Posted on 07/05/2005 9:30:27 AM PDT by Sensei Ern
For many years, I have been a strong opponent of legalizing drugs. As you read this, remember that I am still against drug legalization, but I have more sympathy for the opposing argument.
The reason I have been opposed to drug legalization is to protect children. I grew up in a home that was one step up from a crack house..at least we had heat and food. I know first hand what can happen when a child lives in those conditions.
As a counter, I have always felt that use of tobacco and alcohol should be legal for those of a responsible age.
The reason I am considering a change is because of the pain I went through this last month. Four weeks ago, I had a root canal done on a tooth...it was Friday. Once the Novocain wore off, I was in serious pain because the doctor was inexperienced and left a partial root. I experienced pain worse than listening to Rosanne Barr sing the National Anthem. He forgot to write a prescription.
I called the emergency number only to be told I could see the doctor on Monday. TWO WHOLE DAYS IN EXTREME PAIN! I had some 800mg Ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet. That only took away enough pain to convince myself to not commit suicide to stop the pain.
On Monday, I was given a prescription of Tylenol 3 with Codeine and an antibiotic. That took away the pain. Until it ran out. Again, extreme pain. Another dentist did another root canal...and again did not get the whole root. I made sure he gave me a prescription for the pain, before I left the office.
Finally, when that ran out, and another dentist completed the root canal, the pain has subsided.
To be in the kind of debilitating pain I was in, cannot be described. Bill Cosby once talked about taking your bottom lip and pulling it over your head...that comes close.
I have always been an advocate of personal responsibility. That conflicted with knowing that some of the drugs offered today are so dangerous that they needed to be regulated. Then, I thought back about how things were a hundred years ago. The doctor prescribed a treatment, and you either made it yourself, or went to the pharmacist, who mixed up the more potential drugs.
Back then, the only regulation was, could you afford the cost? Drugs were available, and the pharmacist would determine whether you were abusing. If you OD'd on a drug from abuse, you died and life went on for others. But, you could get drugs if they were needed, and you did not have to wait until Monday. You didn't need to wait for approval from anyone to use a drug.
That is enough about that for the moment.
If drugs were to be legalized, they should be regulated like alcohol and cigarettes...have a legal purchasing age. Also, if you do harm to another while under the influence of anything, you should be held personally responsible...to the fullest extent, especially capital punishment for causing a death. If you are taking drugs to get high, strap yourself into a chair and sleep it off.
If drugs were immediately legalized, we could expect some immediate effects. For one, the drug addicts would run out and by everything, and we would have a rash of overdosing for about a month. The rest of us could then go on with our lives, only mourning the loss of a relative, instead of daily living with the horror of a drug addict in our lives.
Currently, I believe law enforcement should be stronger. But, I could be moved to undecided if I heard good arguments for the opposite.
--Pray for our troops --Pray they have wisdom to do the right thing --Pray they remain courageous --Pray they know we love and support them --Pray they get the equipment they need to do the job --Pray for their safe return home to a hero’s welcome
I don't get it. You see liberty attacked but because the behavior involved doesn't appeal to you personally, you don't care? I don't own a gun and have never shot one, but when I see the latest "Brady Bill" proposed by some do-gooding know-it-all, I get pretty incensed.
Indeed they do have an immense income:
UN Report Puts World's Illicit Drug Trade At Estimated $321 Billion
You sure don't sound like a "Newbie" ... and BTW I totally agree with you
Read the rest of my post, dear, and you'll see where your mind went blank. It seems you still haven't been able to focus long enough to read the entire post.
"Legalize drugs and you will defund the gangs." But this is true.
Do you think all the little gang members will go back to school, study hard and become productive citizens? Or do you think that the criminal element will just find something else criminal to get involved with?
We would have to pay whether it is legal or not, wouldn't we?
I agree. I have no problem with making alcohol illegal.
...Do you think all the little gang members will go back to school, study hard and become productive citizens?
---
Gang members don't join a gang because of their drug of choice.
WON'T EVER HAPPEN.
Of course neither will legalizing drugs.
I DO have an opinion as to whether it should be legal or not for OTHERS to use.
That's known as Social Darwinism. Most people won't go for it, and for good reason.
As a positive side effect, most drug abusers are liberals. We would see a rise in conservatism as a majority again.
A better way would be to stop teaching nihilism in the schools as a foundation for supporting every leftist cause. The live and let die approach doesn't work.
Also, if you have a choice, get your medical procedures done on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
So true
Just an FYI. I had two root canals, one performed by a dentist, which was a hack job, the other by an Endodontist (root canal specialist). If you ever have to get another root canal, definately see the Endodontist. It will be worth the extra money.
