Sinaloa Violence

Out of curiosity I'd like to ask what you yourself would consider "popular recreational substances" other than marijuana.
What substances do you think should be legalized?

Thanks in advance.

Trust me in that I'm not Saint Peter here by any stretch. But having said that I have never touched a drug in my life, nor have I even smoked a cigarette once......so you know where my mind will favor on the issue.

Much can be learned from the experiment conducted in Portugal. If you are interested, do a quick Internet search for "Portugal drug decriminalization success or not" or something along those lines. You will find many articles from reputable sources. The prison population did go down. But some sources claim that drug use went up although some debate this claim saying the drug use didn't really go up. It was just that more folks who abused the drugs came forward to seek treatment. As one journalist said, "Portugal's experiment is a Rorschach test. Depending upon which side you on, you see the results you want to see."

Here is one article from that bastion of Commie, Pinko, LIBERAL journalism, The New York Times: (Sorry. I just can't help injecting sarcasm into my posts. It's a sickness. I need treatment.)

Pointers From Portugal on Addiction and the Drug War

Like you, I don't recommend using any drugs. I don't even do caffeine. I get a buzz off the Communion wine at Mass. A million years ago, I tried smoking a cigarette in a college theater production since my character was a chain smoker. I nearly died. I ended up just holding the cigarettes throughout the play. However, I am sick and tired of seeing my tax dollars going down the drain and making private prison corporations and drug cartels filthy rich. And need we say anything about the amount of violence this never ending War on Drugs / Prohibition 2 has wrought?

The part about the Drug Wars that really piques my interest is the echo of history. Ever hear the phrase, "Opium Wars?" Look it up. China was humiliated in the 19th Century by Great Britain and the West. Here we are in the 21st Century and the synthetic opioid fentanyl, 100 times stronger than heroin, and carfentanil, another synthetic opioid that is 100 times stronger than fentanyl are being mass produced in China and sent to the West. Who will win the 21st Century Synthetic Opioid Wars? (Oh, yeah. Much of those shipments make their way through Mexico.)