DRUGS, ANYONE?

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