I am not concerned so much with crime as a DIRECT result. IOW I don't think that a person that just hired a prostitute will do a drive-by on my house. My concern is in the overall deterioration.
I'd argue that things don't breed evil
Then please explain the consistency within the similar lifestyles that FOLLOWS hard drug usage.
Agreed
This is why I still see myself as leaning more toward the Libertarian side on some issues. I may adamantly disagree that these things should be legalized, but that is only limited to MY state and community. Constitutionally, all states can freely legalize these things, and I somewhat wish that one state would, just so we could have a tangible case study to reference.
Ever consider that what you see as overall deterioration may be the result of the behavior you're trying to squelch being illegal in the first place?
Then please explain the consistency within the similar lifestyles that FOLLOWS hard drug usage.
C'mon, what a lay-up. For the same reason "good" people act in ways that make a community better, "bad" people act in ways that make a community worse. A person with a bad-ass personality is attracted to the drug lifestyle for the same reason a person with a spiritual side is attracted to church. In fact, I daresay decriminalizing certain drugs would go a long way towards making doing those drugs less stereotypically antisocial, and hence less attractive to evil people.