[DoughtyOne]

I believe there are good arguments to make drugs legal.  I also believe there are good arguments not to.  I come down on the big NOT TO.

Why do some poeple want to legalize drugs?  Well, there seems to be two main reasons.

1. Some people believe adults should be able to do anything they please as long as they are not hurting others.
2. Those same people believe that by legalizing drugs, the black market will be eliminated and all problems with law enforcement will simply evaporate.

We have seen the down side of legalizing alcohol.  Yes, there are down sides.

Children gain access to alcohol.  Adults cannot control themselves, and drink alcohol and drive.  Others become alcoholics and destroy the family unit.  The work force is negative impacted.  Lives are ruined.  Society is negative impacted.

We can kid ourselves about how drugs are actually better than alcohol.  In some ways they may be.  In other ways they are much worse.  We will have the same problems with drugs that we now have with alcohol, but the legalization of drugs will spread the problems exponentially.  There will always be a class of people who wish to drink alcohol.  Others won't be tempted by alcohol.  But if you place all the drugs that people want to abuse within their reach, you will have people who want to abuse, morphine, Demerol, Fentanyl... and on and on.  Where would it end?  There would be forty new products if not more, that people would want to abuse.  There would be segments of followers for each one of them.  There would be abusers of each one of them.  And there would be children getting ahold of each one of them.

Ah yes, children.  It's my assumption that those who wish to legalize drugs would have the common sense to set an age limit under which you could not use these drugs legally.  Okay, since those drugs are now on the street, what happens immediately?  That's right, a black market pops up to make sure kids can now not only get access to alcohol as they have in the past, but now they can have access to all the other drugs too for a price.  So have you eliminated the problems with law enforcement by legalizing all the drugs?  No.  You'll still have the cops knocking down doors to stop pushers who supply kids.  And folks, these kids have expendable incomes, and there will be plenty of money to be made.

The only way to stop the black market problem would be to let any human that wanted to, have access to any drug they wanted.  Then you've got grade school kids shooting up Heroin if they want.  Look, I'm not saying all those who push for legalization will want this, even though I'm sure some would.  I still think this is a stark reality.  You can't stop the abuses of law enforcement unless you open the flood gates to everyone.

Well, if we're going to do that, we might just as well allow kids to have sex with adults at any age too.  What's the difference?  If we're going to allow them to F up their brains duirng the formative years, we might just as well let them trash the physical as well.

The truth is, even it if it's not the goal, the black market profiteers will have access to any drug they want under legalization.  Some folks will go in to get the drugs, and sell them to the profiteers.  So kids will have easy access to many narcotics.

We have enough problems today.  Do we really need to expand them exponentially?

I don't think so.

I know a lot of you will disagree with me.  I've had this discussion a number of times before.  I'm not changing my mind, and I know you aren't.  I just wanted to put some food for thought out there.

I would encourage others to make their own statements like I have.

I don't have the time to debate five to ten of you at the same time like I have a number of times in the past.

[Ken H]

It's my assumption that those who wish to legalize drugs would have the common sense to set an age limit under which you could not use these drugs legally.  Okay, since those drugs are now on the street, what happens immediately?  That's right, a black market pops up...

"Pops up"? Do you mean there is no black market now? From CASA:

Marijuana continues to be easier to buy than beer: 23 percent of teens find it easiest to buy compared to 15 percent who find beer easiest to buy.

http://www.casacolumbia.org/absolutenm/templates/PressReleases.aspx?articleid=533&zoneid=66

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You left out one reason often cited for ending the War on Drugs - the belief that under the Tenth Amendment, fedgov should butt out of a state issue. Simple yes/no question: do you think Wickard is in keeping with the original meaning of the Commerce Clause?

[garbanzo]

Society is negative impacted.

Society doesn't have rights - individuals do.

Okay, since those drugs are now on the street, what happens immediately?...So kids will have easy access to many narcotics.

What universe do you live in where these drugs aren't already on the street and kids don't have access to pretty much any drug they want?

[neverdem]

That's right, a black market pops up to make sure kids can now not only get access to alcohol as they have in the past, but now they can have access to all the other drugs too for a price.

Once any government decides on prohibition, then they make a market black, i.e. with people willing to kill or go to jail because it is so profitable. Where's that black market profitability with underage alcohol drinking?

[elkfersupper]

Children gain access to alcohol. Adults cannot control themselves, and drink alcohol and drive. Others become alcoholics and destroy the family unit. The work force is negative impacted. Lives are ruined. Society is negative impacted.

Same with dietary sugar and Big Macs.

What is your point?