"How would you know?"
I am asserting so. How would you know otherwise?
Am I to understand you believe no one should ever make a prediction of the consequences of a particular course of action ???
Show me where drug legalization like what has been done in Europe has been beneficial.
I said my number was a WAG...Wild Arsed Guess...
I tried to guess the percentage of people I know who do and do not do drugs.
At church, smalll, about 50 people, I would not name a druggy among them.
At work, a few I could guess.
In the comedy scene, (do stand up), I would guess a majority abuse drug, at least pot.
In my immediate family, I know a super majority do illegal drugs.
Again, I do not abuse, nor have I ever abused drugs. I saw as a child what drug abuse does to a family.
Often, as a young child, I wished my brothers would OD because they were destroying my family. Any finances my mom saved were wasted in bail payments. Much of anything of value we had was "stolen" (my brothers claimed it was stolen, but I suspect they sold it for drug money).
You're right, they're not. There is not a single illegal drug that is as addictive or as lethal as tobacco. And there are very, very few legal drugs that are as harmless and benign as marijuana. Caffeine, aspirin, even vitamin A are all more toxic than pot.
More people use alcohol and tobacco than drugs. So your statistics need to reflect this.
Even if there were one illegal drug user for every hundred tobacco smokers (a gross underestimate), tobacco would still kill a far greater percentage of its users.
Drugs can be far more addictive.
There is nothing that we know of that is more addictive than nicotine, although caffeine comes close. Even heroin falls short.
And tobacco does not interfere with a persons ability to drive safely.
So make it illegal to drive under the influence of a substance, not to consume the substance. Banning a drug because some are stupid enough to drive while impaired makes as much sense as, uh, banning firearms because some are stupid enough to commit crimes with them. Or banning airplanes because some are stupid enough to crash them into buildings. Or banning spray paint because some are stupid enough to inhale the propellant. Or banning water because some are stupid enough to drown.
Alcohol and tobacco can be used safely in moderation; illegal drugs cannot.
So, uh, do you believe everything the government tells you, or just the propaganda it shovels down your throat in order to justify a grievous encroachment on personal liberty?
Legalizing drugs would result in more people using drugs
Maybe. Legalizing alcohol after Prohibition did not result in a massive increase in consumption. In fact, Prohibition itself resulted in an increase in the usage of hard liquor. See, prior to Prohibition we were primarily a nation of beer drinkers. But beer is bulky, and when smuggling illegal substances, bulkiness is a major disadvantage. So we as a nation turned to more compact, more potent distilled liquors. The cocktail, in fact, became popular as a way of hiding the foul taste of amateur-distilled spirits. Prohibition ended, but America's taste for hard liquor did not. Thanks, Prohibition!
more children using drugs
Again, maybe... but I doubt it. Kids get drugs today from dealers who are already criminals and have no incentive to check IDs. Put the drug trade in the hands of reputable businessmen with licenses they do not want to lose, and you may see the availability of drugs to children decrease. Besides, "oh, won't somebody please think of the children?" is a pathetic argument.
more drug related traffic accidents and fatalities, more addicts and more breakdown of the family structure.
Let's assume for the sake of argument that all of these things are true. I do not concede them, but let's stipulate them for now. This means that prohibiting drugs results in fewer drug-related traffic accidents and fatalities, fewer addicts, and less breakdown of the family structure. How much are you willing to pay for these benefits? Are they infinite? Will you do whatever it takes to receive the marginal benefits, no matter the cost?
Let's look at those costs. More turf wars, more innocents gunned down in the crossfire, more people made sick by adulterated substances, less tax dollars from the sale of these substances, more tax dollars spent on enforcement, more breakdown of civil liberties, less respect for the Fourth Amendment's guarantee of freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, more money in the hands of criminal gangs, more subversion of the judicial systems in the United States an abroad, fewer prison cells available for violent offenders. Is it worth it?
I believe in personal responsibility - and it is the responsible thing for everyone to abstain from illegal drugs. It is responsible for my elected representatives to allow this reality to be reflected in the legal code.
You've got a funny view of personal responsibility. If I'm attracted to Fred's wife but I abstain from making a pass at her because I know that adultery is wrong, that's personal responsibility. If I'm attracted to Fred's wife but I abstain from making a pass at her because Fred is a 260-pound former NFL linebacker, that's not personal responsibility, that's just fear of consequence. To enforce the "right" choice at the point of a gun (which, in the final analysis, is what the law is) does not uphold personal responsibility, it just removes liberty.
Life just frightens the hell out of you, doesn't it.
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