Ray From Cleveland
Diamond Member
- Aug 16, 2015
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It would make the homeless problem more severe. But it would free up *so* much money and resources for treatment and shelters. Which does both these people and the society in general far more good that putting them in a box.
Yes, treatment is the more logical and humane way to go. They don't belong in cages with brutal murderers and rapists. They have a problem, but that doesn't make them criminals.
Sorry, but when you break our laws, yes, you are a criminal.
And that's the real problem. Doing drugs shouldn't be considered a criminal act any more than consuming alcohol is. The act itself is not criminal. It may be unwise, but it's not criminal. Our Justice System needs to evolve. Non-violent drug users should not be thrown in cages in brutal prisons. That's barbaric.
So you make it legal and have many more families torn apart, more people committing suicide or overdosing, more people experimenting with narcotics because they are now legal, and then getting hooked on them?
Yup. Drug legalization does come with social costs. Most of which we're already paying.
And with the enormous resources we used to spend on enforcement, incarceration and ajudication of millions of drug cases, we can offer comprehensive drug treatment plans, public awareness campaigns, and mental health services.
And we'll eliminate pointless incarceration as the cause of millions of families torn apart. And reduce the horrific social costs of enforcement. Plus strip many of the illegal cartels of one of their primary funding sources. And reduce violence between gangs funded by drugs. And reduce violence between those gangs and police. We can also start to role back the 'war on drugs' erosion of civil liberties,
And we can tax the shit out of drugs. Plus, all those incarcerated people can actually contribute to our economy now and be taxed.
So yes, there are social costs to drug legalization. Most of which we're already paying. There are also social costs to enforcement. Most of which we don't need to pay when it comes to non-violent drug offenses.
Most of what you say is projecting. You have no documentation that your ideas would work. However we do have places like Colorado where they found their experiment is a failure.
Making pot legal didn't stop drug gangs or illegal sales. With all the taxation that takes place, illegal marijuana is just as popular as it was before. They've had increases in usage among adults and children. They've had increases in OVI's.
Nothing good came out of making pot legal in that state. In fact in many ways, it made things worse, and we haven't even given it enough time to produce definite results.
When it comes to opiate products, I have yet to see a case where rehabilitation had any long-term success. And it's not because it was bad rehab or people were poor, there are people with all the money in the world that have access to the best help such as actors and comedians. Failed.