patrick.net

Yes folks not to scare (but some are already scared) This brings up the point. All these Rec drugs just need to be legal.

but first things first, cannabis. at least we are moving forward ( i hope)

Legal drugs are better for the user/abuser
cleaner, controlled, no stigma, they can keep there job, hold there head higher ( its cool man you're alright) wow A needle exchange program that Junkie Mc shareigins can use and live a little healthier during his short life.

Legal drugs can help keep most drug related crime at bay (yeah yeah your pot and drugs will get stolen) who robs some one for cigarette money or beer money though (uh both legal drugs,...yes they are?)

Legal drugs make the abuser feel better about there situation. like asking for help, not hiding as much,
whens the last time you were scared paranoid drunk?

legal drugs keep people out of jail. duh?

Legal drugs are boring and not as sexy.
any drug you want your thirteen year old to get all crazy for, just make it super illegal.
imagine if coffee were illegal, (and it should be boy!)

The truth . think for yourselves, it's not so black and white.

fear has yet to solve this, lets try care and thoughtfulness.

edit opps.

/a>

elliemae: Yes. You are sadly misinformed if you believe that people can’t remain functional and use marijuana too.

I agree.
legalize it.

Danimal says

Yes folks not to scare (but some are already scared) This brings up the point. All these Rec drugs just need to be legal.
but first things first, cannabis. at least we are moving forward ( i hope)
Legal drugs are better for the user/abuser

cleaner, controlled, no stigma, they can keep there job, hold there head higher ( its cool man you’re alright) wow A needle exchange program that Junkie Mc shareigins can use and live a little healthier during his short life.
Legal drugs can help keep most drug related crime at bay (yeah yeah your pot and drugs will get stolen) who robs some one for cigarette money or beer money though (uh both legal drugs,…yes they are?)
Legal drugs make the abuser feel better about there situation. like asking for help, not hiding as much,

whens the last time you were scared paranoid drunk?
legal drugs keep people out of jail. duh?
Legal drugs are boring and not as sexy.

While I can agree that legalized drugs will reduce crime, it will definitely not eliminate it. If drugs were legal the price would drop like a rock. It would no longer be profitable to grow with artificial lighting in basements or smuggle in drugs from other countries. The endless turf wars over dealer territory would end. Our prisons wouldn't be over crowded with drug related offenses and huge law enforcement budgets wouldn't need to be maintained to fight the drug problem. It may even help with the terrorism problems in Afghanistan and Iraq, since the military claims a significant amount of terrorism funding comes from the illegal drug trade.

But there is a number of people who do not use drugs on occasion at night after work. They are called addicts, they look for every chance they can to get high. It's an endless obsession with them. They go to work high, operate heavy machinery and vehicles high, they eventually lose there jobs, run out of money, can't pay there bills and they are still looking to get high. They must support there addiction, so what do they do, go into prostitution if they are decent looking women, or steal and rob to get money to get high.

So if drugs were perfectly legal, I believe your going to see a surge in A. Drug overdoses and B. a big increase in pretty crimes. these are going to be the kind of crimes where they rob someone, burglarize a house, or hold up a convenience store robberies. These are not going to be master criminal type crimes. These will be desperate people looking for there next high quickly as possible, they are going to be fairly easy to catch since the amount of planning they perform to commit the crime will be minimal. Like holding up a bank with no mask and perhaps not even a gun (just the threat that the finger in my pocket is a gun, gimme all your money) to get a few hundred bucks to rush out to the local drug store to get more drugs. Police will get into the habit of just sitting on the local drug outlets waiting for a crime to be committed and picking the fool that's on camera in line at the outlet.

Overall I believe things will be better, but to make the claim that legalized drugs would eliminate crime is false.

MarkInSF says

Zlxr, I don’t think anybody is suggesting that drug use is a good thing, and certainly drug abuse is not a good thing.

Actually, I'm suggesting that drug use is a good thing. Abuse is in the mind of the beholder. For example, in many areas people go to a bar to socialize and have a few drinks and no one thinks anything of it. In Utah, going to the liquor store is often viewed as alcoholism. I'm not exaggerating.

Marijuana has many benefits. If you don't like it, don't use it. But just because a person smokes pot, he/she isn't one step closer to heroin addiction. Every pot smoker doesn't sit around stoned all day long in a stupor, broke and unable to function. You might be surprised at some of the people who smoke marijuana. It could be the CEO of a local corporation (or a national one), your neighbor, your accountant.

