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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TideGlider who wrote (712747)	11/12/2005 12:17:45 PM
From: Geoff Altman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769667

However, I believe in strict enforcement of the laws they violate under the influence of drugs or alcohol and that there is a presumption of incarceration and no diminished capacity defense for such acts. I agree with you there 100%. The criminals that sell drugs would soon switch to another illegal activity if drugs were decriminalized. Some would sell black market drugs, others might go into the car theft business, others maybe extortion, arson, burglary. It isn't the drug that attracts them, it is fast money and they all want to be players. IMO this is where decriminalization is not enough and would still allow drug dealers to make money. It's a radical departure but I see legalization and regulation as the only way to effectively kill the black market trade. Monopolies kill competition. Hard drugs could be dispensed at current street price via specialized clinics that would offer treatment and counselling for addicts. I think the exact same laws that are applied to alcohol should be applied to pot. I'm sure you're right that criminals will be criminals no matter what, but getting rid of the inner city drug cultures where dealers are sometimes looked at as heros by youths might even keep some on the proper path since the fast buck is gone. An added benefit, since more prison space would be cleared could work well against other criminals. Car theft is a huge can of worms. It puts a huge weight on us via insurance costs etc., but in most states serious jail time isn't given to the apprehended thief until the second or even third arrest and the thieves know this. By the 2nd or 3rd arrest that one thief could have gotten away with stealing 30 cars (who knows). I have seen professional athletes, boxers and football players especially go from the top of their game to sitting on the concrete steps in the projects because the crack or heroin habit brought them down. Not getting busted, just using. I've hear of cases like those too and they're a shame. I'm not sure what to say about those types of people. Character flaw? To much money too fast? Teams turning a blind eye to misbehavior (especially prevalent in college). Lots of athletes develop problems with the large sums of money they earn and just not drugs. Drug legalization is a complex issue. I have seen alcohol ruin many people as well. You'll get no argument from me there either. I've no delusions that I've covered all the bases. One thing that I'd like to add as one of the best weapons for fighting drug abuse in our inner cities especially............is HOPE.