Replies

tpaine, will you please grow up. Read his comments on each and every position. I suspect that abortion and WOD is the ONLY place you two disagree. (IF you are willing to admit it)

You are arguing with him like a pre-pubescent school girl.

I was surprised to read his responses - and damn if I wasn't happy with them since I saw the rest of your original ping list...

Now, on to the WOD - the biggest destroyer of the 4th and 5th Amendments.

13.0 DRUGS 13.1 While recognizing the harm that drug abuse causes society, we also recognize that government drug policy has been ineffective and has led to frightening abuses of the Bill of Rights which could affect the personal freedom of any American. We, therefore, support alternatives to the War on Drugs. 13.2 Per the tenth amendment to the U. S. Constitution, matters such as drugs should be handled at the state or personal level. 13.3 All laws which give license to violate the Bill of Rights should be repealed.
I agree with the stuff about conducting the war on drugs, but strongly oppose legalization of drugs themselves.

Seems to me there is a happy medium where L's, l's and Conservatives can agree. A suggestion for the structure of the drug laws:

Drugs themselves are legal to possess in one's home, and it is legal to sell them, transport them, etc...

- What is illegal is to operate a vehicle while under the influence of the drugs;

- distribute them to anyone under 18;

- commit any crime while under the influence or in possession of the drugs;

- provide health care and medical treatment on the government dime to addicts and those injured by their use of drugs;

- create government-funded treatment programs for dopers

Feel free to add your own - basically the concept is we would all be free to dope ourselves into oblivion as long as we don't commit crimes/injure other people due to our use of drugs and we don't get government money (which is actually OUR money) for drug treatment.

Immediately there would be no need for a WOD and the secret search warrants, asset seizure, roving wiretaps, etc that come with them...

For the record I don't use drugs (except Guiness) and wouldn't if they were legal...

tpaine, will you please grow up. Read his comments on each and every position. I suspect that abortion and WOD is the ONLY place you two disagree. (IF you are willing to admit it)
You are arguing with him like a pre-pubescent school girl.

"You better calm down and actually apply any brain cells you might have before engaging your keyboard..."

Sound familiar? - Sorta like a pre-pube schoolgirl?

When I need your advice Al, I'll ask for it, and I doubt that day will come, having seen the overall quality in your posts.

Here's my take on the drug thing in more detail:

I lean toward a passive illegality on drugs themselves. Keep them illegal per se, but enforcement needs heavily reformed.

First and foremost the fed's power needs to be seriously curtailed. The most offensive practice, IMHO, is the seizing of cash from persons with large ammounts of paper money on them under the presumption that it must be drug money but without any demonstrated proof. It's nothing more than state sanctioned theft.

I believe persons who commit criminal acts under the influence of drugs should be hit with the hardest sentences available. Persons who commit crimes and are found in possession of drugs while doing so should have an additional count added to their sentence. Persons who commit crimes as a means of obtaining possession of drugs should similarly have an additional count added to their sentence. Persons who simply possess small ammounts drugs (i.e. found in their homes) should recieve a minor citation where applicable with penalties gradually increasing for repeat offenses, but the first count should not be some ridiculous high level felony 10 year jail sentence for small ammount possession.

I also agree - no government health care handouts for drug addicts. No needle distributions etc. If a person chooses to use drugs, he alone is responsible for the consequences on his health.

And as you said, dump unsubstantiated search and seizures, wiretaps, federal spying etc.