Zlxr says

I’m just kind of wondering how the pot will be used by all the unemployed unhappy people who will either grow it or steal it (or buy it). Will they become so anesthetized that they cannot regroup, go to school or go back into the work cycle?

These phantom people of whom you speak are already sitting around stoned. Legalizing won't mean a hill of beans to them.

Zlxr says

However, aside from trying to raise money or whatever the reason by decriminalizing pot - why can’t we also do things that make people happier? Why can’t some of the empty buildings be used for getting kids and grownups off the streets and getting them involved in training for jobs or for fun with music, sports, arts and other community activities? Or how about freeing up some vacant land and setting up community gardens. People need to be busy doing things and interacting with others - it’s better than 8 hours of TV or smoking pot all day and feeling depressed.

We could put these pot smokers to work by assigning assistants to transcribe their epiphanies to be implemented later, when they're not stoned.

What does legalizing marijuana, a drug with multiple medical uses proven to be non-addictive, have to do with building community centers or setting up community gardens? If you want them to be busy doing things and interacting with others, put your money where your mouth is and set up a program that accomplishes your goal. If people want to interact, why don't you offer them the opportunity to do so? But if they don't want to interact, it's their choice and probably not because they're too stoned to do so. Many people smoke with other people as a social thing.

Legalizing pot would cut down on the violence, illegal grows in national/state parks, and be another source of tax revenue. It won't change lives, it won't make people become addicts, it won't create another class of impaired drivers - any more than legalizing gay marriage will make our children gay. All the fearmongering from the uninformed dilutes the issue.

I don't have a problem with this. I myself would never smoke. I rarely drink.

I'll bet there would be a huge influx of people flying into CA for weekend vacation trips.

Kalifornia Needs $$$$

TechGromit says

So if drugs were perfectly legal, I believe your going to see a surge in A. Drug overdoses and B. a big increase in pretty crimes. these are going to be the kind of crimes where they rob someone, burglarize a house, or hold up a convenience store robberies.

That's not what happens in countries were drugs are legal. A sensible course of action would be to legalize with help available for people who do have problems with addiction/overuse, but of course that will never happen. There is no profit to be made or political gain in such a thing. Looking at the results of legal drug use in other countries shows what a sham the entire war on drugs has been for the last 30 years. Like everything else involved in politics if you just follow the money/power you will find the real motivations behind the war on drugs.

The topic of marijuana legalization I believe is of up-most importance to the United States. There have been a large number of economic papers written by many economists over the years - Milton Friedman, etc. which show that Marijuana - even being illegal (except for states with medicinal policies) remains the largest cash crop (or by some the top 5).

What has not changed in 40+ years? It is as easy for a teenager to get marijuana now then it has ever been. The main importers of marijuana into the US is said to be the Mexican cartels, with 60+% of their income coming from marijuana.

US Marijuana Arrests in 2009? 847,863 : 93,640 for trafficking 754,224 for possession

Our criminal justice system "complex" has undoubtedly used marijuana as a profit source for years, while ruining lives. The time is now to end this, the drug is used in huge amounts anyway - Legally or illegally. California could go a long way to end this insanity for the whole country by taking this step!

Zlxr - "And I know of some kids who tried to get their dog high on pot by putting a plastic bag over it’s head and blowing pot smoke into the bag. They accidentally killed the dog. (They sneaked into their parents stash while the parents were out of the house."

What is your point? They asphyxiated the dog with a plastic bag. Marijuana had nothing to do with the death.

Plenty of men, women and children have died from alcohol, a quick google of "child dies from alcohol" - the results appear endless. Marijuana overdose? poisoning? A lot harder task to fine - maybe from choking on the weed when hurriedly swallowing while trying to hide the evidence from police.

Folks there's a place where you can go to show your support for legalization of cannabis. It's here:

http://www.taxcannabis.org/pledge

It'll ask you to sign a pledge to vote "yes" on the legalization, regulation, and taxation of recreational cannabis.

Long live freedom! Finally maybe we could save our national forests, and not just from the growers. The "wood" industry has a vested interest in keeping hemp and cannabis illegal. Hemp paper is much cheaper and lasts longer than wood pulp paper. This would take away profits for destroying our old growth forests and might save some wildlife in the process...

People may think that the Drug War targets drug smugglers and 'King Pins,' in 2008, 49.8 percent (half) of the 1,702,537 total arrests for drug abuse violations were for marijuana -- a total of 847,863. Of those, 754,224 people were arrested for marijuana possession alone.

By contrast in 2000 a total of 734,497 Americans were arrested for marijuana offenses, of which 646,042 were for possession alone.

