Heated debate broke out in my home shortly after ten o’clock last night after a Law and Order SVU (duh, duh) episode, a debate which will probably make my brother hate me and question my political beliefs for a long time to come. I’m not going to go into detail about how the debate started, but what I will tell you is that I questioned whether a man can be held lawfully responsible imprisoned for an act which never impeded on the rights of another human being, no matter how sick and perverted that act may seem to be. I said no, if you do not violate someone’s rights you have not violated a just law; my brother responded with the predictable old line “then you’d allow drugs to be legal?” which opened the door for me to reveal my new found political views; yes, I would make drug use legal with the same laws and regulations as tobacco and alcohol.
The premise for this argument is a fundamental one, if you can show me one person whose rights are violated by someone else smoking pot then I’ll be behind you in a ban on marijuana and other narcotic drugs, but until you can then I will back legislation for the legalization of narcotic drugs. There is no fundamental difference between drugs and alcohol, no reason why one should be legal and the other not. They both cause addiction, they both can harm society, and they both can cause death, but one is widely viewed as a basic right that people over the age of 21 may have, the other as an evil which will somehow destroy the nation and the world if allowed to be sold legally. In fact there is absolutely no evidence to support such a claim and no rationality to derive such an absurd view from. People seem to think that if drugs are made legal then everyone will start using them, that within a few years the nation will crumble into dust and descend into an age of chaos and despair. Why, I ask, would people who’ve been taught their whole lives that drugs are bad suddenly feel the urge to run to the nearest store and buy marijuana? It’s not the laws against drug use which prevent people from using them, it’s the potential harm it will cause your body and mind. It is almost laughable assertion that this nation would fall into chaos if drug use were legalized.
If someone wishes to smoke pot in the comfort of their own home or where they do not pose a threat to anyone or anything what right is it of the governments to say to them they may not? Even more disturbing is that the government may break into your home and haul you off to jail simply for possessing drugs. If you truly believe in the rights which the founding fathers wrote down in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence then you MUST be willing to take that belief to its furthest extent and support the legalization of narcotic drugs. I believe in these rights, I believe that I as a free human being may do what I darn well please as long as I do not ever impede on the rights of another, and therefore from that belief I must conclude that drug use should not be illegal, should not be punishable, and should be accepted just like alcohol and tobacco use as a basic right. “Let justice be done though the heavens may fall.” –Immanuel Kant.
However, if one were to look at the war on drugs closely they’d see not only that it impedes on the rights of the individual American to the pursuit of happiness and liberty, but is harmful to society as well. The justice system in this nation exists for one reason; to adequately punish those who violate the rights of another and to prevent them from committing another crime. I’ve already pointed out that drug users and dealers do not violate anyone’s rights by dealing with drugs, but do they run the risk of being violent liabilities to us the American tax payers? The simple answer, no. Taking drugs could, potently, turn you into a dangerous person, but so does alcohol; the mere possibility that drugs COULD lead to violence does not make with worthy of being a criminal offence. If that were the case then we’d be forced to make sporting events illegal, gun ownership illegal, alcohol, stressful working conditions, violent video games and bad eating habits illegal. The basis that drugs should be illegal because they could lead to violence is a claim that holds no water when held to scrutiny.
The war on drugs not only strips us of our basic fundamental rights, but wastes American tax dollars, supports terrorists in South America who sell these drugs, overcrowds our prisons with none violent “criminals” and causes an increase in crime. Millions of dollars are spent on the war on drugs every year, millions which could be used for better purposes or could simply be cut from the federal tax altogether in order to stimulate our economy. If not for the illegalization of drugs, narcotics would be able to be sold in stores across the nation, making it into a multimillion dollar industry. Just like the like gangsters of the 1920’s were not able to compete with the legalization of alcohol, it is unlikely that drug cartels in South America would be able to compete with businesses, and even if they could there would be no need for them to resort to violence to make money. Millions go to jail every year for using drugs, in my home state of Florida almost half the inmates in state prisons are drug abusers. It is estimated that my state must open two new prisons a year just to keep up with them. If drugs were legal, then gangs, who roam the streets selling drugs and killing one another for turf and customers, would have no source of income. Yes, they’d most likely move to something else, but without the thousands of dollars they can make off of drugs their influence on poor neighborhood in large cities and their appeal would wane and diminish.
I am not in any way saying that using drugs is good and that you should go do it, what I am saying is that there is no legal reason to punish someone for using drugs just like there is no reason to ban alcohol, or tobacco, fatty foods or other self destructive substances which harm the individual but to not in and of themselves impede on anyone’s rights. But if drugs were legalized jobs would suddenly pop out of nowhere, business men would create medicines to help stop drug addiction the same way some companies make gun that helps smokers stop smoking. They’d make money. Government spending would go down, taxes possibly cut; accidental deaths due to drug use would drop because now you can do it in the open without hiding. Decriminalizing drug use would work for the betterment of society and, most importantly of all, promote individual responsibility, protect civil rights, and limit the power of the federal government.
