RJT> 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.
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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.
RJT> And opportunists on the shady side of things will look to
RJT> profit from it.
So true. And if Clinton has his way it will eventually end up that
way with cigarettes. Sure, they can drive the price up, even make
people have to go through black market, but many still aren't going
to quit. What *will* happen though, is that there will be that many
more people robbing and stealing so they can get the money to pay the
high prices. I don't see where prohibition has ever worked.
JO> And I don't have a problem with learning from that history...
RJT> One good thing that comes out of that,  people can observe
RJT> what it does to those few individuals,  and see what making
RJT> that choice gets you.
Absolutely. Like my mother always says: Never say someone is "good
for nothing", some people are good to serve as a bad example.
JO> as long as we don't call it a "disease" but a choice,
RJT> Yes!
JO> behavior.
RJT> How about all the bad behavior on the part of the governments?
RJT> Asset forfeiture,  in particular,  scares the heck out of me
Me too. I remember when they started the forfeitures--it was only
supposed to be so mega-rich drug dealers couldn't get out on bail
and skip off with all their assets. Sure, *that* sounded like a
plan...but then, the feds started doing it to the rich, til finally
it's mostly the simple average citizens. I even heard about them
going in and stripping a church right down to the fixtures! I forget
why, but honestly, a CHURCH?? Crooked Bingo games, maybe?
RJT> -- you can be traveling, and without due process,  or without
RJT> any recourse,  they can just take your vehicle,  your cash,
RJT> even your _house_,  and all too often there's not a damn thing
RJT> you can do about it.
That's right. Heck, you can't even carry a large amount of cash
without them taking it and claiming you must be guilty of *something*
since "only drug dealers carry a lot of money". Hey, some folks just
don't like banks! The feds just want to force everyone to use banks,
checks, and credit so they can keep track of them. I consider that an
infringement on our freedom of movement, not to mention that it
implies guilty until proven innocent.
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),
RJT> _Both_ parents working is no doubt part of the problem.
And they have to so they can pay the bills...and TAXES.
JO> so ultimately the kids probably have too much money, too much
JO> time to kill, and not enough parental guidance.
RJT> Yep.
I may not be a parent, but if the parents throwing money at the
problem doesn't work, I know darned good and well, it won't get
any better when the government throws even more money at it.
... Children will walk where we walk, not where we point!
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