Zlxr says

And then - it’s funny how you can’t stand people who don’t pay their way - and many times it is this group of people who cannot control their drug use.

Please show me studies that correlate smoking pot to the proliferation of subprime loans gone bad. Exactly how many is "many times?"

The 12 year old who is selling drugs is selling for someone higher up the food chain. That person will find another illegal way to make money, just as ponzi scammers move on to another scam. Kevin Trudeau was banned from advertising healthcare products with false claims - but he circumvented that by invoking his right to free speech and wrote useless books he pushed with infomercials. The scum always rises to the top, no matter how many times you scrape it off.

Pot is still illegal under federal law. If you grow drugs even if pot is legal in CA, you still run the risk of DEA agents arresting you.

Didn't the Feds say some while back, that in states where it was legalized, they had no intent in pursuing any small fry? I think in any case the DEA is not overly interested in somebody with 1 plant.

HousingWatcher says

Pot is still illegal under federal law. If you grow drugs even if pot is legal in CA, you still run the risk of DEA agents arresting you.

Hopefully not for long?

As far as pot goes The growers and sellers may not have as much of an issue as you would think as long as quality is keeped high. People still sell moonshine in some areas. tradition and local flavors and types will always be in high demand. this may set up a lot of legal "home businesses" that already have clientel.

It should be legal but it never will be,. because of the Booze Industry and Big Pharma, and Cotton and Paper Industry...lots of pull and money. Not sure the Pot people have any Senators in there pocket?

Interesting to me that a lot of the "Reefer Madness" movement to illegalize it was driven by William Randolph Hearst as it threatened his paper empire.

Hearst articles at the time were quite hysterical about it, claiming "marijuana-crazed negroes" were raping white women.....

Some samples from the San Francisco Examiner:

“Marihuana makes fiends of boys in thirty days — Hashish goads users to bloodlust.”

“By the tons it is coming into this country — the deadly, dreadful poison that racks and tears not only the body, but the very heart and soul of every human being who once becomes a slave to it in any of its cruel and devastating forms…. Marihuana is a short cut to the insane asylum. Smoke marihuana cigarettes for a month and what was once your brain will be nothing but a storehouse of horrid specters. Hasheesh makes a murderer who kills for the love of killing out of the mildest mannered man who ever laughed at the idea that any habit could ever get him….”

And other nationwide columns…

“Users of marijuana become STIMULATED as they inhale the drug and are LIKELY TO DO ANYTHING. Most crimes of violence in this section, especially in country districts are laid to users of that drug.”

“Was it marijuana, the new Mexican drug, that nerved the murderous arm of Clara Phillips when she hammered out her victim’s life in Los Angeles?… THREE-FOURTHS OF THE CRIMES of violence in this country today are committed by DOPE SLAVES — that is a matter of cold record.”

Dupont I have read also was active in illegalization, as hemp competed in textiles with their newly patented nylon.

Also pharmaceutical companies don't like it, as here is a drug that anyone can grow there are no complex chemical processes to patent.

Reefer Madness is one of the best movies to watch stoned. It's like the Wizard of Oz to Dark Side of the Moon, a must see!

It's so much easier to spout conspiracy theories when people don't interject reality, Nomo. Anyway, what the hell do you know? It's not like you're a doct.... nevermind.

I don't think anyone on this site lacks a streak of conspiracy theorist.

Just Follow the money. Pot is a superior pain reliever, replaces (by choice) many pain meds. study is just out about this.
Big Pharma will have to be slightly worried don't you think? My friend uses it to replace common drugs like vicadin, I'm sure he isn't the only one.

many reasons why pot is illegal. but it basically boils down to Racisim then competing industry like booze. cotton. paper, drug, law enforcment..........follow the money.

did you think it was illegal because it was bad for you?,...shame.

I don't think that big pharma cares but I can guarantee that these industries are concerned:

Big Tobacco
Alcoholic Beverages
Paper Products
Cotton Growers
Synthetic Fabric Manufacturers

Big Tobacco: Why smoke something that gives you lung cancer and doesn't even get you very high for very long? It's a useless product that does nothing but ruin health. Once people openly smoke cannabis, we'll learn about all the studies that show that cannabis smoking, unlike tobacco smoking, doesn't cause lung cancer. That could drive down the sales of tobacco much more than any anti-smoking campaign designed to add extra dollars of tax per pack. Also people would learn that unlike tobacco, cannabis isn't physically addictive.

