(should this be moved into politics? ...in any case.)
Quote:
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Originally Posted by zen_tom
I guess it's cheaper to employ customs guards and law enforcement officers than it is to employ Doctors, Nurses and Psychiatrists.
If you make guns freely available, you will have people misuse them and cause themselves (and others) damage. Even the most gun crazy states in the US will restrict peoples access to REALLY powerfull weaponry because they don't want to have to clean up the mess. It's just easier that way. And in countries where gun ownership is illegal, surprise surprise, there are fewer gun-related deaths per capita.
Likewise drugs. If you restrict availability, fewer people will tread down dangerous paths. If people want to tread down those paths, they are going to do it anyway - legal or not. If you keep it illegal, fewer people will take those chances.
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I disagree...
First, if drugs were legal they could be taxed. If they were taxed then that tax could reflect the social cost of rehab programs, etc. Also, I do not feel that many people who do not do drugs now would do them if they were legal. Ask any random person who does not do drugs why they choose not to. Most people will tell you something to the effect of "they're bad for you" or "I wouldn't want to alter my state of mind" or "I wouldn't want to become addicted". Very few people would say that they don't do it because it's illegal, as it being illegal, in actuality, merely makes it more difficult and expensive to obtain, but does very little to curb use on a consumer level.
Secondly, and this is where I feel it gets somewhat more complicated, making drugs illegal makes them more destructive. If drugs were legal they would likely be much less expensive. People addicted to expensive drugs would not lose their livelihoods trying to suuport their habits. As the financial burden of drug use decreases, people would not steal and kill for drugs, so drug-related crimes would significantly decrease. However, there are some drugs to which the "less destructive" idea does not apply. These would be drugs that have been shown to induce violent behavior, and these should not become legal.
And personally, I think that education is a better prevention than law.