[gargoyle]

...”never enough, never...” Ok, I agree. “you can not control these people..” Again, I would concur. But, what is your solution to this issue. I’ve offered mine, since it hasn’t been tried, there is no data compiled to test the theory. Your facts may be right, but, from there, this debate goes nowhere. Please, enlighten me, I’d like to know the solution, in your opinion...

[Ken H]

We do have current and historical estimates of addiction rates from the US government.

The ONDCP figures for addiction in 2000 show 977,000 heroin addicts and 3,325,000 cocaine addicts. With a population of 280,000,000, that works out to an addiction rate of about 1.5%. The data is reproduced in table form at the following link:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1454298/posts?page=88#88

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The DEA says that 0.5% of Americans were addicted to either cocaine or opium in 1900:

By 1900, about one American in 200 was either a cocaine or opium addict.

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/demand/speakout/06so.htm

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So after a century of increasingly aggressive prohibition, our own government is telling us that addiction has gone from 0.5% in 1900 to 1.5% in 2000.