again..i'm just speaking from my personal experience...my friends who've tried pot and gone further ... lynus, as for amsterdam...you're right...if we stop making all illicit acts a crime, than crime numbers will certainly go down! But the laws of a nation are a reflection of its values and its own macro-morality. Some societies are more permissive, and you see that pervasive throughout their culture. I'm not passing judgment...just saying that it doesn't match our culture. Legalizing drugs (all drugs?? is that really what you're advocating??) would certainly reduce the power of the cartels...but I feel it would create as many new problems as it would solve. I think it's wrong for the government to subsidize that stuff. Just my two cents... this is not an issue i feel particularly strong about, quite frankly. i don't think it would be the end of the world if pot were legalized. I'm just not an advocate for its legalization.
You're certainly entitled to your opinion, I just happen to think that your line of thinking is wrong and counter-productive. When I read statistics stating that the average jail sentence for simple possession is greater than the average sentences for crimes like manslaughter, rape, and even murder, I cannot help but believe that the whole system is flawed and just plain silly. As for legalizing all drugs, yes, that is what I'm advocating. Drug use, and the crimes associated with the drug trade would drop drastically if they were legalized, regulated, and taxed by the government. (And of course I'm not just saying that crime would drop because it wouldn't be a crime anymore) Right now, the government has NO control over the drug trade. Legalization would put the power into the hands of the government and take it away from the dealers, not to mention the money we'd save from ending the drug war and the money that would come in from taxation. Morally speaking, I do feel that the "hard" drugs are wrong and destructive, but I have a HUGE problem with there being laws concerning what I can and cannot put into my own body in the privacy of my own home. I feel the same way about laws concerning sodomy and homosexuality. I'm not gay, and I don't even smoke pot anymore, but it all boils down to: My body, my business. I also feel very strongly about this issue. Your right to feel warm and fuzzy should not supersede someone's right to do what they please with themselves. The war on drugs is nothing more than a "feel good" way to spend our money. Its a waste of time and resources that isn't doing a damn bit of good. Most of the current drug laws began as a way to put down minorities, but that's a whole other issue that we can get into if you like. Simply put, drugs, and the people currently in charge of the trade are NOT going anywhere. Even if we killed every last dealer everywhere, more would rise up to take their place because the demand isn't going anywhere. We're missing a hell of an opportunity to take the power away from the bad guys, save countless lives of the people associated with the gangs/black market, and save/make billions upon billions of dollars per year. See prohibition as a perfect example. Face it: We've lost this war, and its past the time to take another approach.
I totally, totally, totally agree with Lynus. And Amsterdam is really beautiful and historically/architecturally interesting. Although it's kind of weird to be walking down the street in an ostensibly dodgy part of town, surrounded by hookers, sex shows, pot bars, and lots of guys politely offering you cocaine and/or ecstacy, and feel completely unthreatened and almost charmed by the experience. And that was *before* I smoked anything.
I don't have to read a book to enjoy life. I was just saying that there are many ways to enjoy life without having to alter your mind with chemicals, reading a book being one of them. You could do lots of stuff, whatever floats your boat, but then again, I don't really care if people like to get high. Do whatever.
Then your friends are the exception, not the rule. Most druggies probably smoked a cigarette long before they tried any drugs. Do you feel the same way about cigarettes? I see your point, it just doesn't hold water. Its just like when conservative religious groups blame Playboy and other pornographic material for rape. Surely rapists are probably into p*rn, but does that mean everyone who enjoys p*rn is or will become a rapist? Sorry man. The "gateway drug" issue is just silly. Just reading over what I wrote earlier here..... I should have mentioned again that pot is the only drug I've ever done. and while I tried it once or twice my senior year in high school, the real fun didn't start until college. I mentioned this fact because as a kid in junior high who wasn't in to drugs, and didn't even hang out with those who were, I could get a hold of just about any illegal drug I wanted with relative ease.
Lynus -- I understand your sentiments, and your personal liberty arguments ring loudest with me. That's the way to convince a guy like me that you're right (for future reference)! I'm not moved by the "we're losing the war on drugs, so we should just give up" argument. I could argue we're losing the war on all sorts of illegal activities that I would rather not be legalized, no matter the outcome. as for the gateway drug issue...again, i admitted I speak only from personal experience...I do not have a monopoly on wisdom with this issue. (or any issue, for that matter!)
Thanks for the reference. Still though, I'm not saying at all that we "should just give up." I'm advocating the exact opposite, but its easy to see how someone could see it that way. Again, through legalization, we would take away the power from the bad guys and provide a significant source of revenue for the country. The revenue created would be enough to fund just about any government program out there. If legalization were realized, I'd love to see several more billions pumped into the education system, drug awareness and education, and hell, sending people to Mars or something. Did you know that getting caught with one mar1juana plant is enough to get you charged with a felony? One freaking plant, that grows in the wild quite well on its own, is enough to literally ruin your life. That's the real crime. Legalize it, regulate it, tax it, profit from it, and continue to educate the people about it, all the while continuing to enforce strict laws to ensure that people are not endangering others through their personal choice of using it. That doesn't sound like "giving up" to me. That sounds an awful lot like winning the "war" on drugs.
I will definitely grant that sentencing is too high for drug possession crimes. My business partner has essentially adopted one of the daughters of a guy who had 3 possession charges. On the third, he was basically given a ridiculously long sentence. obviously the punishment should fit the crime.
