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From the polls I've seen, we've passed the point were the majority believe, at least marijuana, should be legalized. However, it's going to take a while to over

by learc83 15y ago

From the polls I've seen, we've passed the point were the majority believe, at least marijuana, should be legalized. However, it's going to take a while to overcome the legislative inertia. The war on drugs should be a lesson to everyone in limited government. This is a great example of what happens when we massage the constitution, so that "interstate commerce" includes me growing weed in my basement.

_delirium 15y ago
Unfortunately I think it has more to do with societal attitudes than specifically constitutional ones. In a previous era where the prevailing understanding of the interstate commerce clause wouldn't have allowed that kind of regulation, it still didn't stop anyone: they just passed a constitutional amendment to ban alcohol. I'm guessing that if some of these drug bans had been struck down 50 years ago, they would've been re-introduced by constitutional amendment amidst a flurry of hand-wringing about heroin in our streets.
- learc83 15y ago
  That is definitely a good point. And in any kind of democratic government, even an indirectly democratic republic, it is hard to resist the will of the overwhelming majority. However constitutional amendments are generally incredibly hard to enact. It took over 50 years of constant warfare before the prohibitionists finally got what they wanted, and it only lasted a little over a decade. If I've learned anything, it's that other people are generally idiots, therefore I want to minimize their ability to impact on my life.
joejohnson 15y ago
Also, cocaine is a lot further from being decriminalized. However, it is still ridiculous someone could face up to 40 years in prison for non-violent crimes. The number one reason for incarceration in the US is drug-related offenses. From wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_Sta...): - 1 in 100 adult Americans is in prison (the other 99% are effectively paying for that) - only 7.9% of inmates are for violent crimes
- learc83 15y ago
  Yes, I'm for legalizing all drugs. Our incarceration rates are insane. My local sheriffs office is building a brand new 115 million dollar jail to house 1500 inmates. Our county only has about 130,000 people. Are there really 1,500 people out of 130,000 that are so dangerous they need to stay locked up to protect everyone else.
  - 2muchcoffeeman 15y ago
    I fail to see why people bring this up as an argument to legalize drugs. This is really only an argument to change the penalty so you don't go to jail.
    - joejohnson 15y ago
      Even if drug offenses held a less-serious punishment, there would still be an immensely wasteful amount of money spent trying to find and apprehend drug criminals. This whole underground market is thriving; instead of collecting tax revenue, we are using taxpayer money to enact an impossible ban.

by learc83 15y ago

_delirium 15y ago

Unfortunately I think it has more to do with societal attitudes than specifically constitutional ones. In a previous era where the prevailing understanding of the interstate commerce clause wouldn't have allowed that kind of regulation, it still didn't stop anyone: they just passed a constitutional amendment to ban alcohol. I'm guessing that if some of these drug bans had been struck down 50 years ago, they would've been re-introduced by constitutional amendment amidst a flurry of hand-wringing about heroin in our streets.

learc83 15y ago
That is definitely a good point. And in any kind of democratic government, even an indirectly democratic republic, it is hard to resist the will of the overwhelming majority. However constitutional amendments are generally incredibly hard to enact. It took over 50 years of constant warfare before the prohibitionists finally got what they wanted, and it only lasted a little over a decade. If I've learned anything, it's that other people are generally idiots, therefore I want to minimize their ability to impact on my life.

joejohnson 15y ago

Also, cocaine is a lot further from being decriminalized. However, it is still ridiculous someone could face up to 40 years in prison for non-violent crimes. The number one reason for incarceration in the US is drug-related offenses. From wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_Sta...): - 1 in 100 adult Americans is in prison (the other 99% are effectively paying for that) - only 7.9% of inmates are for violent crimes

learc83 15y ago
Yes, I'm for legalizing all drugs. Our incarceration rates are insane. My local sheriffs office is building a brand new 115 million dollar jail to house 1500 inmates. Our county only has about 130,000 people. Are there really 1,500 people out of 130,000 that are so dangerous they need to stay locked up to protect everyone else.
- 2muchcoffeeman 15y ago
  I fail to see why people bring this up as an argument to legalize drugs. This is really only an argument to change the penalty so you don't go to jail.
  - joejohnson 15y ago
    Even if drug offenses held a less-serious punishment, there would still be an immensely wasteful amount of money spent trying to find and apprehend drug criminals. This whole underground market is thriving; instead of collecting tax revenue, we are using taxpayer money to enact an impossible ban.