Perhaps the good plan today is to legalize certain controlled substances so that we can tax the industry and add it to the list of things that this country sacrifices for the worship of the almighty dollar.

So, what is this battle worth? Is it worth the billions of dollars we are spending in Iraq?

Maybe.

Who is the enemy? We know from the media that the sale of poppies that infiltrate their way in to the United States are partially funding the terrorist efforts in Afghanistan. Are we talking about terrorists who stand to gain from this ecomic venture? Maybe.

Or, is the enemy someone we aren’t expecting? Maybe the enemy is in our midst. Maybe the enemy is one of us. Is he even an enemy at all?

Allow me to explain. I went home to small town nowhere for the Fourth of July this summer. I went to a party that was hosted by some people that I knew from my youth. Inadvertantly, I encountered many members of the legal community at this function. Some already lawyers, some would-be lawyers from various schools.

Several minutes later, I realized these pillars of society were high as a kite. Since my stance on life in general can best be summed as “Hugs not Drugs,” I quickly left the function.

Saddened and disgusted with state of things, I began to ponder… well, if this is what is really going on, what do we stand to lose by legalizing the illegal?

Then the tiny little angel on my left shoulder said loudly and clearly, “no!”
Under no circumstances will you compromise your ideals for the sake of convenience.

This may be the most valuable battle that is fought. I won’t be content knowing that illegal drugs will be legally and readily available to the masses - educators, drivers, doctors, fireman, and the like - you get the drift.

The effects of illegal drugs on the body is taboo for the most part. I know of no studies to name where patients are given low to high doses of crack cocaine or heroine in an attempt to nail down the effects on the body.

What are the long-term effects on the individual? What are the effects on the individuals offspring? Who knows? I’m not willing to find out.

Some say…If you can’t beat them, join them - or in this case joint them.

But not me.

The government is not really keeping addicts from getting their fix, it’s merely ensuring that his money goes to support organized crime, a point you already made.

Perhaps the redeeming value in the government’s “war on drugs” is that the commercial unavailability of “hard drugs” does in fact prevent the merely curious middle schooler from getting hold of it. However, as is evident from the post below this, I do not believe it is the government’s job to educate children.

So yes, lets stop wasting millions of tax dollars every year on a “war” that is unwinnable.