Drugs
I've spent enough time harping on just Republican issues, time to harp on a more general one, drugs.
I am not going to say I'm in favor of drugs. I'm not, and I'm generally against drugs in sports. While I'm more against than either of those is the fact that drugs are illegal.
If Johnny wants to smoke a bong, LET HIM!
Why would any sane person think this? Here are just a few reasons. Since the "War on Drugs" started over 30 years ago, drug use has remained basically constant. Different drugs come into vogue now and then (Crack, Special K, hell horse has even made a comeback and now that the Taliban isn't interdicting it in Afghanistan anymore, supply is up, price is down and it's probably doing better than is has in decades), but overall, drug use is at about the same levels it was 30 odd years ago when ithe "war" started. Obviously the billions of dollars being spent isn't making much of a difference. That's reason #1.
Number two, money. Make the damn stuff legal and tax the stuff. Take that money and funnel it into drug education, drug rehab, drug funding (not subsidizing drugs, testing the manufacturers to make sure the stuff is being made right) and actually boosting law enforcement abilities. You want to get stoned? Fine. You want to get stoned and go for a spin? Not fine. Get more cops out there doing, of all things, traffic control. Get busted once, you get a big fat fine. Get busted a second time, you lose your car. Got the munchies? WALK to the damn store, it's good for you.
Number three, drug related crime. Remember prohibition? Banning alcohol MADE the mob. Drugs are doing the exact same thing now. I'm much more worried about getting popped in a drive by because I go out for dinner and some drug seller is sitting two tables over, but the guys that get sent out to make the hit are so stoned they hit everyone BUT that guy.
Number four, prison population. Right now the United States has more people in jail than anyone else in the world. that's just sheer number of people. Per capita, we're also number one, and drug offenders make up over 20% of that population. Make them legal, you move people out of jail and into rehab. You are no longer turning some dumb kid into a hardened criminal, because that's the thing prison is best at.
Number five, prison population redux. Right now, actual violent offenders get out because they need room for new people getting sent in. The guy who killed the two little kids in Northern Illinois last summer? He'd been released on probation after chasing family members and neighbors around WITH A CHAINSAW! Chainsaw guy should be in jail. Guys following the Grateful Dead should be left alone. Keep the people who hurt people in jail, let the stoners out.
Is this a perfect idea? No. As people like Len Bias and River Phoenix show, some drugs aren't very good for you. Drug regulation instead of restiction might help stop that. No harmful additives (like strychnine in your LSD) and maybe you don't have bad trips. No fiberglass in your coke and maybe you don't drown with your own blood filling your lungs.
I've got a whole list of other benefits, everything from improved agriculture to textiles to alternate energy, but the items above are the big negatives of the "war" now. Eliminating those problems is cause enough to end this joke of a war now.
I am not going to say I'm in favor of drugs. I'm not, and I'm generally against drugs in sports. While I'm more against than either of those is the fact that drugs are illegal.
If Johnny wants to smoke a bong, LET HIM!
Why would any sane person think this? Here are just a few reasons. Since the "War on Drugs" started over 30 years ago, drug use has remained basically constant. Different drugs come into vogue now and then (Crack, Special K, hell horse has even made a comeback and now that the Taliban isn't interdicting it in Afghanistan anymore, supply is up, price is down and it's probably doing better than is has in decades), but overall, drug use is at about the same levels it was 30 odd years ago when ithe "war" started. Obviously the billions of dollars being spent isn't making much of a difference. That's reason #1.
Number two, money. Make the damn stuff legal and tax the stuff. Take that money and funnel it into drug education, drug rehab, drug funding (not subsidizing drugs, testing the manufacturers to make sure the stuff is being made right) and actually boosting law enforcement abilities. You want to get stoned? Fine. You want to get stoned and go for a spin? Not fine. Get more cops out there doing, of all things, traffic control. Get busted once, you get a big fat fine. Get busted a second time, you lose your car. Got the munchies? WALK to the damn store, it's good for you.
Number three, drug related crime. Remember prohibition? Banning alcohol MADE the mob. Drugs are doing the exact same thing now. I'm much more worried about getting popped in a drive by because I go out for dinner and some drug seller is sitting two tables over, but the guys that get sent out to make the hit are so stoned they hit everyone BUT that guy.
Number four, prison population. Right now the United States has more people in jail than anyone else in the world. that's just sheer number of people. Per capita, we're also number one, and drug offenders make up over 20% of that population. Make them legal, you move people out of jail and into rehab. You are no longer turning some dumb kid into a hardened criminal, because that's the thing prison is best at.
Number five, prison population redux. Right now, actual violent offenders get out because they need room for new people getting sent in. The guy who killed the two little kids in Northern Illinois last summer? He'd been released on probation after chasing family members and neighbors around WITH A CHAINSAW! Chainsaw guy should be in jail. Guys following the Grateful Dead should be left alone. Keep the people who hurt people in jail, let the stoners out.
Is this a perfect idea? No. As people like Len Bias and River Phoenix show, some drugs aren't very good for you. Drug regulation instead of restiction might help stop that. No harmful additives (like strychnine in your LSD) and maybe you don't have bad trips. No fiberglass in your coke and maybe you don't drown with your own blood filling your lungs.
I've got a whole list of other benefits, everything from improved agriculture to textiles to alternate energy, but the items above are the big negatives of the "war" now. Eliminating those problems is cause enough to end this joke of a war now.
posted by Mike N | 2:03 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home