[cripplecreek]

I'm on the side of legalizing Marijuana but legalizing all drugs is beyond moronic.

Unfortunately the pro legal crowd always manages to overlook the realities. Drug users are not going to become productive members of society because drugs are legal. They're going to become a burden. It's not like they're going to hold a job in the midst of a week long crack binge.

Then there are the long lasting health and psychological effects of long term drug use. Long term use of meth causes permanent psychosis. I know a guy who was institutionalized about two years ago due to the brain damage he suffered with crack and meth use. His parents say that he'll spend the rest of his life having his diaper changed and spoon fed like a baby. The parents lost everything in trying to pay for his care and now Jr is a ward of the state till he dies in 20 or 30 years.

On the other hand, I'll support total legalization if we can dump all our gun laws so we can eliminate the leeches as soon as they step out of line.

[garbanzo]

Then there are the long lasting health and psychological effects of long term drug use.

This isn't a legitimate concern of government. Lack of exercise is detrimental to health. It's not the government's job to make me exercise.

[Gigantor]

Unfortunately the pro legal crowd always manages to overlook the realities.

I know a guy who was institutionalized about two years ago due to the brain damage he suffered with crack and meth use. His parents say that he'll spend the rest of his life having his diaper changed and spoon fed like a baby. The parents lost everything in trying to pay for his care and now Jr is a ward of the state till he dies in 20 or 30 years.

And the War on Drugs helped him how?

Who's overlooking the realities, again?

[muawiyah]

We were visting relatives a couple of years ago and a guy up the street who'd gotten tired of his doper son coming around and threatening him all the time, and stealing his stuff, shot him.

Man said it was time for the boy to move on to something better than being a doper.

[Eagle Eye]

Drug users are not going to become productive members of society because drugs are legal.

No, but productive members of society who are also drug users/abusers won't become criminals.

In case you didn't know, some extremely wealthy and productive people have ravenous appetites for drugs and alcohol. Many of them also die of it.

For some reason most people on these threads seem to focus on the street crack whore and totally forget about the Betty Fords, Brett Favres, and (gasp!) Rush Limbaughs.

Why keep addiction a crime?