My Opinion

[sdelmonte]

So I'm probably supposed to have an opinion about the Mitchell Report.

I do.

Big whoop. We knew about this, and despite what the sportwriters think, we never cared then and we don't care now.

And - and someday I go into detail about this - the idea that there are drugs that can make me healer faster and make me stronger, and that are so totally illegal to the point that we can't do any research into making it safe? Something seems wrong about that.

ETA: I gotta say this. There is a quote in one article from the father of a high schooler who may have died due to steroid use saying "this is about our kids' lives." Since when do we completely ban anything in this country because kids shouldn't use it and because they might emulate adults? By that logic, we should ban alcohol.

Comments

[badninja.livejournal.com]

What is the Mitchell Report?

[sdelmonte]

The report commissioned by Major League Baseball to investigate steroid use. It was released today and is the big news story, displacing Britney Spears for a few hours.

[badninja.livejournal.com]

Anything to displace Spears, I guess.

How badly did the Tigers do?

[sdelmonte]

Obstensibly, every time was implicated, but no current Tiger is on the list except Gary Sheffield, who's been accused many times before.

[rushin-doll.livejournal.com]

Considering the amount of harm alcohol ends up doing, I'd be okay with banning it. Except for the whole "we tried that once and it didn't work" part. Not that that's to the point or anything, I'm just saying.

Randomly,
Ana

[sdelmonte]

Well, in terms of regulating drugs, that is a very big question. If you cannot successfully ban something, should you consider lifting the ban? We did that with alcohol, but I think that Prohibition failed in part because it was a drastic reversal of law and custom. Is there a point at which you say "we should regulate" instead of "we should ban"?

I used to be very much a prohibitionist even on alcohol. I could easily live without it and I am very uncomfortable around anyone who is drunk. But I have grown less strident on the matter, and also now support the legalization of pot (if only because I think it's in the same league as tobacco and alcohol).

[rushin-doll.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It's a lot like the problem with online piracy: if 20% of your population is going to do something whether it's legal or not, it becomes impractical to enforce the law meaningfully. It only engenders contempt for the laws people are willing to follow. So, yeah...

The marijuana legalization issue's one I stand against. Not because I think it's worse than alcohol or tobacco, but because culturally we can keep its use down. I'd rather have alcohol illegal that marijuana, but that's not going to happen, so I'll take what I can get.

Mmm... politics,
Ana

[sdelmonte]

Yes. Politics.

You notice that i almost never ever post about it? It's safer that way.

[rushin-doll.livejournal.com]

This goes double online where you can't use all the non-verbal cues to pick up on whether you're still having a reasonable discussion or someone has devolved into angry sputtering.

Some people can discuss some topics and not get emotionally involved. It's just hard to tell when that's happening online.

Better to play it safe,
Ana

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Nice story for the MSM to put front and center rather than the political BS, though, innit? Sounds as if it actually affects peoples' lives and everything.

[panther-nesmith.livejournal.com]

I have always wondered about that. Because we use steroids medically, and some people even take them all the time. So why precisely can't we find a way to make it safe?

If we regulated things instead of banning them, it would be easier and more lucrative for the government, beside the fact that it can benefit the public at large.

After all, the tax from alcohol sales benefits the government, and there are some health benefits associated with alcohol, when taken in moderation.

I've often thought that we do need stricter substance control laws, but that, if we did that, we should make more substances legally available.