As far as the issue of the legalization of drugs, I am completely in agreement with the author. Whether it is tobacco or alcohol or some narcotic, drugs will harm people's lives regardless. And whether it be from some shady dealer on the street or from the local CVS (or Walgreens), people are going to get their drug of choice--and they are going to pay whatever price to get it. So why spend tax dollars on the Drug War to lock these people up? If they are a waste of space, then let it be their own responsibility (and fault), not the government's. Travis made an excellent point about the alcohol prohibition of the early 20th century, but I see no difference between that issue and this. Don't drugs also "help" people get through hard times, just as alcohol did during the depression? People will choose their poison accordingly.
Now, Cole's statements regarding drugs and race are a little bit more controversial. I do understand that more African-Americans are checked and incarcerated because of drugs, but this does not mean that minorities are more responsible for the drug problem than whites. I believe the author failed to mention the "methed-out whites" of suburban America. Every race has its problems; it just may be that law enforment chooses to zero in on the minorties, where it is a more obivous problem. In inner-cities, African-Americans and Latinos are probably more likely to be arrested for drugs because they find dealing the easiest way to make a living. If there were more education, along with legalization, this problem would diminish.
I think that the remedy for this "drug problem" is not punishment, but prevention and treatment. Legalizing drugs would actually make them safer, because firms for drug distribution would form, forcing standards to be created. The spread of disease and crime caused by drugs would also diminish. This is not to say that "cracked-out" people would stop committing crimes, rather the instance of this would be less likely.
I do not think that legalization would stop the drug use in America, but I think it would bring a more desirable outcome than the current situation. Drugs are still as available (if not more available) than they were twenty years ago. There will always be a demand, but the decision that must be made is how effectively this demand will be supplied.
Drugs are really bad.
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It is not a question of if you believe they are bad. It is a question of should I force others to submit to my views. The answer to that is always no in democracy.
This is a fantastic post. Excellent (and not just because I agree with (most) of it).
I most certainly agree with you Gabby. I think people should be left to make that decision for themselves instead of the government wasting our tax dollors fighting a market that will never vanish but becomes more profitable and evil when the government tries to elminate it. Just look at the crime rates in European countries compared to the good United States.
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