[Curtman]

Gunnair Gunnair:

Actually, I'm arguing against your panacea that legalizing drugs will make the bad guys go away, not against legalizing drugs.

Well that's good, because nobody ever said that they would go away. You could focus on your red herring, or talk about the wasted law enforcement resources and the violence created by prohibition. But you enter each and every one of these threads to argue against a position that nobody is taking.

I guess you must enjoy it, so I'm happy for you.

[Gunnair]

Curtman Curtman:

Gunnair Gunnair:

Actually, I'm arguing against your panacea that legalizing drugs will make the bad guys go away, not against legalizing drugs.

Well that's good, because nobody ever said that they would go away. You could focus on your red herring, or talk about the wasted law enforcement resources and the violence created by prohibition. But you enter each and every one of these threads to argue against a position that nobody is taking.

I guess you must enjoy it, so I'm happy for you.

$1:

End prohibition. Decommission the gangster gravy train.

Yeah, you're not peddling your simplistic solutions again. Nothing to see here.

[Freakinoldguy]

Legalize it and if the gangs continue to sell their better product at cheaper prices that the Government they'll eventually financially hurt the Governments bottom line which might make the police actually take some action against them.

But all this is a moot point until the US does it to. The only way you'll get rid of the Marijuana growing gangs is to eliminate their largest customer. Of course when this happens the gangs will change product and we'll have a crack, heroin and meth epidemic, but hey as long as the dope smokers are happy who cares.

[Zipperfish]

"Study says." Boy, as a scientist, I've really learnd to dread these words.

I'm with Gunny on this one. The organized crime elemnet will simply subistutue the next best thing on the list if pot were legalized and made easily accessible and cheap. Note the last two conditions. Simply decriminalizing pot will not do it. If it is still difiicult and/or expensive to get the black market will continue.

There's lots of reasons to legalize pot, not the least of which is that it is a fairly harmless drug and that a free people should be able to decide for themselves if they want to indulge in a drug with little societal impact. Or that marijuana has a number of cheap, practical medical applications. Or that legalizing marijuana will result in net economic benefit.

But legalizing simply to deny the benefit to the black market doesn't isn't sufficient to me; on those grounds alone you'd end up legalizing crack.

[Curtman]

[Gunnair]

Of course, another way to avoid supporting gang violence is to not buy drugs from gangsters.

With respect to pot, which you advocate as a recreational drug, consuming it is like having a beer. So instead of indulging in the narcissistic desire to have a high at the expense of public safety, get it legalized first, then get high. Or plant your own and consume it then.

Until that time, man up, show some leadership, and abstain until it's legal to show that you will not support gangs.

[PublicAnimalNo9]

Gunnair Gunnair:

Of course, another way to avoid supporting gang violence is to not buy drugs from gangsters.

With respect to pot, which you advocate as a recreational drug, consuming it is like having a beer. So instead of indulging in the narcissistic desire to have a high at the expense of public safety, get it legalized first, then get high. Or plant your own and consume it then.

Until that time, man up, show some leadership, and abstain until it's legal to show that you will not support gangs.

Your post assumes that anyone that grows and sells weed is connected to OC. There are still plenty of independent growers out there.

[Curtman]

Gunnair Gunnair:

Of course, another way to avoid supporting gang violence is to not buy drugs from gangsters.

With respect to pot, which you advocate as a recreational drug, consuming it is like having a beer. So instead of indulging in the narcissistic desire to have a high at the expense of public safety, get it legalized first, then get high. Or plant your own and consume it then.

Until that time, man up, show some leadership, and abstain until it's legal to show that you will not support gangs.

What are you on about now? I don't buy it, but I smoke a few times a year. Don't pin your narcissistic alcoholism on me.