If it were as simple as what you say above. I would agree, but it is not that simple. When people put drugs into their system it alters their personaity and functionality. They become impaired. Many times this impairment causes harm to others as in auto accidents. Therefore people who use drugs can and do harm to more than themselves. So I believe taking drugs for recreational purposes should be against the law.

I personally would not mind the banning of alcohol. It is good that they have made it illegal to drink and drive. That at a minimum is good. As for the general statement that has been made that cigarettes alcohol and drugs are okay to put into your body and no law should ban this behavior. I say, that would in general be fine but once again in a direct manner placing harmful chemicals into your body will eventually cause disease. That disease will need to be treated by medical establishment which will cost us all money and resources to treat, especially if the government gets involved in medical treatment (Obama Care etc.). I could almost be fine with people who abused drugs if they would be forced to pay out of their own pocket for their medical treatment.

I am not assuming a welfare state. If you look around you should be able to observe that it already exists to some point in each nation including the USA. “Drug abuse and addiction are major burdens to society; economic costs alone are estimated to exceed half a trillion dollars annually in the United States, including health, crime-related costs, and losses in productivity. However, staggering as these numbers are, they provide a limited perspective of the devastating consequences of this disease,” Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Congressional Testimony, 3/1/07 As you can see this is not just an argument it is a fact of life that we have to deal with. To deny this fact is to be intellectually dishonest. Whether we make laws against drug abuse or not free will still is in force. Any drug user can still choose to break the law and then suffer the consequence. We have laws because without laws the world would fall into chaos. People would be able to do whatever they wanted to. People could hurt or even kill one another. That is why the founding fathers of our country came up with the Constitution including the Bill of Rights and the twenty-six amendments. So the argument I make is not against free will and liberty. I believe in both very strongly. I believe that drug abusers either directly or indirectly cause harm to other innocent people therefore their activity should be declared harmful and illegal.

Oh my God there are so many inconsistencies in your logic it is difficult to know where to start.

Oh, and something else to add-- making drugs illegal leads to more crime that legalization ever would. A good example is the drug cartels/border smugglers. See also: Al Capone and other gangsters during the alcohol prohibition.

So what is your solution just simply declare harmful behavior that is detrimental to other people as to the individual themselves a non-crime to get the rates of crime to decline. Using drugs increases the rate of crime. Look at users of the drug crystal meth. The cravings for crystal meth are exceptionally strong, and the human body’s tolerance to its narcotic effects is developed relatively quickly. This is why casual users become addicts, because they are searching to replicate that original high but need increasing amounts of the drug in order to achieve it. The effects of sustained crystal meth use are severe, including anorexia, restlessness, diarrhea or constipation, insomnia, headaches, dry mouth, convulsions, heart failure and strokes, and death. So when they run out of money to support their habit they turn to a life of crime to support the addiction. Psychologically, the grandiosity resulting from meth use inevitably leads its users into increasingly dangerous situations, and being consumed with pursuing the drug leads users to become distant from their families, parents to be neglectful with their children, and previously cautious individuals to engage in criminal behavior. But all of that is okay by you. Who cares about the family and the children of the drug users? Hey their death will just help reduce the surplus population. You continue to fail to get the big picture. That picture is, other people are affected by the drug use. You declaring all the fallout caused by drug abuse irrelevant is callous to say the least.

So in your solution to reduce crime we make this drug freely available. How about we provide free drugs in the school system as part of public education or introduce it for use at churches. Hey its not a crime according to your logic. So what if a major part of the population gets hooked on it. No problem they just die off. This is not a solution you are providing it is a recipe for disaster.

The argument of productivity that you present is an odd approach. You attempt to equate loss of productivity due to drug abuse is equal to that of loss of productivity from retirees. That’s laughable. That argument is ludicrous it is a completely different set of circumstances. Having people in their prime of life hospitalized due to sickness caused by drug abuse is in no way the same thing as people having lived productive lives and retiring. This argument you propose is Non sequitur to say the least. I apply the same argument to disabled persons etc etc.

Your next statement:

After all, they are being provided for at the expense of society, therefore we should rid ourselves of that problem too, right?

Your attempt to link support of people that are not committing behaviours that are criminal and detrimental to people who are committing detrimental and criminal behaviour is bad logic and disingenuous. Retirees and handicapped people are not equivalent to drug users just because they are dependent on government help. Your next statement is complete fantasy.

Health costs should also be considered irrelevant; that is, it should be rather Darwinian-- you do drugs, you pay more in health care or perhaps die.

Uhh, did you not notice most of these people are financially destroyed by their addiction. You really think they are going to pay their own bills. This is pure fantasy. It’s not going to happen. Your Darwinian approach to this problem is simplistic to say the least. Everybody who uses drugs just simply dies off. Wow what a great solution you have come up with. All these people and their families just don’t matter at all. Not to mention the drug addicts themselves. You make Scrooge look like a saint. Everything is irrelevant according to your simplistic theory. People should be free to use drugs and die and nobody else is ever going to be harmed.

