I am open to changing strategies in dealing with drugs. If it could be proved that legalization would be better for society, it should be done.
My main gripe with a lot of the Libertarian arguments on the issue is that they are not based upon practical considerations, but on a phony, sanctimonious cry for “freedom from government oppression” that interferes with their “inallienable right” to snort, inject, smoke or otherwise consume whatever they want, no matter how great and how likely the harm to other people is.
Drug use is not a constitutional right and drug policy is not an issue of civil rights or freedom, but one of public policy.
Alcohol prohibition. As I stated earlier, you don't see Budweiser and Coors delivery guys gunning each other down in the streets.
People like me see the trillions wasted in trying to impose a failing solution and wonder if there isn't a better way to do things.
It is really a private property right issue.
When you don’t own your body, the government does. When your private property is not secure from unreasonable search and seizure, you have no property rights. We’ve seen this happen again and again with mistakes in addresses, false tips given to police. Innocent people have died, because the drug warriors have traded their rights away for the illusion of security.
If someone is whacked out and driving on a public road, I want them removed from the public road to protect others. If they are walking and in danger of falling in front of a vehicle on a public road, I want them removed so my car doesn’t get hurt. (trying to be funny, sorry)
If it is my neighbor that is whacked out on any substance and they pose a provable harm to me by their actions, the police have a right to get involved.
Wrong answer. Setting drug policy is not a function the Constitution GIVES to government. Nowhere in Art 1 Sec 8 does that duty lie.
As for how it is currently being upheld by the courts, therein lies my real issue with the whole topic. They have had to come up with the most insane and convoluted reasoning to continue their illegal laws. This disrespect for our governing framework has been used against the firearms industry, tobacco, the automobile industry, medical care, salt, fatty foods, and only the Gods know what else.
Do some folks just want to get high? Yes. More than likely. Should we have to pay for their medical care or incarceration? No. These costs are only a burden to the rest of us because of government. "More government" is almost never the right answer to any given problem.
It has been proved. Look to the past for the proof. Before the turn of the 20th century drugs were legal in this country, there were no more addicts per thousand people than there are now, in fact there may have been fewer per thousand than there are now. There was never a "temperance" movement to outlaw drugs, only Alcohol(why was that if drugs are so evil) and that was a big mistake. If you haven't learned the lesson of prohibiting things such as drugs and alcohol from the history of prohibition in the USA then you will never learn the lesson.