having sex was pleasureable and didn't violate a person's body. If a woman (or man) chooses to have sex with clients, I don't believe they should be stopped.
    As for narcotics, which drugs in particular and where do you draw the line?

    ALL narcotics.
    I personally am for the legalisation of cannabis, but only once a roadside test of some sort can be taken out or when detection is made easier because it can affect the way you drive.

    If you have an opinion, please write more or be less ambigious as thick people like me get confused.

    You think you're thick? No self-confidence, huh? :chin:
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by monocrat
    Not if a woman (or man even) enters the profession of their own free wil...

    Well I always thought having sex was pleasureable and didn't violate a person's body. If a woman (or man) chooses to have sex with clients, I don't believe they should be stopped.

    Which conveniently forgets all those who don't.

    Haven't we had this conversation once before monocrat?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    lol, naw, was just tryin' to sound nice about the "thick" thing.

    I was simply asking that if you have an opinion then try and put more to it and back it up some more.

    And anyway, I doubt a woman would enter prostitution unless she's deperate. Indeed there are acceptions, but legalising it would probably end up with men pimping off 14 year olds.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Why? If prostitution is fully legalised then age of consent legislation would still apply.
Sign In or Register to comment.