Question:
If drugs were legalized, wouldn't that put dealers out of business, and then create regulated companies/corporations that delt in "drugs"? Wouldn't it then bring the cost down considerably? Wouldn't also answer the argument "what's worse, the stoned guy hitting the car of people vs. the innocent bystander being shot in a rival dealer shootout" be answered by essentially erasing the latter?
I am still undecided as to legalizing drugs, hence the questions. Have you seen "Traffic"?
It always reminds me of the gun debate, should people be allowed to carry a gun to protect themselves? People always freak out and say "can you imagine the chaos if everyone had a gun?" but what they fail to remember is that there are very few people that actually would WANT to carry a gun around.
Back to drugs, "If we legalize drugs, could you imagine the chaos of everyone getting stoned, or spun out on crack or whatever". There we go again, how many of us would suddenly decide to go destroy our brains all of a sudden? Wouldn't the problem basically fix itself? Sure things might get a little hairy at the beginning, the media would have a frenzy, drug commercials, movies, etc. But if/when a majority of the drug crime dissapeared, then what? (Or would the crime persist?) Just because it'd be legal doesn't mean it'd be accepted, same as alcohol for a lot of people. Companies, professions, they could still all have their rules about drugs, as they have them for alcohol. People wouldn't suddenly be allowed to roam the streets high. You'd still be responsible for yourself, but at lest now the drug wars would be regulated...
All the questions stem from my opinion that the government is not here to take care of US, it's here to take care of the country, and it's borders. I feel that the government should stay out of my life (never touched drugs, never will) until I go out in the street and run someone over, steal something, blow something up, or hurt someone. Then it is protecting it's interests, and the interests of others by locking me away. But at the same time, it's not the governments job to predict my actions, or to keep removing my rights in a hope that someday, so many rights will have been removed, that there's no way I can commit a crime, but at the same time, there's no way I can live my own life.
I'm looking for viewpoints on both sides, as I've seen this question alluded to in a few recent posts.