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The War on Drugs should be re-named the War on Addiction,

I agree. The problem I have is the rhetoric I see on FR way too much, IMHO. The rhetoric is basically that marijuana and other drugs are benign and cause harm to no one and that Thomas Jefferson mandated that everyone has a right to light up a dube anywhere they want.

Another problem I have is that many on the pro-drug(Libertarian) side bring out articles from European sources saying that the answer is basically giving out heroin or other drugs on the taxpayer dime.

Places where drug legalisation is going full throttle are socialist(Holland, Britain) and when I point this out, I am knee jerkingly called a fascist, statist, or Jack Booted thug.

In closing thank you for your reasoned and non-vitriolic reply #49.

I agree. The problem I have is the rhetoric I see on FR way too much, IMHO. The rhetoric is basically that marijuana and other drugs are benign and cause harm to no one and that Thomas Jefferson mandated that everyone has a right to light up a dube anywhere they want.

Yes, you're correct, but it's more of the extreme libertarians that hold this view. There very few substances that you can injest that are absolutely benign, and everything can hurt you in one way or another. And TJ would never advocate a society where everyone could get blitzed, whenever they wanted and wherever they wanted. Local ordinances are necessary to prevent disorderly behavior; anyone who argues with that is a whack-job.

Another problem I have is that many on the pro-drug(Libertarian) side bring out articles from European sources saying that the answer is basically giving out heroin or other drugs on the taxpayer dime.

This is the most important aspect of the entire arguement, and cannot be stressed enough. A society simply CANNOT subsidize "bad behavior" or lawless behavior, and expect to survive for very long. At best, they're dooming themselves to stagnation, which is really bad anyway. That society will eventually "Darwin" itself. Decriminalization coupled with taxpayer subsidized dope would be an absolute disaster, and ruin the country. For far too many years, we've subsidized bad behavior, and bad choices; playing on the compassion of the American people to convince them that "something needs to be done" by the government. Something needs to be done all right, but not by the government (especially Federal). This is the job for churches, community programs, and volunteers to accomplish. By not having a "right" to subsidized addiction, a potential addict is faced with ambition-generating fear of totally falling into the gutter. It's a good fear to have, and it also will promote more community involvement and civility amongst citizens. Neighbors are there for people when they have problems; not the government. You might need help someday...you'd better be at least civil to your neighbors and somewhat involved in your community for "insurance" purposes. Too many people nowadays don't even know some of their neighbors names (I'm one of them)

And human nature has shown that if you build a "safety net", a certain percentage of people will always jump right into it and settle down for the long haul.

Places where drug legalisation is going full throttle are socialist(Holland, Britain) and when I point this out, I am knee jerkingly called a fascist, statist, or Jack Booted thug.

Obviously, for a very long time here, there has been no "gray area" in the discussion on this topic. Either you're a statist, or a hedonist. I've been guilty of this train of thought, and it accomplishes nothing. This whole issue is complex, but we've elected the (supposedly) best and brightest people to resolve issues like these, and we pay them big bucks to do so. But the people always ultimately get the government they deserve, and our "drug policy" has been riding on cruise control for far too long. Bad people (drug lords) are getting fatter and happier all the time, and our resources are wearing thin and not being focused on military and terrorist threats like they should be. We are the most innovative, creative, and productive society in history; we could lick this problem if we seriously attacked the issue correctly.

I look at the issue in this way: What is the most effective way of dealing with the societal problems of addiction? Drugs will never go away, and demand for them will never go away. Euphoria (through booze, gambling, roller coaster rides, etc.) is an industry, and since we are humans, we love our entertainment and feeling intoxicated. It's part of our nature. We're not Vulcans.

Education, addiction treatment, and responsibilty are the only real answer. It will be painful in the short term, but it will work. What we're doing now does not work, will not work, and will amplify the problems of drug abuse. Like it already has.

That's what I think...

And thank you for your reasoned reply.