Can we legalize drugs already?
Posted by: in Jerseymomma is Crazy, Political, tags: legalize drugs, stop crime already
Don’t laugh, I’m totally serious.
Every day this week news outlets have featured stories about the dangerous Mexican cartels moving deeper into the United States thanks to our “insatiable lust for drugs and crime“.
It’s apparently gotten so bad that Sec. of State Clinton had to visit Mexico today to discuss providing more helicopters and greater resources to fight this “war on drugs”.
You know– because we have extra money just lying around to help Mexico contain their criminals.
Anyway, I would just like to know at what point does LOGIC leave a politicians mind? Before they get to Washington? The minute they’re sworn in on congress?
I’d really like to know because any person in their right mind can see that the only way to stop this “war on drugs” is to make them legal, thus making the black market powerless to operate.
Think about prohibition. Think about the gangs and the crime and the violence that sparked up when alcohol was banned in the twenties. Then think about how most of that illegal activity came to a screeching halt once the criminals were put out of business by legitimate liquor stores.
I think the same should hold true with drugs– or marijuana at the very least.
If we let people buy weed like they do cigarettes (with proper ID of course), then people wouldn’t need to visit the drug smugglers or local dealers. They will essentially be out of business overnight.
Add to the fact that the government can tax the products AND create jobs in this horrible economy by letting people work in the fields picking pot 
In all seriousness though, I am much less scared of a person getting behind the wheel of their car after smoking a joint than I am someone drunk out of their mind.
As are most people i’ve come to find out.
The only legitimate arguments people make against legalizing marijuana or other drugs is that “weed leads to other things” and “legalization encourages the habit”.
Well first let me address pot use leading to hardcore drugs. I don’t think I necessarily agree with that– and I really think its the black market environment that leads to further drug use.
For example, a teen goes to a dealer for some weed. After a few months of buying, the dealer (looking to hook the kid further), says “hey– wanna really get high? Try some crack”.
But if you cut the dealer out, the option of buying crack is no longer in the person’s face.
And second of all, just because we “legalize” drugs, doesn’t mean we “endorse” them and that there will not be restrictions. Think about alcohol. You have to be a certain age to buy, if you get caught driving while intoxicated you get a DUI or possibly jail time and people are still educated on how alcohol use can be bad for you.
The same should hold true for drugs. Yes, they should be legal to cut off the black market, but they should also come with serious restrictions that severely discourage their use in everyday situations.
So that’s my thoughts on all this Mexican drug cartel nonsense.
Not that it matters because I’m convinced the politicians have their hand in black market money that that’s why no one has stepped up to push legalization through the House or Senate (because really, its not a brainiac idea).
And if you still think im totally off the wall crazy– here is an article from a economic lecturer from Harvard explaining how prohibition is hurting our national security and economy.
And a video from Larry King Live with Ron Paul speaking on the subject.
I’m totally ready to legalize drugs and be done with unnecessary violence once and for all. How about you?
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Good points. I agree they just need to legalize some things, pot being one of them. As far as leading to other things I’ve known lots of folks who have smoked pot for years and years and have never tried anything harder. It just depends on the person.
How Free Are We?
Right now (3/25/2009) I am watching this report about the kids being assassins for the cartels and can not help but notice the date on the tape is from 7-28-2006; which of course means that this is old news which is true. Another point that I would like to state is that they talk about Garcia being killed with his wife pregnant wife in the car. Not only do they fail to state that this happened in 2005 they also fail to state that Garcia was a high ranking member in the Mexican Mafia and was involved in the drug trade (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu3Z8QqUgtE&feature=related) (start watching at 6:45).The truth is that this has been going on for a long time! So what is the advantage of bringing it up now and making a big deal about something that has been going on for years? As did many other people in school I read the book 1984 by George Orwell and realized, like everyone else did, that I would not want to live in that kind of world; but when I look at where we are today it brings up some unsettling similarities. I see people setting up cameras in their homes in the form of computers and phones that allow you to see the person you’re talking to. Do you really think that the government could not access those cameras and see into your homes? There is GPS being put into cars and cell phones which makes it easy to follow your every movement should the government choose to. Even while driving around in my car I see random video cameras set up around the city and also there are now cameras set up on the side of the highway that takes your picture and sends you a ticket if you are speeding. On the news they are saying Mexico may become a failed state but do not go into detail of what that means. It is a term is very broad and does not include details. The term “terrorists” is also being used to strike fear into people. Now I may wrong but I do see something that can very possibly occur in the near future and that is using the Mexican drug war to strike fear in American citizens in order to slowly strip away our rights to privacy and our freedom. I hear of making national ID cards and RFID chips will hold all of your personal information including finger prints and DNA data. I see us heading in the direction of 1984 and I think we need to stand up and look at what is really going on here. We need to stand united and not allow this to happen. It is your everyday, average people who are the foundation of this nation and without a stable foundation everything will fall. This is just my opinion on our current situation and I am practicing my right to freedom of speech. If you agree I encourage you to repost this in as many blogs and places possible and talk to family and friends about it. I am not saying I am right or wrong but just take my opinion into consideration with an open mind.
According to the US Dept of Health and Human Services, Pot isn’t a cause of fatal car accidents and doesn’t really impair driving ability.
I’m all for legalizing marijuana, even when I stopped smoking it. Anyone who has been around both heavy drinkers and regular pot smokers can tell you that alcohol is MUCH worse. I have yet to see anyone involved with violent crimes associated with smoking pot. Its always the drunk people that get into fights and do stupid shit like driving. I’m not saying this to be funny but most people that smoke pot just want to sit around with their friends and laugh over wild stories. Alcohol is FAR more dangerous.
So I say we legalize it, tax it, and save the system a butt load of money that they would normally spend on prosecuting and jailing people on marijuana charges.