Crime related costs would not go down because of legalized drug use. That’s so false I need to event a new word just to describe the insaneness of such a claim. You give a crude example pot usage as a safe drug to use for driving.

Then again, drugs such a cannabis are actually proven to make one calm, and on the road, paranoid (which would make them safer drivers.

Okay this is a complete donut theory you have. I know of someone who was driving under the influence of pot and was so calm and relaxed they completely missed a turn and hit a tree head on and killed 2 passengers in the car who also were high and forgot to use their seatbelts. They were very calm all the way until the moment just before they hit the tree. Oh, your legalization theory it would help humanity so much. I think its time to wake up and smell the coffee not the cocaine.

First note, it does not make your argument anymore correct if you use all caps with and apostrophe. You might try also increasing the font size and changing the color of the font to bright red. That may make you a little more correct in what you say. LOL On a more serious note… Generally speaking pretty much all of your arguments are false and skewed toward a fanciful flight of imagination toward a positive view of drug usage. Fortunately for our country there are not enough people that agree with your opinions on the legalization of drugs.

1. Drug prohibition is FAR more destructive than drugs themselves. (drug cartels, gangs, meth labs, etc)

Your limited vision and assumption that drug cartels gangs and meth labs will go away if we legalize drugs is complete and utter nonsense. Do you really think these bad things would magically evaporate because we make drugs legal. I think even the simplest of laymen can easy foresee that they would all grow as a response to legalization. I think you would agree that would be a bad thing. Point 1 has been refuted….

2. Drug prohibition causes drugs to be done improperly, dangerously, and in an environment that is conducive to drug addiction.

This one would be laughable if it wasn’t so completely misguided. What would you propose government sponsored drug stations and facilities so that people can take drugs out in the open. LOL.. How about we set up drug stations in the mall we can let big business to run them they could offer specials like buy one hit get two hits free. We could also set up free emergency drug over dose facilities for those people who accidentally overdose. Well almost free, the tax payers will pay for it. We can also triple the ambulance service for when all of our doped up friends hit the highway and run over innocent people while they are high on drugs. What a marvellous vision you have. LOL . Point 2 has been refuted….

3. Drug addicts should be helped, not punished if we actually want to lower addiction rate.

Here is an interesting statement. At least you acknowledge that there is something wrong. Otherwise why would drug addicts need help? According to yourself-centered world view they are technically not doing anything wrong. Drugs are legal and they have the right to poison their bodies if they want to. What happened to the Darwinian law of attrition? I thought the plan was to simply allow these individuals to die off. In truth we do offer drug addicts help to the tune of billions of dollars of cost to family members and taxpayers. Your solution would only make matters worse. Point 3 has been refuted…. Oh by the way I work in a hospital and see loads of drug addicts come and go everyday it is a tragedy of immense proportion. Believe me you have no idea what you are asking for.

4. Many of the scheduled drugs are beneficial like marijuana and psychedelics and should be used by those who so choose.

You almost make a good point here. Some drugs are beneficial like marijuana and morphine etc etc.. These drugs are legal when used under the care and guidance of a physician to ease pain. The part where you go wrong is suggesting that these drugs should be used for recreational activates. This is an unwise choice that does harm because time and time again drugs are abused. The more you use them the more you will abuse them. Legalizing them for recreational use will only make things worse. . Point 4 has been refuted….

5. The cost of drug prohibition is not worth any benefit of drug prohibition(what benefit?)

First off what facts do you have to support this claim? I see none just your claim. Secondly you completely disregard the human cost of the destruction of the individual and families involved that have lost loved ones because of drug abuse. How do you place a price on the tragic loss of one’s son or daughter or mother or father when they overdose and die? That cost is immeasurable. Where is your humanity? Point 5 has been refuted….

6. Drug prohibition is morally wrong, as we should have the freedom of choice.

Here it comes, we are down to the nitty-gritty of your argument. You personally just want to be able to use drugs without getting arrested. That’s really what this is all about… Well you can still take drugs my friend but until America loses its morality and ethics and good common sense it will still be against the law. I guess that is just tough crunchies for you. You will still have to sneak around and break the law. Point 6 has been refuted…. Oh by the way heavy drug users do not care about morality they only care about getting their next high.

7. Drug prohibition DOES NOT WORK!

It works for me and other law abiding people. I have a suggestion for you though. You can go join your buddies, the Wall Street occupiers and hold up a sign demanding the government give you free drugs along with free housing, and a free TV, and free cell phone, and free medical care, and free child care, and free lunches. You will fit right in. LOL… Point 7 has been refuted….