From: billn@hpcvaac.cv.hp.com (bill nelson)
Subject: Re: Drug Legalization. Was: College Was: Perot
Organization: Hewlett-Parkard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 01:42:34 GMT

dong@oakhill.sps.mot.com (Don M. Gibson) writes:
: 
: Tangent on the issue.  Increased usage effects of legalization for 
: alcohol and drugs will not be similar at all.  Drugs (except pot) 
: are *extremely* addictive.  So addictive, in fact, that a
: one-time experiment can lead to a life-time addiction.  That cannot
: be said for alcohol and that is why they are different.  

I will be up front here - This is a load of crap. There are no drugs
that are anywhere that addictive. That includes the most addictive
drug in common use - tobacco.

By the government's own figures, about 30% of regular users of cocaine
become addicted. Note that it is regular users and not just those that
try the drug.

Since your statement is wrong about what is probably the second most
addictive drug used, it cannot be true for the others.

: Further, if legalized, the big pharmaceutical companies would take
: over.  They would develop drugs, which are 90%-95% addicting 
: on the first try.  Picture samples being mailed to every home
: in the country.  I think this would be a problem.  Remember,
: these are the same people that are busy mapping all your
: genes.  (please don't think i am a conspiracy nut.)

No way. How could they when it is rather easy to produce a number of
the drugs? Also, there is no way they could get a patent on the drugs
to legally keep others from producing them.

If they produced a drug that is 90-95% addicting on the first try, which
is probably impossible, I doubt if many people would use it. Some people
will try anything - many are smart enough to find a little about a
substance before they use it. Unfortunately, it appears that you would
not be one of those. You certainly know little about the current drugs,
and they have been around for a long time.

As far as that goes, there is not really a problem with being addicted
to a drug. The problem is when this addiction starts to affect the lives
and safety of others. It is also a problem when a person is a danger to
others because he/she is distracted because of an argument with a spouse,
or upset because an expected pay raise did not come through, or their
child did not get elected to the "New Brownshirts of America Club", etc.

No, I don't think you are a conspiracy nut. You do appear to be a
hysteric when it comes to something you do not know much about.

: I believe that there is hope for winning the "war on drugs".

So do quite a few other people who see the world through rose colored
glasses. Look to history, then re-examine this belief of yours. Prohibition
has NEVER worked.

If a person wants something bad enough, no laws to the contrary will stop
him/her from obtaining it. There will always be someone willing to supply
it, if the payoff is good enough.

: But the current plan won't work.  The guys at the top are
: not touchable.  The guys at the bottom have nothing to loose.
: The guys in the middle are vulnerable, but there are lots of
: dealers waiting to take their place.  I think with a super
: effort to stop money laundering, the middle guys can be
: squeezed out.  Stop the ability to spend the profit and 
: you stop the drug sales.  This is sort of the way they got
: Capone.

The got Capone for income tax evasion. They did not get him by stopping
his ability to spend money. Back then, there was no need to "launder"
the money.

The US government has little interest in stopping the drug trade. It would
have a number of undesireable affects. The populace, without this distraction,
might start looking at the real problems in this country - such as starving
people, the fat-cats who are ripping off the savings&loans and banking
industries, the political deals that are being made by congress with special
interest groups who contribute millions to their "war chests", etc.

There would also be a large number of "drug enforcement" agents that would
be out of work who would have to start looking for honest work for a change.

Try reading alt.drugs for a while. You might actually learn some real facts,
not the lies and distortions put out by Partnership for a Truth Free America.

By the way, the only drugs I use are legal. Unfortunately, I am a tobacco
addict - a habit I have not been able to break, as of yet. If I drink
alcohol, then I do not drive - Period. I see no reason why a person, as
long as they are not endangering the lives or property of others, should
be prohibited from injesting any substance that they might be foolish enough
to take.

Bill
Xref: sparky talk.politics.misc:17527 alt.drugs:7391 misc.legal:9070