stew, I agree that our laws have become skewed as it relates to things like MJ and other non-violent drug related crimes.
there certainly needs to be a re-evaluation of these things for sure. dont confuse my belief that we should not legalize all MJ with meaning I think laws against it are ok as is.
it seems to me our reaction to MJ especially has been poorly thought out.
the studies I have seen suggest that MJ in particular has a very serious danger of leading to mental illness at greater rates than a number of other legal and non-legal drugs. especially in people under 21.
Ferd, I'll be frank here and say that this is one of the issues where my being a part of the black community does affect my opinion. As I look at inner city violence and the issues in the black community, I can only relate it to one other time in our history and that is what we saw in the Italian-American community fueled in large part by the Prohibition. There is little doubt in my mind that had the policies of Prohibition continued, many of those problem would have continued. I was tempted to write a book where I reported some of the headlines about drive-by shootings and turf battles from that era and showed some of the parrallels. Creating such a lucrative black market is counterproductive and uneccessary, particularly since there are many who really don't want to really win the "war on drugs" anyway. When you factor in how many people are in jails and prisons for these crimes while we are forced to parole those who are serious and chronic threats due to overcrowding, it's a no-brainer to me.
__________________
There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chuck Norris lives in Houston.
Either the United States will destroy ignorance, or ignorance will destroy the United States. – W.E.B. DuBois
Ferd, I'll be frank here and say that this is one of the issues where my being a part of the black community does affect my opinion. As I look at inner city violence and the issues in the black community, I can only relate it to one other time in our history and that is what we saw in the Italian-American community fueled in large part by the Prohibition. There is little doubt in my mind that had the policies of Prohibition continued, many of those problem would have continued. I was tempted to write a book where I reported some of the headlines about drive-by shootings and turf battles from that era and showed some of the parrallels. Creating such a lucrative black market is counterproductive and uneccessary, particularly since there are many who really don't want to really win the "war on drugs" anyway. When you factor in how many people are in jails and prisons for these crimes while we are forced to parole those who are serious and chronic threats due to overcrowding, it's a no-brainer to me.
Interesting post, Stew! You are a plethora of information!!!!
Ferd, I'll be frank here and say that this is one of the issues where my being a part of the black community does affect my opinion. As I look at inner city violence and the issues in the black community, I can only relate it to one other time in our history and that is what we saw in the Italian-American community fueled in large part by the Prohibition. There is little doubt in my mind that had the policies of Prohibition continued, many of those problem would have continued. I was tempted to write a book where I reported some of the headlines about drive-by shootings and turf battles from that era and showed some of the parrallels. Creating such a lucrative black market is counterproductive and uneccessary, particularly since there are many who really don't want to really win the "war on drugs" anyway. When you factor in how many people are in jails and prisons for these crimes while we are forced to parole those who are serious and chronic threats due to overcrowding, it's a no-brainer to me.
I suspect we are very close in our views on this.
__________________ If I do something stupid blame the Lortab!
I think that a lot of times there is a disconnect between theory and reality. There are some things that may sound good as a principle, but break down in real life and when you factor in the human elements, greed, and other issues. I don't like drugs, but our current drug laws are inconsistent, illogical, and create more problems than they actually solve because at the end of the day, I can still log off now, go buy me some weed from an almost infinite number of places in Houston and be back in time for a very interesting Monday Night Football game.
__________________
There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chuck Norris lives in Houston.
Either the United States will destroy ignorance, or ignorance will destroy the United States. – W.E.B. DuBois
Either way I'll take it as a complement.
No, it wasn't me!
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