Singer Tony Bennett calls for legalizing drugs

[FrodosPet]

16. If only it were that easy

Legalizing drugs will not solve all the problems. For example, if an addict is broke and desperate, when the "flu bug" hits them hard, they are going to steal - if not from strangers, then at least from friends and family. After all, I've been ripped off by drunks seeking a perfectly legal fifth of Jim Beam. Plus gambling, loansharking, truck hijacking, protection rackets...I suspect the best we can hope to do is reduce the influence of organized crime by 20%, if that.

If a huge tax is placed on it, organized crime will be undercutting the legal price. Alcohol and cigarettes are legal, yet criminals are still making money off of them.

As for reducing the amount of drugs taken, I've been blessed to never have been a cokehead, but I've been a toker for over 35 years. If I could go down to the corner and buy at will, I probably would go wake and bake pretty much every day. Other people's mileage may vary.

As for purity and safety: people around here seem to get upset when you talk about these factors in relation to MJ at least.

I'm not a prohibitionist (at least not for MJ - with drugs that can kill you through overdose I am). I am just saying we need to understand the whole picture and prepare accordingly. In other words, don't go off into "la la la la la everything is perfect now" land, only to be smashed when reality strikes back.