Go, Willie!

[cinda]

I always loved Willie.... As for the drug problem in the USA, my vote is legalized all of it and tax it. Put the control back in to our hands with a well educated sociality that differed from before the 1914 Harrison ACT. Make some rules like you can not buy it until your 21 and have past a drug and alcohol pharmaceutical coarse of some kind that can be given in the last year of high school. Yes maybe more will become addicted to things they may normally would not have been addicted to, but we can build more hospitals and treatment programs with the money we make on taxes and the money we save jails police etc. Treat us all like adults, let us make our own decisions on what we place in our bodies. I know a lot of people would disagree with this and it is only my opinion. I see that the guide lines around the sale of it would have to be as strict as the sale of alcohol and the use of it may be limited to only in your private home. I just do not think it can get any worse and those who will abuse it are those who would have abused it anyhow. I rarely drink I do not smoke and the only drugs I take are given to me by a Doctor but my mind is open to another way of resolving this problem. If it doesn't make someone a lot of money there are not going to reproduce it in large quantities. Some how it needs to be devalued monetarily. OK I know I am going to get yelled at.......

[SmokinDVM]

I always loved Willie.... As for the drug problem in the USA, my vote is legalized all of it and tax it. Put the control back in to our hands with a well educated sociality that differed from before the 1914 Harrison ACT. Make some rules like you can not buy it until your 21 and have past a drug and alcohol pharmaceutical coarse of some kind that can be given in the last year of high school. Yes maybe more will become addicted to things they may normally would not have been addicted to, but we can build more hospitals and treatment programs with the money we make on taxes and the money we save jails police etc. Treat us all like adults, let us make our own decisions on what we place in our bodies. I know a lot of people would disagree with this and it is only my opinion. I see that the guide lines around the sale of it would have to be as strict as the sale of alcohol and the use of it may be limited to only in your private home. I just do not think it can get any worse and those who will abuse it are those who would have abused it anyhow. I rarely drink I do not smoke and the only drugs I take are given to me by a Doctor but my mind is open to another way of resolving this problem. If it doesn't make someone a lot of money there are not going to reproduce it in large quantities. Some how it needs to be devalued monetarily. OK I know I am going to get yelled at.......

[Cabaiguan Juan]

I always loved Willie.... As for the drug problem in the USA, my vote is legalized all of it and tax it. Put the control back in to our hands with a well educated sociality that differed from before the 1914 Harrison ACT. Make some rules like you can not buy it until your 21 and have past a drug and alcohol pharmaceutical coarse of some kind that can be given in the last year of high school. Yes maybe more will become addicted to things they may normally would not have been addicted to, but we can build more hospitals and treatment programs with the money we make on taxes and the money we save jails police etc. Treat us all like adults, let us make our own decisions on what we place in our bodies. I know a lot of people would disagree with this and it is only my opinion. I see that the guide lines around the sale of it would have to be as strict as the sale of alcohol and the use of it may be limited to only in your private home. I just do not think it can get any worse and those who will abuse it are those who would have abused it anyhow. I rarely drink I do not smoke and the only drugs I take are given to me by a Doctor but my mind is open to another way of resolving this problem. If it doesn't make someone a lot of money there are not going to reproduce it in large quantities. Some how it needs to be devalued monetarily. OK I know I am going to get yelled at.......

Sounds like a good plan, now if we can get Cinda to run for office...

[basil]

I'm with ya girl.

[cinda]

Sounds like a good plan, now if we can get Cinda to run for office...

I really have some power !

