Drugs, Anyone?
There's been a lot of talk about legalizing marijuana to establish a means of raising more money for individual states who choose to legalize it. President Obama was asked about it the other evening(He said "I don't think that's the way to go.")
I personally think it would raise a lot of money, but I doubt it could "solve" the economic crisis we're currently in.
My politics have certainly skewed much more Liberal the past several years, but even Liberals do not espouse "legalization of all drugs" as Libertarians (who believe in the freedom to do with your own body, what you will, so long as you hurt no one else.)do.
My feelings? While I freely admit I've personally tried marijuana (3 times in my life) and even the potentially very dangerous "Ecstacy", or "X" as it is commonly called,(4 times in my life), I can say positively that if tomorrow, drugs were free, legal, and even if they were unable to hurt me, I still would have NO desire to use them.
I do not want to be intoxicated, simple as that.
Which is why I do NOT believe legalization would cause more folks to use, or use more frequently. The fact is, some people feel a desperate need to get high--no matter what. These people will do so--no matter what. If these folks would get counseling, and discover WHY they need to get high(Bipolar Disease(what used to be called Manic-Depressive Illness is one possibility, as users often say they don't feel "normal"--the "self-medication"(using) that results is often an attempt to "feel better"), they might not feel the need to keep using. Talk-therapy with a quaified therapist, and possibly prescribed medications(Medicine has come a long way, and if deemed absolutely necessary,some meds are incredibly effective, when used short-term)could "stabilize" their brains so that using drugs to get high, would not be so attractive. Sadly, most of these folks will continue to use, until they develop lung cancer from smoking, or pancreatic cancer, or sclerosis of the liver, from drinking(Alcohol is certainly legal, but every bit as damaging to both body, and soul) and die.
There is also the argument that by definition, a user/addict is hurting others, and I know first-hand, how true that statement is. The lives of countless friends, siblings, sons, daughters are damaged irrepairably by friends, siblings, or parents whose first focus is on getting high, not on being a friend, a sister or brother, or a parent.
Bill Maher and other witty, creative folks(including the late, great George Carlin) have long argued for legalization of marijuana and other drugs, for "practical" reasons(how much time,money, and energy are we spending on chasing down, and locking up pot smokers?How about the lack of room at our jails and prisons?Shouldn't that be used for violent offenders?)as well as their obviously "personal"(they enjoy smoking dope) ones. While I absolutely support one's right to indulge, SO LONG AS YOU DO NOT HURT ANYONE ELSE(whatever that means), I feel a need to speak up about something no one ever seems to address.
If you currently smoke pot, or use any illegal drug, unless you get it "home-grown"--that is, grow it yourself, or obtain it from persons THAT YOU KNOW are unaffiliated with drug cartels, you are SUPPORTING TERROR AND MURDER. Yes, you are.If you purchase from someone whose "contact" or "supplier" is from Mexico, Bolivia, Columbia, etc.--you are supporting, in a very real way, kidnappings and murder which occurs in those countries(as well as many others) on a daily basis. If you receive your drug of choice from Afghanistan, or Pakistan, you are supporting The Taliban, and those who would do harm to the United States via their religious-political extremism, no question about it.
I cannot respect you as a human being, if you don't think about this, let it sink in, and vow to NOT use from "outside" sources.
While I do not smoke ANYthing, or use ANY drugs, I am NOT judging the behavior of using. I AM telling you to be mindful of WHERE your drugs come from--if you are engaging in exchanges of money or accepting--even for free--the drugs from folks who work as distributors for cartels, you are supporting the murder of not only those men who work with these thugs of organized crime, but the rape, torture, and murder of their families--women and children, too. Period.
Read CNN's columnist on the drug war, below. And think about WHERE you get your intoxicants, if you must intoxicate yourselves.
Peace, kids.(Peace doesn't harm your body or mind, and Peace can be a great "intoxicant")
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Read Jack Cafferty's column, from CNN, below!
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/31/cafferty.legal.drugs/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
7 comments:
Good post, Lisa! You make some very valid points.
Your only faux pas, is assuming heroin use supports the Taliban. The Taliban is more dead-set against drugs than the most radical extreme right-wing Evangelical.
If you'll recall, the Taliban almost had poppy cultivation eradicated, till WE invaded Afghanistan and treated it like Lazarus, raising it from the dead.
Liberty is NOT having the Gubmint protecting you from yourself.
You make a good point about drugs and what you would do it they were legalized, etc. I believe there would be a lot less of a mess on our hands, both economically and mentally if we were to legalize marijuana. Too much money and time is spent by the powers that be in the so-called war on drugs with so very little results especially in the realm of pot. It is not a gateway drug as many have claimed. alcohol is more of a gateway drug than weed; more dangerous and less healthy to boot.
Off now to read some more of your posts.
Peace...
Brother Tim--Hi there!I definitely agree with you that we(US Gov't) "resurrected" The Taliban,by invading and then "rebuilding" Afghanistan. But don't assume because they (The Taliban)are "dead-set against drugs" in terms of their "dogma", that they don't profit from the sale of drugs. ;)
The Poetry Man--Hi! Welcome to my blog.
Thanks for your input. And I agree--Marijuana IS probably less damaging than alcohol--though I do not use either drug.Peace, man.
Bonjour Lisa,
Quite agree with you to fight drug use, any drug as long as it is not a glass of red wine I like to drink with dinner in the evening.
Brother Tim is right, the Taliban eeradicated poppy culture in Afghanistan.
I know a lot of people who are more or less alcoholics but I don't know a single junkie and I've never met one in my whole life. Still I hear from them nearly every day........
Coming back to Afghanistan, I wonder who finances this costly war against NATO troops. Don't think it's poppy alone. Do you have any idea about that??
Georg
Georg--Hallo!!I am NOT FOR using all our resources to "fight" drug use. I do not believe it makes much, or any difference, whatsoever. If someone wants drugs, they're going to get and use them, simple as that.
btw, I'm with you on a bit of red wine being nice with dinner. It's only folks who overuse/abuse/have addiction disease or disorders that hurt themselves with alcohol.
I don't know for certain, but I HEAR that Afghan folks who support The Taliban, are supported by extremists in Saudi Arabia(ex-patriots, like Osama bin Laden, etc., etc.)
Peace, ya'll.
You are part of a growing segment of the population who see past the propaganda of the drug war.
While outright legalization will never happen, it's time to de-criminalize and regulate most illegal substances.
The two most powerful proponants of prohibition are the government and the drug cartels. What does that tell us?
It's past time for a sane, humane, and economically sensible policy to be discussed.
What am I saying? Since when is government sane, humane or sensible?
At least the people get it.
Dave Dubya--Actually, I believe all drugs(eventually) WILL be legalized. Gov't cannot "legislate" morality.
Frankly, there are other "vices" that should be made legal also--we(our government) could use the taxable income! ;)
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