tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59324506101124457.post733744468395031364..comments2024-03-24T21:06:57.039-07:00Comments on FOUSESQUAWK: Another Jimmy Carter Brain Fart-Stop War on DrugsGary Fousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17014739065121483409noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59324506101124457.post-69790325220036967782011-07-02T17:41:30.441-07:002011-07-02T17:41:30.441-07:00Obviously you DIDN'T read it at all. I never s...Obviously you DIDN'T read it at all. I never said the bad guys will go away. I said they'll have to work harder for their money, and probably have less opportunity to accumulate as much of it.<br /><br />Does some heir of Al Capone control the wholesaling of the beer you drink today, when you are not in Germany?<br /><br />I did make a lot of other points, none of which you have even attempted to respond to. Pathetic for a man intelligent enough to teach English.Siarlys Jenkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15083839117838391267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59324506101124457.post-43660920401718076442011-07-02T10:41:35.812-07:002011-07-02T10:41:35.812-07:00Siarlys,
Actually you often leave me speechless w...Siarlys,<br /><br />Actually you often leave me speechless with your comments. I just don't bother to engage them. Your argument for legalization is typical of the Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm notion that all the bad guys will just go away.Gary Fousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17014739065121483409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59324506101124457.post-13550246310925653592011-07-02T10:36:30.988-07:002011-07-02T10:36:30.988-07:00It is not often that I argue a position so well th...It is not often that I argue a position so well that Gary Fouse is struck speechless.Siarlys Jenkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15083839117838391267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59324506101124457.post-74332473925503524152011-07-01T05:41:55.021-07:002011-07-01T05:41:55.021-07:00Gary, it is no doubt hard to convince someone who ...Gary, it is no doubt hard to convince someone who devoted a large part of his adult life to DEA, often risking your life in the line of duty.<br /><br />But criminalization of recreational drug use, like Prohibition of alcohol, is a failure, and for the same reasons.<br /><br />One hundred years ago, anyone could buy heroin over the counter of any pharmacy in America, legally. Did this cause social problems? Yes. Were the laws to control or prohibit sale, possession, and use motivated by a sincere desire to control or end these social problems? Certainly.<br /><br />But, just as many socialist schemes founder on the ingenious ability of humans to pursue what they want, call it the actions of the "free market" if you will, the attempt to eliminate the evils of "demon rum" or "John Barleycorn" or marijuana or narcotics foundered on the reality of the "free market," whether legal or illegal.<br /><br />If all this stuff were legal, it would also be dirt cheap. Drug gangs wouldn't be able to afford high tech weaponry on the profits, making them rivals of many governments for real power. Shooting a debtor would not be the only safe means to collect what a dealer is owed. (In fact, dealers would mostly be out of business). Tainting with various poisons could be controlled by inspection.<br /><br />We WOULD need to prepare to deal with the social problems drug use has ALWAYS involved. It would be good to get rid of the distortions caused by current law, but we need a controlled decompression, so we don't have hordes of kids screaming "It's legal! Try some!" This is dangerous stuff. It is better to stay off it. Laws should allow employers to maintain a "drug free work place" on the grounds that using this stuff can make an employee dangerous to those around them.<br /><br />It can be done right, and it would be far better than the dangerous situation we have created by well-intentioned but misplaced criminal laws.Siarlys Jenkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15083839117838391267noreply@blogger.com