[Dead Corpse]

Take the profit out of selling drugs by legalizing them. That $500 bucks worth of smack would be worth about $5. Let's see any terrorist by arms. What harm could they do with a soda straw and tablet paper?

Learn some supply and demand econimcs before making such absurd allegations.

[lelio]

How about this: make the drugs legal but strongly frown upon them, ie your employer can fire you show up strung out on your job. Make drug consuling more widespread.
Get the added benefit of smack going down to $5 from $500 and people will get help.
Plus I won't have to see an ad on TV that equates buying some pot to a family getting killed in central America.

[Dialup Llama]

Al-Queda operatives have funded terror by smuggling cigarettes (a legal drug) and by coupon fraud (a labor intensive activity with a low margin).

Legal heroin would still be run by criminals, terrorists and drug lords because it generates cash and the drugs are a relatively compact store of value, even at the lower legalization prices. I doubt the street price would decline much under legalization as that demand is inelastic. However the drug lords would lose margin under legalization which they would try to make up thru increased market share and volume.

[rube]

Absolutely correct. However, I'm constantly surprized that no one ever brings up this issue: what will happen to all of the miscreants who derive their livelihood (and a damn good one, I might add) from their involvement in the drug trade.

Perhaps they'll all return to school and become mechanical engineers, computer programmers, and history teachers. I can just see it now...

[cake_crumb]

"Learn some supply and demand econimcs before making such absurd allegations"

ROFLOL!! By legalizing addictive drugs and ensuring unfettered public access TO those drugs, you will increase the number of addicts...which in turn INCREASES DEMAND...which allows the SUPPLIER to RAISE PRICES to WHATEVER THE MARKET WILL BEAR.

This is why there is PROFIT in selling legal things. Increased demand = higher prices. DECREASED demand, and/or INCREASED PRODUCTION (usually by a competitor, who gluts the market) DECREAS PRICES. If the product is in high demand and it's market value has lowered due to market glut, the price drop is TEMPORARY.

Once you control the market production of a super high-demand product, you can glut the market to discourage competitors....then simply create an artificial shortage in order to raise those prices back up and increase your own profit (uncontested by competitors) profit.

Don't give me the tired libertarian "alcohol and cigarrettes are legal" argument. Al Qaeda sells opuim, which is a heckuva lot more addictive and distructive than either of them.