Regulation, Not Repression

[PFlynn]

Throwing more money at the problem is no solution. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime.

Taxing and regulating marijuana, the most popular illicit drug, is a cost-effective alternative to a never-ending drug war. As long as marijuana distribution remains in the hands of organized crime, consumers will continue to come into contact with hard drugs like methamphetamine. This "gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy.

Given that marijuana is arguably safer than alcohol - the plant has never been shown to cause an overdose death - it makes no sense to waste tax dollars on failed policies that finance organized crime and facilitate hard drug use. Drug policy reform may send the wrong message to children, but I like to think the children are more important than the message.


Source: Santa Barbara Independent,The (CA)
Copyright: 2008 The Santa Barbara Inc.
Contact: letters@independent.com
Website: The Santa Barbara Independent

 

[zolar]

seems like it could make the race more interesting if you ran an ecnomic modeling program on thegovernments own estimates of the value of the pot crop as taxed and with liscense fees and started asking canidates if rthey would be willing to try a ten year national regulatory experiment puttinh all revenues into retrofitting schools for green tech and geothermal and developing renewable energy

 

[PFlynn]

^Well said man.

 

[Herb Fellow]

Regulation is not the answer either. Freedom is . . . without taxation!