>From Lennart:
> Personally I see no reason for the law either against heroin > (they will abuse it anyhow) This Off Topic conversion is about to get a lot more off topic, and I don't care! ;-) I like what you said, Lennart. I generally agree with your premise. IMO, we should stop outlawing mind altering drugs like Heroin, crack, LSD, etc... I would go much further than that and suggest we actually get into the business of licensing companies to manufacture these products using safe sanitary standards. We should "sell" to those who want it, or need it. As horrifying as that may sound to some, the point I'm trying to make is: If we really want to end the war on the drug cartels we need to set up carefully government regulated business that sell the product at minimal profit in order to drive these highly profitable unregulated "illegal" business out-of-business. How much federal funding would be saved by getting rid of all the surveillance equipment, personnel, and prisons just to grab a few dramatic highly publicized headlines of having just grabbed a major kingpin who had been on the run for years. Everybody knows that when it comes to the illegal importation of drugs into the US, using a sieve would probably be better butterfly net than all the drug enforcement equipment and personnel currently employed. Unfortunately, law enforcement, itself, has become a huge thriving business. It has no interest in stamping out its customer base. Granted, it will occasionally parade out a few scape goats every now and grab a few impressive headlines. But then it's back to business as usual with its hand out for more funding. I realize I would probably end up being assassinated by some right wind religious fanatic by saying this by if I was unwillingly forced into a government position to end the war on drugs I'd get us into the business of licensing it and selling it ourselves in order to undercut the "competition". Mandatory on each product would be big fat warning labels that say if you take this particular drug for so many times in the following period of time you will get addicted. Don't kid yourself. You will get hooked. Therefore, we highly recommend you don't take this drug. If you return the drug to us unused and unaltered, we will refund your money after we make double sure you didn't find a way to dilute the contents in order to sell it to customers yourself at a "discount." But if you feel you must take it we would prefer you purchase this dangerous drug from us for substantially less than buying if at inflated prices down in the alley. Why buy a product from an organization where you wouldn't have much recourse to complain if the product doesn't meet standards. Finally, when you eventually get addicted (and don't kid yourself, you will get addicted) and if you want to kick the habit we have drug rehabilitation facilities waiting to get you off the habit. I would also make sure all the drug profits would be plowed back into drug education in order to show, graphically - no holds barred, all the horrible things that happen to a drug user who purchases this product after he has gotten addicted. The profits would also go to fund drug rehabilitation and support facilities & groups for kicking the habit. Granted, I realize this "government" program could itself become "addicted" to its own self-preservation. In this world, nothing is perfect. We will simply have to watch the program very carefully. But as the old saying goes. Keep your friends close to you, but keep your enemies even closer. I can't think of a better way of keeping my enemy closer to me than by beating them at their own game by undercutting their profit margin. Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson OrionWorks.com zazzle.com/orionworks
