Janada Oakley wrote in a message to Mike Angwin:
MA> I would suggest, sooner or later, we are going to have to admit 
MA> that no matter what we do, no matter how much money we waste, 
MA> no matter how many of our civil liberties we give up, and no 
MA> matter how many otherwise innocent people we put in prison, a 
MA> certian percentaged of the population is going to use drugs.
MA> Nothing we have done will alter this.  The people that are 
MA> opposed to using drugs will remain opposed, and never use them, 
MA> and the people who want to use them will continue to do so. For 
MA> all the good intentions, all the honest efforts, all the 
MA> reasoned arguments, the whole thing is a total waste.
 JO> As hard as it is to believe, I agree with you. Some people WILL 
 JO> do whatever it takes (that 3.4%) to get drugs. 
And opportunists on the shady side of things will look to profit from it.
 JO> And I don't have a problem with learning from that history...
One good thing that comes out of that,  people can observe what it does to 
those few individuals,  and see what making that choice gets you.
 JO> as long as we don't call it a "disease" but a choice, 
Yes!
 JO> and we don't ever let it be an excuse for any form of bad 
 JO> behavior.
How about all the bad behavior on the part of the governments?  Asset 
forfeiture,  in particular,  scares the heck out of me -- you can be 
traveling,  and without due process,  or without any recourse,  they can just 
take your vehicle,  your cash,  even your _house_,  and all too often there's 
not a damn thing you can do about it.
 JO> Personally, I don't really care if a guy (adult, anyway) gets 
 JO> high in his living room...I do feel bad for his ultimate fate, 
 JO> but it's not for me to break down his door and decide for him. 
 JO> But if he decides to drive that way or commit crimes to support 
 JO> his habit, then it should be open season on him. The Heinlein 
 JO> rule should apply: "Your right to punch me ends just short of 
 JO> my nose." And none of this namby pamby "War" on this and "War" 
 JO> on that, the Clintons love so much. It's a joke...and a bad 
 JO> one.
It sure is.
 JO> An example of what's happened with the huge flow of drugs is 
 JO> all the kids od'ing on heroin here in Plano. I don't know what 
 JO> the answer is. The school system is better than most here, so 
 JO> education didn't stop them. It's a well-to-do town (both 
 JO> parents usually work at very good jobs), 
_Both_ parents working is no doubt part of the problem.
 JO> so ultimately the kids probably have too much money, too much 
 JO> time to kill, and not enough parental guidance.
Yep.
email: roy.j.tellason%tanstaaf@frackit.com 
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