The only drugs I do are legal (cafeinne, nicotine - only occationally in cigar form, and alcohol), so I have no personal motive in the legalization argument.
I have come not to care about legality of drugs because the vast majority of addicts - something like 90-95% - are alcohol addicts. They cause almost all the misery and death due to drugs. The Drug War is hugely expensive, ineffective, and corrosive to the freedom of law-abiding people. Any additional drug use will have no impact on your or me, and we will benefit hugely from the money saved and, most of all, from freedom from bad laws and bad cops.
They cause almost all the misery and death due to drugs.
Don't pull my chain, man. You're talking to a kid from the 1960's California. You ever heard of Meth? You can't rationalize that social scourge by pointing to alcohol abuse.
The Drug War is hugely expensive, ineffective, and corrosive to the freedom of law-abiding people.
The classic Libertarian argument and one that I find almost persuasive.
Any additional drug use will have no impact on your or me, and we will benefit hugely from the money saved and, most of all, from freedom from bad laws and bad cops.
I'm with you on the "cop society" aspect. But, there was a time-- in the Western states at least--where you could walk over laudanum addicts in the gutter in nearly any town. I'm not sure I want to live in a society like that. We say that social mores against such behavior will win out, but do they? Aren't laws born from such mores?