When I was in high school, it was seriously easier for me to get a joint than it was a beer, and I didn't go to high school in the 'hood either. Hate to tell you this, kids get the illegal drugs like that too. When I was a kid, who do you think I got my first J from? BTW, it's not like any of us are taking any pleasure in the fact that your brother is addicted to crack. I know andy doesn't; heck he's a drug counselor! I just can't believe that you don't have any compassion for people who can get caught up in a bad scene. Do you also think alcoholics should be strung up in front of the courthouse, or does the fact that it is legal make that much of a difference to you?
Alcohol is less dangerous than other drugs, that is why its legal. My brother would be better off dead than hurting our parents by robbing and living on the streets.
Dude, I'm sorry to hear about your brother, but believe me, there are people living on the streets because of alcohol and no other drugs.
There have been people innocent of many crimes that have had to face the punishment, up to and including being put to death for murder. That doesn't mean we eliminate the criminal justice system though, now does it. Some crappy DA not listening to the facts, (ie the confession of the woman) leading to your uncle's incarceratition has nothing to do with what I proposed. I am talking about changin the sentancing for drug laws, you are talking about the failures of our criminal justice system in determining guilt.
Don't bother RM95, this flatliner guy isn't worth the effort. He seems content to live in his own hateful, uninformed world.
nothing you can say or do will make drugs legal. We are right and you are wrong, face it. Look at how many kids use drugs. http://www.drugfreeamerica.org/Temp...hot+of+the+Teen+Drug+Problem+in+America+Today
What if... all the people that smoke or know someone who does smoke MJ voted in officials who promised to decriminalize it? If 40 of current tennagers have tried it and those numbers are declining and we go back a couple of generations, that's a pretty large voting block. All it takes is education on the issue and a candidate with cojones to propose it. So you are wrong, we can do something to make some drugs legal eventually. It happened in the 30's it can happen again. BTW, just because there is a law against it, doesn't make it right. As I said before, I don't agree with it so I'm not just gonna face it. I am not a sheep. €there are nearly ONE MILLION PEOPLE IN JAIL in the United States for NON-VIOLENT ACTIVITIES related to the use, possession, cultivation, transportation or sale of mar1juana. That too me is too many.
Like no sentencing because it is no longer illegal. If it was no longer illegal then, he wouldn't have been at the wrong place at the wrong time again and been killed. He was working at a comic books store and the owner's brother was a suspected MJ dealer. Police busted in and started firing. He was sitting with his back to the door sorting comic books. Shot my uncle in the back. He died. If it was legal there would have been no raid. If it was legal he would be alive. This law is wrong. It makes an act similar to drinking and smoking cigarettes a jailable offense. It is discriminatory in it's investigation, enforcement, and sentencing.
Cocaine was outlawed because people in the south thought it made black men go out and want to rape white women. Keep in mind this was the early 1900's.
For Flatliner, a quote from one of my favorite movies. Let's see if anyone can guess the movie. "You flat faced, flat nosed, flathead!" - C.D.
All I have to say about this is thank God for the 8th Amendment (the one that forbids cruel and unusual punishment). In all reality, drugs have been and still are available even in societies where you draw the death penalty. Since February, the Thai government has summarily executed over two thousand people who were merely accused of dealing and/or using drugs. Despite this, the UN says that drug use and availability has not changed significantly, although the price has gone up dramatically. The biggest change according to the UN is that organized crime syndicates from neighboring countries have moved in to take up the supply slack. The drugs are STILL being supplied even when you can be executed once you have been merely accused. I mean, drug users are a significant percentage of our society. It is estimated that nearly 48% of Americans have tried an illegal drug at some point. If you are going to amputate (or worse, execute) for drugs, it is a fairly small step to doing the same for other "abberant behavior" like homosexuality, fetishism, prostitution, gambling, etc. Here is a wake up call: NEARLY HALF OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY HAVE BROKEN THIS LAW AT ONE POINT IN THEIR LIVES! How can we possibly close our eyes to the fact that this policy is unjust?
Actually, alcohol does more physiological damage than mar1juana. Drugs like cocaine and heroin could be said to be more dangerous than alcohol, but studies show that pot has far fewer physical, mental, and social consequences than alcohol. No, your brother would be better off in a treatment facility funded by the taxes he paid on drugs the whole time he was doing them.
This country's founding principle was freedom. The justice system was founded on a premise articulated by a British jurist named William Blackstone. He said, "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer." We are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, but the culture of the drug war is such that this is not true. In order to convict someone for doing something behind closed doors (like using drugs), you almost have to presume them guilty. If you are in a courtroom and a police officer accuses you of buying or selling drugs, who does the jury believe if it is your word against theirs? That is presumption of guilt. The drug war has brought the government into our homes, into our very bodies. What goes on in my body is my business and God's.
Actually, drugs can be tested for long after they are used, especially mar1juana. If someone is suspected of using drugs in the past couple days, a simple urine test could be used for confirmation. I don't really care if drugs are legalized, or regulated , or not. I don't use 'em now, and I wouldn't if they were legal. Tobacco is legal and I don't use that either (tried chew a couple of times, it was nothing special, nor did I feel an unconquerable need to try it again). I very occasionally use alchohol, but I wouldn't if it was illegal and I didn't before I was 21. My concern is with enforcing the laws that we have. I don't have an opinion on if the drug laws are good or bad, but until they are repealed, I would like them to have some bite.
So, now we are moving into the realm of unreasonable search and seizure (4th Amendment). That could also be categorized as testifying against yourself (5th Amendment). Me neither, mostly because I have seen first hand the havoc they can wreak in your life. I smoke pipe tobacco every once in a blue moon. It is an enjoyable taste for me, but I am not a nicotine addict. Bravo! You are in the minority, being one of the few not to drink before 21. You would also be in the minority under alcohol prohibition. Use rates during alcohol prohibition were through the roof compared to rates in a regulated market. The police have to enforce the laws, it is their job. It is just that pesky constitution that gets in their way so much of the time. As much as I disagree with the drug war, I have to agree with you on the law of the land thing. It is the law of the land and just that should be enough for people to say no. That is what we are here for, to debate the efficacy of our drug policy. We are here to talk about ways it could be better. Please, weigh in on what you think is good and bad about the drug laws. I would like to know what you think of the evidence I have presented. If you don't think the drug laws have bite, ask the people in New York state who were sentenced to hundred year prison terms under the Rockefeller laws; ask the people from Tulia who spent 4 years in jail on the word of a lone undercover cop who simply MADE UP his testimony; ask the people who live in neighborhoods that are war zones between the police and the gangs; ask the families of all the innocent people gunned down by police who kicked down the wrong door (I can document dozens of cases). If you don't think the drug laws have bite, then I believe you when you say you have never done drugs. You have probably not ever dealt closely with anyone who used drugs, either. I, on the other hand, have seen what our drug laws do to people. Prohibition causes more harm than drugs ever did.
I've said it before and I will say it again. I think one of the best things this country could do is to bring back prohibition. I would campaign for it, and vote for prohibition. It's not because I'm against alcahol, I just think it would be fun to hang out in speakeasies.
