I didn't make any such statement, but this goes directly to how "free" their society is. It certainly is not the only standard of freedom, but this is one rather large freedom. Being secure in the knowledge that you can choose to ingest what you like should be as fundamental as the right to choose your clothes or your food. If a fully educated adult chooses to, who are you to prohibit their drug use?
I'd agree the thread title's somewhat misleading. Clearly, wrt drug laws, Russia is becoming more free than the US so I guess your beef was with the thread title and not the content of the thread. Other than that, I don't have a dog in this race. It's just that when you do these drive-by one-liner posts with nothing to say except "nuh unh," I find you at least as annoying as I imagine you find MacBeth (for whatever seemingly inexplicable reason).
I agree that the presence or absence of strict drug laws can be seen as one measure of freedom, but if you are not ever interested at all in consuming any of the drugs regulated by such laws, those laws do not affect your freedom very much. On the other hand, freedom can also be defined as freedom of speech, freedom from corruption and freedom from human rights violations. Those will pretty much affect everyone, including non-drug users. Oh, and one more thing to Batman Jones - don't make the mistake of equating your personal opinion to what is "widely considered" or "widely respected". And as far as MacBeth is concerned, since you seem to just have appointed yourself as his advocate or psychological counsel or grandmother or whatever - in this thread at least, whatever you were trying to describe happened the other way around, so one more of your lies is EXPOSED.
No, but they affect the freedom of the 700,000 people that got arrested in the US for mar1juana last year. They affect the half-million plus people currently behind bars for drug "offenses." They affect the very lives of the thousands who will overdose or cross-react and die this year (something that rarely if ever happened when drugs were available over the counter). They affect more of our freedoms than most people even imagine. You named some that are already becoming eroded. Freedom of speech takes a dive when people are prohibited from talking about drugs (the NJ Weedman in a recent court decision was banned from undertaking anything that could be construed as "mar1juana activism"). Freedom from corruption has been gone since we started this failed "War on Drugs." There are even strong arguments to be made for human rights violations in the drug war, though the best examples come from overseas in places like Thailand (where thousands of people have been murdered in extra-judicial killings after being accused of drug crimes). Make no bones about it, the drug war touches and encroaches on every freedom we have as Americans.
I demand the right to attend a gay wedding in a stoned stupor and fire congratulatory rounds into the air from my sawed-off machine gun. ALL THESE RIGHTS IS BELONG TO ME. Y'all, I think the point of the thread here is that if a place like, say, Russia - not normally noted to be a global hotbed of progressive and enlightened public policy - is ahead of the curve with respect to drug laws, well, that bears serious reflection.
I could act like almost anyone in the face of such unbelievable hypocrisy. Still find it remarkable, as I have yet to see another poster lecture others on how to post, and/or criticize the wya they post as much as you do, but what're you gonna do? Not sure what Janice you're referring to, but sure, sounds good.
Batman; Thanks, buddy, but I believe it's of no use. This has been going on for about a year now, and it's just his thing. Best reason I can come up with, in that it's been almost a year as I said, might hopefully pass a bit in a day or so, but it's just a theory. A few posters I respect have E-mailed me advising me to but SJC on ignore, and although I've never done that, not even for T_J, I might have to. It's obviously pretty personal for him, although I admit that, for the first time, I started it today. It just seemed so amazing to have HIM saying THAT, of all things. Wow. Anyways, again, thanks for getting my back, as they say. You're a friend.
1. I don't believe in silent majorities. 2. I'd love for you point out one "lie" I've told on this board. 3. You're a really weird dude. No sweat, MacBeth.
I have an interesting concept: Those 700,000 could quit using and/or selling drugs. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
Pole: Wha??? Guess I'm missing something cause that doesn't make any sense at all. This slogan always reminds me of that old Dan Quayle quote: "What a terrible thing it is to lose one's mind... or not to have a mind... how true that is."
Screw you, dude. You called me a liar. I've never lied here. I know you think you're cute chasing MacBeth around for no good reason, since you've refused repeatedly to tell him why you're doing it. Congratulations. You've made another enemy. If you're going to call me a liar you should back it up. If not, you're just a dick.
The Janice from Friends. "Oh. My. God." is her trademark expression. I was joking. http://fan.unfloopy.net/friends/janice/
No, I'm not. I'm gonna go ahead and put you on ignore now. Judging from your past posts I won't be missing much. Before I go, let me say screw you one more time for calling me a liar and being too much of a coward to back it up. Bye.
