More users?
Okay, in the beginning there probably would be an increase in numbers of users due to experimentation. However, IMO that would soon revert back to approximately what the numbers are now. The South American countries have had drugs there for 1000 years and they aren't all high on drugs. The Dutch have drugs and they aren't all high on drugs.
There would not be an increase in the numbers of theft, because the stuff would be so cheap that people wouldn't have to steal. Panhandlers? I don't know, it's just possible that people might actually get jobs to pay the 50 dollars a week it would cost them, but even if panhandling went up, that seems better to me than the robberies we have now. And if people made a nuiscence (sp) of themselves, then they could always be arrested for that or be made to move on.
Bigger health care? Why would we have to pay any more for them than we do now? You're assuming that there would be a big increase in numbers of users, and there is absolutely no basis for that belief.
Besides, the idea is to try it and see what happens. The laws can always be rewritten to dole out punishments again.
I think a different approach is needed, I don't think making drugs illegal and punishing people has helped our society. However, if we try it a new way, (legalization) and we see what happens, then we'll have something to compare to. |
