Changes

* '''Drugs''':  I disagree that prohibition has never worked.  From my reading many years ago (the books were borrowed, so I don't have them now), prohibition in the United States was a roaring success, even to the extent that prisons were being closed for lack of prisoners, as (alcohol-fuelled) crime was down.<br />''Regulating'' drugs rather than ''banning'' them is little more than playing with words.  If you regulate drugs, you are really doing things like ''banning'' them to people under 18 years old, ''banning'' stronger versions in favour of weaker "safer" versions, ''banning'' them above a certain quantity per month, ''banning'' their sale without sales tax, or whatever.  Every such "regulation" (partial ban) is potential black market.  Although smoking (tobacco) is strongly discouraged here in Oz these days (and use is way down), it is still legal, yet black market trade in cigarettes has still been known to happen.  And remember that such drugs (marijuana, heroin, etc.) are banned ''for a reason'', that being that they are ''inherently'' dangerous (some more than others).  So by legalising and regulating them, you're basically ''encouraging'' people to take stuff that's dangerous!  How is that in any way the responsible thing to do?

* '''Drugs''':  I disagree that prohibition has never worked.  From my reading many years ago (the books were borrowed, so I don't have them now), prohibition in the United States was a roaring success, even to the extent that prisons were being closed for lack of prisoners, as (alcohol-fuelled) crime was down.<br />''Regulating'' drugs rather than ''banning'' them is little more than playing with words.  If you regulate drugs, you are really doing things like ''banning'' them to people under 18 years old, ''banning'' stronger versions in favour of weaker "safer" versions, ''banning'' them above a certain quantity per month, ''banning'' their sale without sales tax, or whatever.  Every such "regulation" (partial ban) is potential black market.  Although smoking (tobacco) is strongly discouraged here in Oz these days (and use is way down), it is still legal, yet black market trade in cigarettes has still been known to happen.  And remember that such drugs (marijuana, heroin, etc.) are banned ''for a reason'', that being that they are ''inherently'' dangerous (some more than others).  So by legalising and regulating them, you're basically ''encouraging'' people to take stuff that's dangerous!  How is that in any way the responsible thing to do?

[[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 06:11, 23 September 2008 (EDT)

[[User:Philip J. Rayment|Philip J. Rayment]] 06:11, 23 September 2008 (EDT)

==Drugs==

==Drugs==