Eric's post below is one of the most intelligent bits I've ever read in a
forum such as this, even if I largely disagree with it. (BTW: This entire
debate, which I've just had time to read tonight is fascinating and filled
with intelligent comments. More amazing, not a single flame in such a highly
charged discussion.)
Several thoughts ...
--> Prohibition, as has been mentioned, had tremendously bad consequences.
Not only did organized crime not exist in this country prior to prohibition,
criminals had never been glorified by the media prior to prohibition. If you
want to look at where the loosening of moral began in the U.S., look to
prohibition. It all started there. It started with the gangs and it started
with the speak-easys, which were far more "uncivil" than similar
establishments before prohibition. This is really where the sexual
revolution began.
--> As a religious person, you might expect me to take up the "moral"
argument. But my religion has taught me "do not judge." It has also taught
me not tell others how to live their lives. To me, legalizing any drug is
not inherently a de-moralizing action. An individual's desire to do drugs,
in most cases, does no harm to me. There are possible consequences that
could harm me, but I think most of those consequences dissipate with
legalization.
--> The societal cost of drugs: This is the strongest argument against
legalizing drugs. People addictively taking drugs, even if they do not steal
to support their habit or do nothing else of direct harm to other
individuals, still cost society. They cost society in lost productivity,
lost creativity and eventually, most probably, in higher health care costs,
ect. But going back to the example of prohibition, legalization may solve
more problems than it creates.
--> Will legalization reduce crime? I believe so. One person said people who
do not wish to work will need to steal to support their habit. Not
necessarily so. A legalized drug will be easier to get, greatly reducing the
price. There will be fewer middlemen, further reducing the price. This will
eliminate the need for some people to steal altogether, and for others to
steal less.
--> There will also be lesser violent crime, since most
non-domestic-violence crime (which is usually associated with alcohol and no
other drug), will be reduced because there will be fewer dealers/gangs
protecting their routes and fewer disputes among dealers, etc. Legalization
will also go a long way toward cleaning up inner cities by taking drug
dealing out of the ghettos. It will also eliminate one important reason for
being for gangs.
--> There was one slam against cigars. Cigars, like just about any
substance, can be harmful if over done. But unlike cigarettes, handmade
cigars are not addictive. Also, when smoked in the small quantity usually
associated with cigar aficionados, they have no known harmful effect. People
who smoke only a few cigars per week, at most, have never been known (and I
get this stat from the American Cancer Society) to develop any sort of
cancer that can be attributed to cigar smoking.
--> So, if you haven't gathered, I tend to favor legalization, even though I
am not a user and would not be a user of any sort of currently illegal drug
were it legal. It's just not for me. I like working and playing with a clear
head. But if others wish to engage in such activity, I don't mind if they do
so long as they don't disturb my happy home, my peace or my tranquility.
H.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 4:34 AM
To: CF-Community
Subject: RE: Leeegalisssee ittt!
Will Swain wrote:
>The strongest argument in favour of a more liberal approach to this whole
>issue is the fact that criminalisation and illegalisation hasn't worked!
Mark Smyth wrote:
>People should have the choice to do what they want, if it doesn't harm
>anyone else.
Both of these arguments arrive at the same conclusion: society should
cease to hold up a moral and ethical standard, because some people ignore
it and it doesn't hurt anyone if they do. I could not disagree more. The
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