Have you talked to teens recently? They can already get any popular drug they wish. Usually right inside school.
And so can adults. If you go to any popular night spot and dress right, dealers will give you their business cards and you can get any drug you like delivered faster than a pizza. They obviously have local cops in their pocket.
The drug war is pointless except for the vast transfer of wealth to criminals, bought politicians and corrupt cops. Drugs are far easier to smuggle and hundreds of times more profitable than liquor during the bootlegger era so you will never put a dent in the industry. Even in places where the death penalty is handed down, people still risk their lives to get rich and drugs are available.
I've never met a single person in my life who stayed away from drugs because they are illegal. They stay away because they don't enjoy them or know the consequences of using. All we can do is educate people on the consequences in a real world, educated manner. Something the stupid “anti-drug” campaigns always failed to do. It's almost as if they wanted people to laugh at them and use more drugs...
I have sure known plenty of people who avoid or stopped using drugs, or associating with drug users, because of the laws.
That second remark is interesting, people can spot you as a drug user yet I don't get pushers giving me their business cards, your entire post sounds like the media figure who didn't believe that Nixon had been reelected in one of the biggest landslides in history, because she personally didn't know anyone who voted for him.
I disagree. Strong liquor isn’t in the hands of kids very easily because it is controlled....not illegal.
If you make everything a candy store and open it to everyone, then kids are more likely to enter the candy store.
Beyond that, it’s a moral issue. We do NOT allow our kids to be intoxicated. That’s not what childhood should be about.