Full legalization will work even better if enough tax revenue is set aside for public health treatment. There will always be addicitive personality types who need help and not jail.

Or start throwing alcohol abusers in prison, too.

Drug pushers exploit addicts, and should be prosecuted, for the good of society at large. Whenever right-wingers argue against decriminalization, this needs to be brought up. Decriminalization won't keep pushers out of jail.

First, the black market for drugs would be destroyed, with attendant lay offs in smuggling as well as wholesale and retail sales. In many parts of the country this is vital to the local economy. Profits for drug manufacturing would be way down. The prison industry would go into decline, with an impact on all the industries that depend on prison slave-labor. There would be increased unemployment in all the related profession, bail-bondsmen, security and prison-guards, police, paid-informants, chemists, etc., etc. Then there is the added costs to tax payers of hiring more teachers to educate all the former drug users, and the increased costs of recruiting police when there are no more drugs for them to sieze and use or resell. Then, too, the prices of black-market stolen goods would go way up without an army of addicts desperate for their next fix. Simply put: legalizing drugs would be a financial disaster <sarcasm>!

Did you ever think of that?

I can dream can't I?

Wall Street has many, many people deserving of the for-profit prison system.

how far a little compassion goes. good on Portugal.

insensitivity has become the norm

n/t

In addition, I have a cousin who worked for the justice Dept before he worked for Ken Starr. This guy is as conservative as it's possible to be -- Opus Day, full-out right winger.

Even HE said that the "War on Drugs" was un-winnable, and we should simply decriminalize them. (I think he may have even said we need to just give up and legalize them, but I don't remember). I DO remember sitting at Thanksgiving with him years ago while he explained to his mother that as soon as we get rid of one dealer, 10 others rush in to fill the gap, and we should be putting our resources elsewhere.

Even a blind pig....

I may be looking for a new progressive place to live toward the middle part of November of this year.