[cls515]

I don't think legalizing drugs will stop any problems except you won't have jail punishment for drugs. I think there will still be corruption, still be addiction...demand would probably increase. Crime would increase overseas to meet the demand if narcotic production is illegal. I was thinking it is similar to guns. Guns don't kill people, it is the people who kill. Same with drugs. It is the people who choose to use. So the problem is with people, and solutions should start at the problem.
Edit - I think that one of the problems is that America is too lenient. We claim we want to have a war on drugs, yet all the punishment is is a slap on the hand, jail time, prison time...when the person using gets out they can go right back to what they were doing and hope not to "go back" to jail. If we want to stop drug usage, and I mean stop, then punishment must be more severe. First determine what is illegal. Since it is defined, if someone gets caught the first time, cut off their arm. If they get caught again, cut off their other arm. For a third time, kill them. I guarantee you will see a drop in drug usage in America. I know that this punishment is extreme and would never fly, but think about what my message is. If you still don't want to see that, check out this scenaro. Say children in school are getting sent to the principal's office because they are cussing. To stop the problem, do you make it ok for them to cuss so they won't get sent to the principal's office?

[SmokinDVM]

I don't think legalizing drugs will stop any problems except you won't have jail punishment for drugs. I think there will still be corruption, still be addiction...demand would probably increase. Crime would increase overseas to meet the demand if narcotic production is illegal. I was thinking it is similar to guns. Guns don't kill people, it is the people who kill. Same with drugs. It is the people who choose to use. So the problem is with people, and solutions should start at the problem.

It's already been shown that it REDUCES drug use, not increase it. Crime also goes down. It's just our Government that refuses to see the reality of the situation. Besides, it's been well established that prohibition of anything doesn't work.

Increasing the punishments will only make selling more lucrative. Bigger punishments, bigger payoffs.

[cinda]

I don't think legalizing drugs will stop any problems except you won't have jail punishment for drugs. I think there will still be corruption, still be addiction...demand would probably increase. Crime would increase overseas to meet the demand if narcotic production is illegal. I was thinking it is similar to guns. Guns don't kill people, it is the people who kill. Same with drugs. It is the people who choose to use. So the problem is with people, and solutions should start at the problem.
Edit - I think that one of the problems is that America is too lenient. We claim we want to have a war on drugs, yet all the punishment is is a slap on the hand, jail time, prison time...when the person using gets out they can go right back to what they were doing and hope not to "go back" to jail. If we want to stop drug usage, and I mean stop, then punishment must be more severe. First determine what is illegal. Since it is defined, if someone gets caught the first time, cut off their arm. If they get caught again, cut off their other arm. For a third time, kill them. I guarantee you will see a drop in drug usage in America. I know that this punishment is extreme and would never fly, but think about what my message is. If you still don't want to see that, check out this scenario. Say children in school are getting sent to the principals office because they are cussing. To stop the problem, do you make it ok for them to cuss so they won't get sent to the principals office?

I am talking about adults who would be well versed though even higher levels of educations on drugs and made well aware of the general stigma that would be attached to it. As for limb removal for punishment? I think that will increase the need for our SSD budget and give the punished more opportunity to be unemployed and collecting.

[cls515]

As for limb removal for punishment? I think that will increase the need for our SSD budget and give the punished more opportunity to be unemployed and collecting.

Then just make an amendment. Drug related charges nullify the rights.

[cigar no baka]

The simple fact that convinces me we should not punish the weed-heads out there is this: you cannot force the US populace to stop doing something with legislation and punishment, if they really, REALLY want to do it, and a large percentage of the populace is doing. The result of attempting to legislate against something like this is you criminalize their behavior and have to punish a huge number of Americans with all the costs, financial and other, involved.

I think a very large minority of Americans either have used weed, or do use it regularly. Even if it is only 5% who use it regularly, they continue to use it regularly in spite of it being illegal iwth consequences. For arguments sake let's say it is only 2% - that is six million Americans you have turned into criminals who you now have to punish if you catch them.

The reason that legislating against other kinds of behavior workwell - like theft, murder, rape, robbery, etc - is that the vast majority of us don't want to do those things and consider them reprehensible. They are an integral part of our social contract. I think the number of people using weed vastly outnumbers all other criminals combined, so we have to ask - is it worth all the resources we commit to the war on drugs such as weed?

I don't put hard drugs into the same category as weed. I think we're losing the war on weed, and will always lose it, we'll just keep pissing money away and millions, if not tens of millions of Americans, will continue to use it and take the risks involved.