Alcoholic Beverages Industries: Once more people realize that alcohol acts as a poison in the body and THC doesn't, things may begin to shift a bit. Also once more people smoke cannabis they may start to realize that they won't have a nasty hang over the next morning after smoking like they would have had they been drunk the night before. That might shift sales away from alcohol, possibly. We'd still have alcoholics because alcohol, unlike cannabis, is physically addictive for some people.

Paper Products: This is a no-brainer. Think of how much cheaper paper products would be if they were made from hemp (which is still basically illegal to grow in most of the country). Hemp grows easily and fast unlike trees. Hemp is easily renewable unlike forests and their ecosystems. Particle board could easily be made from hemp instead of tree pulps and our addiction to cardboard would no longer have to deplete rain forests.

Cotton Industry: Big cotton will take a hit. Hemp is much easier to grow than cotton and requires none of the chemicals that cotton needs to survive pests. Hemp fabric can be made to be just as soft as cotton fabric. Hemp requires less energy to harvest and process than cotton.

Synthetic Fabric Manufacturers: Most synthetics are petroleum based. With petroleum prices reaching new heights synthetic fabrics may become more and more expensive. Hemp would be a great alternative to these fabrics and you could use the hemp oil to make synthetic fabrics.

I'm all for it.

But it means that Republicans in Florida and every other state, that challenges Obama Care, have more credibility to interpret the Federal law on a State level.

That is the difference between now, and say a month ago, before the Republicans were defeated, and started talking about the tenth amendment. I don't think the California Liberals are going to want it that bad, to essentially put Obama care in a "Optional" state, for State law makers. And every other Liberal victory in the last several decades, how ever small.

In fact! I will go as far to say, that until the Government makes it legal, any States ruling on it, breaks the Union contract. Going forward, Liberals and Republicans will choose the laws they take serious after they are passed. Killing the American Democratic process as we knew it for 230 years.

But to be Clear here, I'm all for federally Legal Pot, a few states doing it on their own.
Is just a road, I don't think American politics are prepared for the ramifications of those actions.

TOT,

Oh please, that slippery slope argument could have been used when they were legislating civil rights state by state. Often changes start in the states and end up changing the Federal Government. This is precedented.

The Tenth Amendment has stood through many changes like this and it will continue to function properly even with this latest Republican temper tantrum. Legalizing cannabis in the States can bring about change to the Federal Drug Laws, just like civil rights laws in the States affected change on the national level.

I want to see Repubicans run on repealing the elimination of pre-existing conditions, limits on policy pay-outs, and a ban on dropping coverage once an insured becomes sick. I can't wait to see how popular this position will be and how it will usher in a new era of Republicanism.

simchaland says

TOT,
Oh please, that slippery slope argument could have been used when they were legislating civil rights state by state. Often changes start in the states and end up changing the Federal Government. This is precedented.
The Tenth Amendment has stood through many changes like this and it will continue to function properly even with this latest Republican temper tantrum. Legalizing cannabis in the States can bring about change to the Federal Drug Laws, just like civil rights laws in the States affected change on the national level.
I want to see Repubicans run on repealing the elimination of pre-existing conditions, limits on policy pay-outs, and a ban on dropping coverage once an insured becomes sick. I can’t wait to see how popular this position will be and how it will usher in a new era of Republicanism.

Puhleeze,

Republicans didn't vote for not one iota of this bill. That would be a very easy proposition.

That "No elimination Pre-esxisting condition" may as well not even be in the bill. For those that can't afford the $1800 a month for the insurance. Guess what, they will have a condition, no coverage and still have to pay the IRA a fine.

There's a huge fundamental problem with our Hospitals, Pharmacies, and Doctors, that every American house hold needs to pay in the equivalent of a "Modest House Mortgage" and the Health care industry still bitches that it's not enough money to cover their day to day operations. Then the damn thing is broke, and legislating me to pay into that broken defunct system is gross negligence on the peoples part I elected to govern this country.

And it's easy for you to forget, I represent more than 63% of the American people in that thought.

It's Vogue for you armchair politicians to jump on the flavor of the day, unintended consequences be damned. When it goes to hell, it's easy for you guys to just sift gears and jump on the new band wagon.

Whoo hooo Cap and Trade here we come!

TOT, when you and your lot are done with your temper tantrum, we'll see who the electorate embraces...

Zlxr says

I am, however, waiting for Nomo to stick his money where his mouth is and give ellie mae a prescription. And I’m waiting for her to put her money where her mouth is and come over here and march down main street with a picket sign. Because if she does it in Utah they’ll think she might be a pothead - but y’all know that.

