Or we could say there are so many legal drugs screwing up peoples lives already do we really need more?
1st of all building the prisons is just the tip of the iceberg of what is going (like I said do some research on it). 2nd of all where did I say nobody should be able to make a profit? My only point here is that many people don't understand that keeping a lot of people in prison is big business in this country. There are many private investors with deep pockets who wouldn't want to see a decline in the prison population and could have influence on any future changes to law.
Drugs aren't screwing up peoples lives, people are screwing up their own lives. Crack doesn't smoke itself. All I'm saying is whether a drug is legal or illegal means nothing. That's because regardless of their legality they are highly available and people who want to do them are going to do them.
le·gal ˈlēgəl/Submit adjective 1. of, based on, or concerned with the law. appointed or required by the law. synonyms: lawful, legitimate, licit, within the law, legalized, valid; More antonyms: criminal of or relating to theological legalism. LAW recognized by common or statutory law, as distinct from equity. (of paper) measuring 8 ½ by 14 inches. 2. permitted by law. "he claimed that it had all been legal" synonyms: lawful, legitimate, licit, within the law, legalized, valid; permissible, permitted, allowable, allowed, aboveboard, admissible, acceptable; authorized, sanctioned, licensed, constitutional; informallegit "the legal sale of alcoholic beverages"
fail·ure (fāl′yər) n. 1. The condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends: the failure of an experiment. 2. One that fails: a failure at one's career. 3. The condition or fact of being insufficient or falling short: a crop failure. 4. A cessation of proper functioning or performance: a power failure. 5. Nonperformance of what is requested or expected; omission: failure to report a change of address. 6. The act or fact of failing to pass a course, test, or assignment. 7. A decline in strength or effectiveness. 8. The act or fact of becoming bankrupt or insolvent. 9. See "War on Drugs"
Let measure the cost of your "failure" vs the lives were saved or may be saved by the fact they we do not consider drugs legal, lawful, legitimate, licit, within the law, valid; permissible, permitted, allowable, allowed, acceptable; authorized, sanctioned. Go ahead and put a price on it. whats a life worth you? Go ahead and put a dollar figure on it then we can measure your failure with a ledger.
What percent of people do you think that don't do drugs now, would go out and try drugs (hard drugs) tomorrow if we were to decriminalize them? Just take a guess.
tomorrow? Extremely low percentage. It's a trickle effect IMO. There won't be a massive surge towards narcotics the first day except by those who have likely used in the past but don't anymore due to the legal risks. I just think it sends the wrong message (basically equating them to alcohol, weed, tobacco) to the younger generation so that by the time they come to the age to experiment with drugs they would be FAR more likely to just try these harder drugs than they would under the current model.
I think you just contradicted yourself but Ok. That's just a really F'd up way think. IMO So doc. really want to keep people sick? Cops really promote criminals? Firemen wish and probably start fires? etc etc. People running prisons are business minded and they could run or do any business they don't need to create a customer. Wow:-/
I hate to keep bringing up Portugal, but since it is the only real world model we have to go by, I kinda have to...but this isn't happening there and it has been over 10 years since they implemented their policies.
I just think back to my personal youth. I know a LOT of guys in my high school would have tried coke or other harder drugs had it been completely legal instead of sticking to sneaking beers and lighting up a joint on the weekends to be rebellious. I have always drawn my personal use line at alcohol but know many others that flirt with that line who would do so MUCH more frequently if it was legal. I mean think back to undergrad at any major campus. Cocaine use is already everywhere, could you imagine if students didn't have to worry about getting caught with it?
Your examples make no sense...comparing cops/fireman/doctors with big wall street investors. This conversation is clearly beyond your comprehension. You don't need to explain business to me as I make my living analyzing them. Have a great day
This conversation partly stemmed from Hoffman's death....Below is how another addict describes it his death..... "Phil Hoffman, this kind, decent, magnificent, thunderous actor, who was never outwardly “right” for any role but who completely dominated the real estate upon which every one of his characters walked, did not die from an overdose of heroin — he died from heroin,” Sorkin stressed. “We should stop implying that if he’d just taken the proper amount then everything would have been fine. “He didn’t die because he was partying too hard or because he was depressed — he died because he was an addict on a day of the week with a y in it." And we should make it legal? Tell people its your life and body. Do whatever you want to, no matter how deprave be will embrace as it is legal, lawful, legitimate, licit, within the law, valid; permissible, permitted, allowable, allowed, acceptable; authorized, sanctioned.
Your comments mirror exactly what the president said in an interview. Basically saying the system is unfair to minorities.
You seem to think the war on drugs is some kind of success, if that assumption is accurate then what parts do you consider successful? Any aspects unsuccessful? Should we just keep doing the same thing we have been doing the past 40 years without analyzing what is working and what isn't? Should we not be acknowledging that there are unpredicted/unnecessary problems arising from this war? How do we know when we've won this war or is it essentially a war that lasts forever?
I found this interesting mainly because the group is made up of Law Enforcement. The War On Drugs At A Glance | LEAP
Your talking about a country of 10 million people. I could be wrong, but I doubt they have the same socio-economical and race related issues we are dealing with here in the US.
They had a huge drug problem, much like the US, and what they were doing wasn't working, so they decided to try something different. I am quite aware that the US is a different beast though.
People will do exactly what you said above...right now...because the legality of it does not matter. However legalization or regulation of some kinds of drugs could lead to $$ which could possibly be used for treatment or programs for people with drug issues who not surprisingly already exist even though drugs are "illegal": "According to the federal government, 23.5 million Americans are in need of substance abuse treatment, but only one in 10 receive it" USDoH. .
