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Originally Posted by Roguish Lawyer
It was a rhetorical question. Peregrino, I couldn't have said it any better myself.
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Sorry - It's one of my hot buttons. I worked source interdiction in Bolivia and did some program work in SOCSOUTH in the late 80's - early 90's. I have a fair (though dated) understanding of the problem and no tolerance for the current "solution". I do not think the answer is anywhere near as complicated as the pundits want us to believe. As others have noted it's a consumption problem - no demand, no reason for the market. Fix the demand - deglamorize drug use and remove the economic incentives that exist because of the prohibition economy, and the problem becomes much easier to address. I recommend one of two approaches - either decriminalize it and treat it like we do any other form of intoxication (and rigorously enforce the existing DUI laws) or start summary executions for selling any quantity. The middle road we insist on cleaving to is the practical and moral equivalent of giving a cancer patient placebos.
Please don't misunderstand - I do not condone drug use/abuse (that includes alcohol and tobacco, let's not forget them in our haste to condemn - they just get the benefit of a better lobby). I personally do not care what consenting adults do in the privacy of their own home - I firmly support the broadest definition of the "castle doctrine". My key is "consenting adult" - there are specific legal concepts that define the term fairly well. Society has a well recognized responsibility (though not necessarily a duty) to protect persons incapable of consent for whatever reason. So long as the actions of the supposed consenting adults do not infringe on the rights of others let them do as they please. Just don't expect me to feel sorry for them, nor expect me to pay for their stupidity. On the other hand - as soon as they step out the door and rejoin the rest of us, all bets are off. Especially if they mess with me or mine. COL M and AM have the right of it. Sadly, society is more afraid of the vigilanteism inherent in the concept of self defense/personal responsibility than they are of the drugs and the failures of the current system to protect them in the first place. (Somebody once said something about sheep not liking the sheepdog - even with the wolf breathing down their neck.) Enough rambling - I'm getting frustrated. Peregrino