"Connie Sadler (415)725-7703" says:
What about the extremely high rate of crime motivated by the need for drugs? I have personally been a victim twice (theft of my car and *nice stereo system* and a breakin to my house where much was taken) in crimes which appeared to be motivated by the the need for drugs. I don't see where legalizing drugs would motivate addicts to start working to legitimately pay for their habits.
No, but perhaps you could note that the price of drugs is hundreds of times higher than it would be without illegalization. Cocaine and heroin are amazingly cheap per dose before seven layers of smugglers and dealers get into the act. I used to pass by the rummy's in lower manhattan on Bowery and Lafayette Street all the time. I have yet to see a wino on the Bowery rob anyone to support his habit -- he's got plenty of options to get fucked up out of his mind for a few dollars a day. If anything, the currently illegal "white powder" drugs would be far cheaper per dose than thunderbird. We might also note that the bulk of the deadly crime associated with the drug trade is not junkies stealing to pay for their habits but dealers involved in turf wars. No more gang drive-bys if you legalize drugs, folks. When was the last time you saw a pair of liquor store owners having a gun battle over turf? Beyond this, however, is the inherent foolishness in thinking that keeping the drugs illegal will do any good. We have already seen that an order of magnitude increase in the money spent on drug enforcement over the last decade has produced NO noticeable change in the size of the drug trade, and has, if anything, made the problem worse. Drugs are even available in maxium security prisons, where, supposedly, there is absolute control over what enters and what leaves. Given that, there is no quantity of money we could possibly spend that would stop the drug trade -- even unto the point of eliminating all human freedom in our society. I am unwilling to sell my birthright for a mess of pottage. We are sacrificing billions of dollars and all our civil rights for NOTHING VISIBLE AT ALL. Even were you correct that drugs were an intolerable menace to society it has long been obvious that drug law enforcement does no good whatsoever in lowering the rate of drug "crime" and if anything causes harm by driving the price up and creating a huge profit opportunity for the unscrupulous. Perry