"Marijuana, Cocaine and even Heroin Should be Legalized." -Ron Paul

Thanks for your thoughts. PRO states his desire to "advance the values of freedom, individual choice and responsibility." His main focus seems to be: (1) Individuals are accountable, and only accountable for their choices. (2) Drug use is an individual's choice. (3) To the extent that freedom of choice is constrained, human dignity is eroded. Pro jumps from these faulty assertions to this conclusion "because the choice to use drugs like marijuana, cocaine or even heroin is properly and only properly an individuals"s, drugs . . . they ought to be legalized." First lets look at a few of the faults in his assertions 1. Although accountability for my choices should be mine alone, THE RESULTS OF MY CHOICES AFFECT SOCIETY AT LARGE. 2. DRUG USE IS SELDOM AN INDIVIDUAL CHOICE. All our actions take part within our society. A drug user purchases drugs from another individual. Do we now legalize selling? My actions while impaired affect others. Do we legalize impaired driving as a free choice? My friends, family and many others are affected by my choices. Who should pay for my increased use of the medical system (Canada pays for hospitals from tax revenue) Wo pays the social cost of my addictions or habits. Do we refuse to treat people for medical problems that are a direct result of their bad choices? 3. ANARCHY IS BAD! Pro has confused freedom with anarchy. Most of our freedoms are limited . Some are limited by the laws of our land. Some are limited by where we live. Some states are more free than others. Some municipalities are more free than others. Rural areas tend to give more freedoms for private behavior as long as your exercise of freedom does not bother others. Pro argues "To the extent that freedom of choice is constrained, human dignity is eroded." This has little to do with the point of the debate. We are not debating dignity. Our debate is supposed to focus on the role of government in private life. The trigger for this debate was the statement by Ron Paul "Marijuana, Cocaine and even Heroin Should be Legalized." On to the topic. The best government should have the smallest possible involvement in private life while still meeting the other obligations of government. PRO states that the purpose of government "is to fulfill the tasks of legislating, executing legislation, and adjudicating conflicts within a sovereign territory" Those big words say that ONE MAIN ASPECT OF GOVERNMENT IS LEGISLATION. Drugs are bad. Good legislation will reduce the harm they do. PRO agrees that "the notion of the "greatest good" is in keeping with government"s pragmatic role " The most good for the most people is one practical measure of the greatest good. Because drug abuse harms so many, so deeply, they must be tightly controlled. This is a primary function of good government. PRO seems to believe that "to protect the greatest good is a secondary obligation which can only be considered after individual rights are secured and human dignity is respected" - I disagree He believes that individual rights (the right to do drugs) is more important than the expectation the community has to be protected from the damage caused by drugs. Here he is clearly wrong. A number of countries feel that even cannabis possession or trafficking are worth the death penalty - http://en.wikipedia.org... PRO also states "government erodes human dignity and strips people of their moral and ethical agency " That is the purpose of government and police. I like to drive fast. Government says I should not. (For all the right reasons) They reduce my individual freedom and take away my "moral and ethical agency" (fancy words for telling me what to do or not do). If I want to drive fast, the place to do it is on a drag strip, or on my own property, and not in a school zone. IT IS THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT TO MAKE LAWS FOR THE COMMON GOOD. I am happy that my government chooses to make laws against the possession and sale of Marijuana, Cocaine and Heroin. PRO bases his argument on individual freedom. The "American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man" is helpful here. http://www1.umn.edu... Article XXVIII. The rights of man are limited by the rights of others, by the security of all, and by the just demands of the general welfare and the advancement of democracy. NOTICE THAT THE RIGHTS OF MAN ARE LIMITED BY THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS Individual rights end where they bump into the collective rights of society. RESOLVED - drugs are bad - a claim to individual rights to use drugs should not override The reasonable expectation that good government will restrict drug use with strong laws.