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Ah, the old "if you don't believe something should be outlawed, you must support it" excuse. From your list: pornography is not illegal, so that one's out the window, although I certainly agree with the majority of the regulations in place to contain it. I'd love to hear you explain how suicide is a crime, other than "because it's illegal", but that's a topic for another day. As for gambling and prostitution, I don't believe either should be regulated by the federal government, and that states should be free to deal with them as they wish, which is pretty much the system we currently have in place. It's quite a stretch to say that constitutes "support" of gambling and prostitution, but it's sadly a stretch the most virulent anti-libertarians around here frequently make.

As for the topic at hand - the fact is your "point" has no bearing on the original poster's theory, which was that not only is there no documented causation between marijuana use and later use or abuse of hard drugs, but that the current system frequently forces an unnatural connection between marijuana users and dealers of hard drugs. I understand the point you were attempting to make, but you did so by separating the two related issues of the original post, which was, at best, a case of "completely missing the point", and at worst, a deliberate attempt at confusing the issue.

My mistake -- I was in a hurry. I meant to say, "I suppose you support the legalization of these "victimless crimes" also. I did not mean to imply that you would support the activity, just the legalization of it.

My 7-11 example in post #151 was strictly a response to post #150 which stated:

" Conclusion: if you want to reduce the number of people for whom marijuana is a "gateway" drug, make it available so that it is not necessary for them to come into contact with the criminal element that leads to harder drugs."

I was just illustrating that other petty crimes put people in contact with criminals, too. I don't think the solution is to legalize the petty crime.

BTW, some pornography is illegal, and I don't see the LP making any distrinctions. But a point to ponder: Isn't viewing such pornography (pictures or movies) a victimless crime? Granted, making it is, but viewing? Do you see where this leads?

The truth is these victimless crimes have victims. They're just harder to see.