The premise for this argument is a fundamental one, if you can show me one person whose rights are violated by someone else smoking pot then I’ll be behind you in a ban on marijuana and other narcotic drugs, but until you can then I will back legislation for the legalization of narcotic drugs. There is no fundamental difference between drugs and alcohol, no reason why one should be legal and the other not. They both cause addiction, they both can harm society, and they both can cause death, but one is widely viewed as a basic right that people over the age of 21 may have, the other as an evil which will somehow destroy the nation and the world if allowed to be sold legally. In fact there is absolutely no evidence to support such a claim and no rationality to derive such an absurd view from. People seem to think that if drugs are made legal then everyone will start using them, that within a few years the nation will crumble into dust and descend into an age of chaos and despair. Why, I ask, would people who’ve been taught their whole lives that drugs are bad suddenly feel the urge to run to the nearest store and buy marijuana? It’s not the laws against drug use which prevent people from using them, it’s the potential harm it will cause your body and mind. It is almost laughable assertion that this nation would fall into chaos if drug use were legalized.
If someone wishes to smoke pot in the comfort of their own home or where they do not pose a threat to anyone or anything what right is it of the governments to say to them they may not? Even more disturbing is that the government may break into your home and haul you off to jail simply for possessing drugs. If you truly believe in the rights which the founding fathers wrote down in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence then you MUST be willing to take that belief to its furthest extent and support the legalization of narcotic drugs. I believe in these rights, I believe that I as a free human being may do what I darn well please as long as I do not ever impede on the rights of another, and therefore from that belief I must conclude that drug use should not be illegal, should not be punishable, and should be accepted just like alcohol and tobacco use as a basic right. “Let justice be done though the heavens may fall.” –Immanuel Kant.
However, if one were to look at the war on drugs closely they’d see not only that it impedes on the rights of the individual American to the pursuit of happiness and liberty, but is harmful to society as well. The justice system in this nation exists for one reason; to adequately punish those who violate the rights of another and to prevent them from committing another crime. I’ve already pointed out that drug users and dealers do not violate anyone’s rights by dealing with drugs, but do they run the risk of being violent liabilities to us the American tax payers? The simple answer, no. Taking drugs could, potently, turn you into a dangerous person, but so does alcohol; the mere possibility that drugs COULD lead to violence does not make with worthy of being a criminal offence. If that were the case then we’d be forced to make sporting events illegal, gun ownership illegal, alcohol, stressful working conditions, violent video games and bad eating habits illegal. The basis that drugs should be illegal because they could lead to violence is a claim that holds no water when held to scrutiny.
The war on drugs not only strips us of our basic fundamental rights, but wastes American tax dollars, supports terrorists in South America who sell these drugs, overcrowds our prisons with none violent “criminals” and causes an increase in crime. Millions of dollars are spent on the war on drugs every year, millions which could be used for better purposes or could simply be cut from the federal tax altogether in order to stimulate our economy. If not for the illegalization of drugs, narcotics would be able to be sold in stores across the nation, making it into a multimillion dollar industry. Just like the like gangsters of the 1920’s were not able to compete with the legalization of alcohol, it is unlikely that drug cartels in South America would be able to compete with businesses, and even if they could there would be no need for them to resort to violence to make money. Millions go to jail every year for using drugs, in my home state of Florida almost half the inmates in state prisons are drug abusers. It is estimated that my state must open two new prisons a year just to keep up with them. If drugs were legal, then gangs, who roam the streets selling drugs and killing one another for turf and customers, would have no source of income. Yes, they’d most likely move to something else, but without the thousands of dollars they can make off of drugs their influence on poor neighborhood in large cities and their appeal would wane and diminish.
I am not in any way saying that using drugs is good and that you should go do it, what I am saying is that there is no legal reason to punish someone for using drugs just like there is no reason to ban alcohol, or tobacco, fatty foods or other self destructive substances which harm the individual but to not in and of themselves impede on anyone’s rights. But if drugs were legalized jobs would suddenly pop out of nowhere, business men would create medicines to help stop drug addiction the same way some companies make gun that helps smokers stop smoking. They’d make money. Government spending would go down, taxes possibly cut; accidental deaths due to drug use would drop because now you can do it in the open without hiding. Decriminalizing drug use would work for the betterment of society and, most importantly of all, promote individual responsibility, protect civil rights, and limit the power of the federal government.
2 comments:
Good post. I agree again. MJ should be treated like alcohol. The harder stuff, I'm not so sure, but maybe so. Our prisons are so full of drug offenders, there's no room for capital offenders. Now if drug offenders end up using guns in their business, or the users steal or assault or worse to get drugs, that's a different story, but the focus should be on the more serious crime and not the drugs.
OTOH, I don't think being under the influence should be a mitigating factor in a case of say, death by vehicle. I think it should actually worsen the sentence. Because it is well-known what effect drugs and alcohol have on a person's reaction time, and no one has any business being behind the wheel of a car in an "influenced" condition.
The reasoning behind this is a fundimental belief in the liberty principle, not so much the benifit to society. The benifit part is to convince people to join up and to aleviat fears that this would result in chaos, but the true reasoning is that smoking crack or taking drugs doesn't infringe on anyones rights, so it should be legal. The hard stuff too. Self destructive behavor should not be illigal, if somone wants to desstroy themelves they can. It may not be moraly defensable to do so, but legaly it should not be infringed lupon by the goverment.
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