I doubt that Nomo would give me a script without an appointment & a patient chart - he seems like an ethical-type guy & all. And I don't know if he accepts my insurance plan, nor do I know what he would have to code the visit to get paid for it... I'm also not a California resident and it seems like a long drive just to get it legally. Plus, I have pain issues and can't carry a sign, but I can wave a little flag.

Hell, in Utah if you have a wine rack you're an alcoholic. It's okay to take scads of prescription meds for all sorts of ills - both real & imagined - but a drink at the end of the day is a bad, bad thing. People who smoke pot only talk about it if you know the secret handshake. Different than California, where my family sits on the front porch & waves to the neighbors as they smoke.

simchaland says

I don’t think that big pharma cares but I can guarantee that these industries are concerned:

Thanks for your great post.

Why would Big Pharma not be concerned about people using Pot for pain, glacoma, other aliments? it would be a DIY home treatment that could replace some meds for some people.

I always thought that was a no brainer?

Here are the benefits of legalizing:

Drug population in prisons immediately decrease = less state costs
Increased tax revenues = increase state revenue
Less drug dealers on the streets = decrease in drug crimes
Less drug dealers on the streets = drecrease in costs associated with war on crime, we focus on major dealers of coke, heroin

Seems like a win-win if the Jesus freaks dont cut it down.

Opponents have also started to put together their campaign. "There's going to be a very broad coalition opposing this that will include law enforcement," said John Lovell, a Sacramento lobbyist who represents the California Police Chiefs Assn. and other law enforcement groups. "We'll educate people as to what this measure really entails."

The police oppose this law only because we wont need them harrassing drug dealers anymore. The socialist policing organizations need our tax dollars!

4X,

Try this website for another viewpoint from law enforcement:
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

Good article....I was under the impression it was all about saving jobs.

http://leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=Content&pid=2

COPS SAY LEGALIZE DRUGS!
ASK US WHY
After nearly four decades of fueling the U.S. policy of a war on drugs with over a trillion tax dollars and 37 million arrests for nonviolent drug offenses, our confined population has quadrupled making building prisons the fastest growing industry in the United States. More than 2.2 million of our citizens are currently incarcerated and every year we arrest an additional 1.9 million more guaranteeing those prisons will be bursting at their seams. Every year we choose to continue this war will cost U.S. taxpayers another 69 billion dollars. Despite all the lives we have destroyed and all the money so ill spent, today illicit drugs are cheaper, more potent, and far easier to get than they were 35 years ago at the beginning of the war on drugs. Meanwhile, people continue dying in our streets while drug barons and terrorists continue to grow richer than ever before. We would suggest that this scenario must be the very definition of a failed public policy. This madness must cease!

Tenouncetrout says

I’m all for it.
But it means that Republicans in Florida and every other state, that challenges Obama Care, have more credibility to interpret the Federal law on a State level.
That is the difference between now, and say a month ago, before the Republicans were defeated, and started talking about the tenth amendment. I don’t think the California Liberals are going to want it that bad, to essentially put Obama care in a “Optional” state, for State law makers. And every other Liberal victory in the last several decades, how ever small.
In fact! I will go as far to say, that until the Government makes it legal, any States ruling on it, breaks the Union contract. Going forward, Liberals and Republicans will choose the laws they take serious after they are passed. Killing the American Democratic process as we knew it for 230 years.
But to be Clear here, I’m all for federally Legal Pot, a few states doing it on their own.
Is just a road, I don’t think American politics are prepared for the ramifications of those actions.

I assume that if Las Vegas can legalize prostitution then California can legalize marijuana. Doesnt make it right, just keeps tax revenues coming.

4X says

Good article….I was under the impression it was all about saving jobs.
http://leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=Content&pid=2
COPS SAY LEGALIZE DRUGS!

ASK US WHY

After nearly four decades of fueling the U.S. policy of a war on drugs with over a trillion tax dollars and 37 million arrests for nonviolent drug offenses, our confined population has quadrupled making building prisons the fastest growing industry in the United States. More than 2.2 million of our citizens are currently incarcerated and every year we arrest an additional 1.9 million more guaranteeing those prisons will be bursting at their seams. Every year we choose to continue this war will cost U.S. taxpayers another 69 billion dollars. Despite all the lives we have destroyed and all the money so ill spent, today illicit drugs are cheaper, more potent, and far easier to get than they were 35 years ago at the beginning of the war on drugs. Meanwhile, people continue dying in our streets while drug barons and terrorists continue to grow richer than ever before. We would suggest that this scenario must be the very definition of a failed public policy. This madness must cease!

