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To: Fry
The fact that people have to wander into neighborhoods they don't know and face the threat of being assaulted/robbed when they choose to break the law helps discourage others from breaking that same law.

I don't think we've seen any evidence whatsoever that anyone is being discouraged at all. If I'm wrong and you can provide such evidence, please do. Pretty much everyone who wants to do drugs in this country does them. I sincerely doubt there are any adults in this country saying, "Boy, I'd really like to do some cocaine right now, but I'm afraid to deal with the ruffians that sell it."

My response to you about black markets was that the black markets for tobacco and alcohol are very small because both of those products are cheap (competitively priced) and widely available. Both are more widely abused than any illegal drugs in this country. They are abused because of their addictive nature, their price and their availability. For the most part illegal drugs are abused because of their addictive nature, why would you want to knock down the two remaining barriers?

There are many, many reasons, but let's go with the one that seems to be the most oft-repeated misconception by WOD'ers: "Use" does not equal "abuse". There are Americans in this country who regularly drink alcohol to excess and become unable to function in society as a result. There are others who occassionally drink alcohol in a responsible manner. The numbers are far less for tobacco, but the pattern holds true: There are some who smoke to excess for decades and die as a result, and others who occassionally smoke a cigarette or cigar (usually while drinking), or smoke for a short period of time and then quit.

Whether any pro Wo(s)D-ers choose to admit it or not, the same holds true for many currently illegal drugs, most notably marijuana and ecstacy. Some use excessively, to the point of legitimate abuse that hinders their ability to live a normal life. Many do not, and occassionally use the drug on a few weekends per year, in much the way many responsible adults use alcohol or tobacco. Some cocaine users fall into a dark pattern and eventually commit crimes to support their habit. Others do not.

To suppress the rights of all to avoid the excesses of some is not in any way an idea that conservatives should support. You may scoff at the notion, but it is exactly the same idea that could easily remove guns, tobacco, and unhealthy foods away from you in the future.

291 posted on 05/17/2002 6:26:05 AM PDT by truenospinzone
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To: truenospinzone
LOL! I love it when pro-doper socialists such as yourself drop their libertarian masks and show us the grimacing goblin beneath.

It isn't about "liberty." It never was and never will be. It is about the freedon to get stinking drunk or high at someone else's expense and pretend that no one else in inconvenienced or harmed.

Hey, Komrade truenospinzone, Kommissar George Soros is proud of your efforts on behalf of the nannyland.

293 posted on 05/17/2002 6:34:26 AM PDT by Kevin Curry
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