I was watching some cable news show today and the panel, libertarian, was of the opinion that it’s America’s war on drugs that is the major driver of the migrant surge on the border as normal folks flee the violence and enslavement that occurs south of us.
Personally, I have no problem with legalizing any and all drugs for recreational purposes, with the caveat that if your drug use interferes with your basic survival needs, that’s on you -- no govt help for addicts, no free medical treatment, no nothing. Individual responsibility.
But if America legalized drugs, what comes next? How would legalizing them here in America, stop the cartels from producing them in Mexico and elsewhere when they have the rest of the world supplying demand? Does anyone believe that illegal drug factories and distribution networks would suddenly go legit and supply drugs to Americans legally?
Demand would likely drop, but by how much? And it would be foolish to think that just because you could buy meth here, legally, that plenty of people would not continue to buy it illegally due to cost or other factors.
And the cartels, if one revenue stream disappeared, what illegal activity would they then turn to? Neither the cartels nor the gangs here are just going to dry up and disappear. When Prohibition ended, our gangs just put more effort into gambling, drugs, and prostitution. There’s been an explosion of casinos in the US over the last 40 years to where the number of Indian casinos exceeds 500 and yet illegal gambling is still a multi-billion dollar business.
Legalizing drugs may be the “right” thing to do from an individual liberty perspective, but it won’t stop the violence and economic distress south of us, and it won’t dampen illegal immigration.
Boy, rereading that…it sounds so misish. It’s not that I wizened up by that age, it’s that I had a good dad who never missed a chance to talk us kids through these conundrums and sometimes it took months or even years for us to really understand something. I just happened to remember at what age we got to that point in that particular discussion. I was entering high school and I was anxious to understand the parameters of the drug war especially since I knew nothing about drug culture. It seemed important to be able to not be a complete nieve Mormon rube. Turns out, no one ever spoke about the subject in an intellectual manner and even the teachers hadn’t read The Federalist Papers.
Good morning and happy Monday, GN! What fresh hell awaits us today?
Happy unhappy kitteh Monday, Gerbil Nation!
Good morning, Sven!
I’m not sure if I’d take that cone of shame off that kitteh -- ever.
Sven -- I hope your BiL is doing better.
Thanks, Paddy -- he was OK over the weekend and sees his doctor tomorrow.
Good morning everyone. Keeping the prayers going all around.
Also thanks for the well wishes, but my problems are nothing compared to most others. I appreciate all the listening though.
This was funny
And this.
.
Hi Plaguie!
{{{hugs}}}
shhhh… I’ve really gone back to sleep.
I’ll try to be quiet.
A Miss Harper sighting!
yup!!!
I was watching some cable news show today and the panel, libertarian, was of the opinion that it’s America’s war on drugs that is the major driver of the migrant surge on the border as normal folks flee the violence and enslavement that occurs south of us.
Personally, I have no problem with legalizing any and all drugs for recreational purposes, with the caveat that if your drug use interferes with your basic survival needs, that’s on you -- no govt help for addicts, no free medical treatment, no nothing. Individual responsibility.
But if America legalized drugs, what comes next? How would legalizing them here in America, stop the cartels from producing them in Mexico and elsewhere when they have the rest of the world supplying demand? Does anyone believe that illegal drug factories and distribution networks would suddenly go legit and supply drugs to Americans legally?
Demand would likely drop, but by how much? And it would be foolish to think that just because you could buy meth here, legally, that plenty of people would not continue to buy it illegally due to cost or other factors.
And the cartels, if one revenue stream disappeared, what illegal activity would they then turn to? Neither the cartels nor the gangs here are just going to dry up and disappear. When Prohibition ended, our gangs just put more effort into gambling, drugs, and prostitution. There’s been an explosion of casinos in the US over the last 40 years to where the number of Indian casinos exceeds 500 and yet illegal gambling is still a multi-billion dollar business.
Legalizing drugs may be the “right” thing to do from an individual liberty perspective, but it won’t stop the violence and economic distress south of us, and it won’t dampen illegal immigration.
I thought it would stop the violence, too, Sven. I even admitted my foolish thoughts to my father. Then I turned 13.
Still, I’m no closer to knowing the answer. I don’t care if people smoke dope but I also don’t want to share the road with them.
Boy, rereading that…it sounds so misish. It’s not that I wizened up by that age, it’s that I had a good dad who never missed a chance to talk us kids through these conundrums and sometimes it took months or even years for us to really understand something. I just happened to remember at what age we got to that point in that particular discussion. I was entering high school and I was anxious to understand the parameters of the drug war especially since I knew nothing about drug culture. It seemed important to be able to not be a complete nieve Mormon rube. Turns out, no one ever spoke about the subject in an intellectual manner and even the teachers hadn’t read The Federalist Papers.
I guess it’s good night time.