Doug Mann Writes:
I also think that a big part of the gang, crime, and drug problem is a consequence of the "war on drugs." The prohibition of recreational drugs drives up the price, drives many drug addicts to engage in criminal activities to pay for their habit, creates an economic niche for gun-toting gangs, and has been filling half of the prison beds with people convicted of using or selling drugs. Illegal recreational drugs would be the source of far fewer social problems if they were legalized and regulated.
Dennis Plante Responds:
To suggest that by legalizing recreational drugs you'd reduce the crimminal/gang activity currently associated with it, is to me, ridiculous. Unless of course, you want to include crack (and even more addiction-forming, dangerous drugs) in the list of recreational drugs.
If however, you are suggesting that they be included, than I would vehemently protest it. When we as a society condone such activity as not only legal but subsidized (which it would have to become openly) from a "care" standpoint, I'll choose another country to live-in and move.
Also, even if you were to legalize "recreational" drugs such as crack, you'd still have the crimminal/gang element to deal with (along with all the existing social issues we haven't dealt with). By making what they currently do legal, they'd just move onto something else illegal. There's a reason most of them become involved in the first place... It's because it's illegal, not because they have a deep social conviction about the issue.
Dennis Plante Jordan
_________________________________________________________________
Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.)
________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
