re drugs and crime a new approach mwilson ncratl atlantaga ncr com mark wilson writes missing the entire point of my post kebarnes msuvx memst edu wrote given that the trade in illegal drugs is responsible for much of the crime which afflicts our nation there is much evidence that it is the fact that the drugs are illegal not the drugs themselves that have caused the violence witness prohibition and the violence that surrounded the trade in alcohol no joke people who want drugs particularly people who are predisposed to addiction will find a way to get them whether or not they are legally available this is suppossed to be an argument for keeping drugs illegal no you jumped to that conclusion it s actually an argument as to how to accomplish the societal good of discouraging drug use without violating individual rights despite current law enforcement efforts drugs are readily available to those who want them this is suppossed to be an argument for keeping drugs illegal no you missed the point the point is the war on drugs is a failure and is counterproductive addiction to drugs boh legal and illegal is responsible for a significant drain on the productive resources of our country and this occurs in a variety of ways from the cocaine addicted babies who are unable to learn to the spread of disease among addicts to the tragic consequences of alcohol abuse and tobacco smoking the crack baby scenario has been thouroughly discredited it just so happens that the symptoms seen in the crack babies are identical to fetal alcohol syndrome and the mothers who admitted to taking crack also admitted to drinking heavily during pregnancy in this country people are free to be stupid if they want to but they are not free to be stupid and injure other people admittedly the fetal right to life is outside the scope of this discussion however it s ridiculous to assert as you apparently do that cocaine has no effect on the developing fetal nervous system caffiene and nicotine have fetal effects too why should cocaine be any exception a general economic principle of government is that whatever is subsidized you get more of and whatever is taxed you get less of to be most effective in confronting the nation s drug problem some way must be found to utilize these additional powers of government to make drug dealing and drug use less attractive so make the drugs legal tax them and use the tax money to fund a program to tell people how studid drugs are it has worked for the legal drugs if you had read my article before writing your knee jerk response you would have seen that this is exactly what i advocated while this country s current efforts to combat legal drugs have succeeded in some respects there is a greater awareness of the health consequences of smoking and designated driver programs have helped reduce drunk driving for example the same cannot be said for the war on illegal drugs there remains a core group of illegal drug users which support international networks of smugglers pushers growers processors kingpins and gangsters these networks and their marketing activities which include drive by shootings corrupting law enforcement authorities and smuggling weapons are directly or indirectly responsible for a large proportion of the crimes committed in our country every day each and every one of these problems is a direct result of the drug trade being illegal no shit sherlock clearly illegal drugs and rising crime are linked it takes only a moment s reflection to recognize how they are linked the link is money as with this country s failed effort to prohibit alcohol consumption a black market has been created in which greedy local monopolies like the gangsters of a bygone era have profited enormously from their illegal trade the victims of this trade include not only the innocent people unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire but i would argue the drug users themselves a great argument for making drugs legal thank you how could you have missed the point so utterly what have you been smoking here then is my proposal possession and use of all presently illegal drugs is decriminalized but buying and selling them remains illegal potheads can grow their own marijuana as many already do today other drug users can legally import their poison of choice as long as they pay the tariffs and a barter economy of drug experimenters develops your solution has done nothing to eliminate the violence in the drug trade btw how is someone going to import a drug if buying it is illegal i think you need to think your solution through a little more thouroughly obviously importers will not be buying drugs in the u s under u s jurisdiction use your remaining brain cells because of the barter economy which supplies the drug users the black market profits that have so enriched the drug lords dwindle if these drugs can be obtained for free or next to nothing why buy them nevertheless there will be those who will seek to sell these noncommercial drugs even at relatively low prices therefore you have failed to indicate how these drugs can be obtained for free or next to nothing you have stated that the sale of them is illegal o k i ll spell it out for you barter economy means that drug users will be permitted to grow or synthesize chemically anything they choose or to buy it outside the u s and bring it in if it won t grow here they will also be permitted to trade with other drug users for drugs other than the ones they themselves grow or manufacture they will not however be able to legally sell their drugs for money both manufacture and importation of noncommercial drugs will be taxed to discourage their use this is your brain on drugs any questions law enforcement activity is concentrated on those individuals who continue to buy and sell and also on the crimes committed by drug users too poor to afford even low prices but here is where the strategy begins to differentiate between the drug dealers the victimizers and the drug users their victims in most cities this is already the strategy it has already failed and is dragging the rest of us down with it pardon me but possession use of these drugs is still a crime you cannot analogize the rates at which drug users would seek treatment and the comparative ease with which it could be made available today when these drugs are illegal to possess use with what it would be were they not illegal to possess use decriminalizing possession and use makes treatment much easier drug dealers are exploiting the weaknesses of those persons who are prone to addiction and as such the drug users should be left alone not thrown in prison along with their victimizers drug dealers are the criminals and should be treated as such drug addiction does not absolve you of responsiblity for your criminal actions however upon arrest for any crime suspects are permitted to choose whether or not they will undergo a drug test those who choose to cooperate are informed that upon conviction for the crime they are accused of if they are found to be a drug user they will be institutionalized until they are clean and only then will they begin to serve their sentence if they choose to cooperate and are already drug free they can begin to serve their sentence right away those who choose not to undergo the drug test and are convicted face stiffer fines and serve longer sentences this sounds a hell of a lot like self incrimination which is unconstitutional if drug use is legal in your scheme why should the presence of drugs in anyones system influence the penalty they receive much too big brotherish for my tastes the drug test of an arrested suspect is voluntary not coerced and does not therefore constitute violation of amendment v those convicted who are drug users as evidenced by the test are in need of treatment for their problem institutionalization of these adddicted criminals is i would argue the best way to help them straighten out if they refuse the test and are convicted their sentence can be appropriately harsher since they unlike the addict have no excuse for their crimes institutionalization of drug using criminals serves several purposes drug using criminals and this includes drunk and or stoned drivers are separated from their sources of supply thus reducing the total number of drug users in society at large and consequently decreasing the demand for drugs on the street putting more of the remaining drug dealers out of business why should drug using criminals be treated any different from other criminals you have already stated that drug use is legal mark wilson atlantaga ncr com why not my objective is to discourage drug use and criminal behavior if fewer criminals do drugs out of fear of getting a harsher sentence if they are convicted why is that not a good thing if fewer drug dealers who are still criminals btw can find victims why is that not a good thing if fewer drug users such as drunks potheads etc commit crimes out of fear of being cut off from their sources of supply why is that not a good thing i m certainly willing to debate my position you have to read it carefully though standard disclaimer x dna ken barnes lifesci bldg conservative libertarians kebarnes memstvx memst edu for pro balance memphis tn compuserve com i find television very educating every time somebody turns on the set i go into the other room and read a book groucho marx