Cops against prohibition is a small part of the law enforcement community. A big part of the trillion+ dollars spent so far on the war on drugs went to law enforcement. Some of the street level cops have a sensible attitude about drug use, but the management level people who see tons of federal anti drug money flowing into their departments budget have a very different view. Not to mention prosecutors who are always looking to score a conviction of any kind.

"I assume that if Las Vegas can legalize prostitution then California can legalize marijuana. Doesnt make it right, just keeps tax revenues coming."

There isn't a federal law against "Prostitution", just many of the acts, prostitution creates.
Such as exploiting and trafficking.

Vegas doesn't have strong arm pimps, and the girls work the brothels on their own accord.

Tenouncetrout says

“I assume that if Las Vegas can legalize prostitution then California can legalize marijuana. Doesnt make it right, just keeps tax revenues coming.”
There isn’t a federal law against “Prostitution”, just many of the acts, prostitution creates.
Such as exploiting and trafficking.
Vegas doesn’t have strong arm pimps, and the girls work the brothels on their own accord.

Prostitution is illegal in Clark County, where Vegas is located. It's legal in other counties. Vegas works very hard to make this fact known. Of course, in any hotel you go to, the bell desk has a list of high priced whores called "escorts" who not only will do anything, but they kick back $$ to the bell captain. Don't believe what they're trying to spoon feed you, in Vegas you can get anything for enough money.

The real heart of this issue involves personal choice vs. society's decision to impose it's will.

Those making arguments extolling the virtues of pot use in relation to other drugs while by and large true are really just a small part of issues that should be addressed. Laws are on the books and new ones are made every day restrictings our personal freedoms of choice. These sorts of things people just do may not be beneficial to them as individuals but they could general be thought of as social problems when they reach a level of abuse.

While there can be personal consequences associated with these abuses, being arrested and going through the court system shouldn't be one of them. There are better, more effective social ways of reducing addicive behaviours when they arrise.

It just seems there is just a bunch of would-be do gooders who believe it is their place to tell other people what to do and how to live. I find these people extremely annoying. If my life is my own and my behavior is for the most part only affecting me then too bad if you don't like it. It's none of your business. If I smoke pot, take other illegal drugs, abuse perscription drugs, gamble, prostitute myself, am a sex addict, smoke, drink, ride a motorcycle without a helmet, or any number of things that most people just do them I should free to do them. Are a lot of these things self destructives? They can be. Are some of these things just idiotic? Yes, but why shouldn't we have the right to find out on our own?

With the pot issue it should just be legal nationwide immediately. It is probably the least harmful drug in existance. Even many over-the-counter drugs have more dangerous side-effects than pot. That said it may be a little too soon to say smoking pot doesn't cause lung cancer. Ever hear someone have a coughing fit after smoking some pot? The rest of the illegal drugs should be legal, be perscribed by your doctor. He could then discuss their effects, dangers, safe dosages, and programs to help you kick your addiction-if you so desire. Then you get it filled at your local pharmacy- of course paying for recreational drugs it up to you. I a quite sure this suggestion might shock many of you.

People are going to do what they want whether it's legal or not. They will get these drugs whether they're legal or not. The only real issue of any consequence is WHO they get them from. If they get them from a dealer, there is an illegal supply chain that demands high profit. Since it's illegal these people are more likely to use violence to protect and expand their profits. That is exactly why we have gang violence, drug cartels, gang wars. This is the most valid arguement for legalizing drugs. Eliminate the profits the crime is reduced greatly. This was the enduring lesson of the repeal of the prohibition of alcohol.

The coalition against legalization makes strange bedfellows. Of course the legal system is opposed to it. If arrests for drugs dropped the overall crime rate by 25% (guestimate) that means 25% fewer police, lawyers, judges, prison guards, and prisons. The other side of the coin are all the growers, chemists, dealers, enforcers, and organized criminals are going to have to find another line of work. A lot of them who are more law abiding are gonna have to go out and get real jobs.

The rest who chose to live a crimminal lifestyle, well there'll be plenty of room for them and what should be long prison sentences waiting for them.

See, I'm big on individual freedoms, but I'm big on law and order. The idea that you can kill, or rape, or rob, or commit violent acts, or vile crimes against children, or engage in all sorts of financial fraud, get released early from an already light sentence because of good behavior or prison overcrowding is ludicrous. That won't be as much of a problem once the drug problem is solved.