What is your political philosophy?

[Cruella]

The older I get, the less tolerant of the left and more conservative I become.

I'm also a recovered Democrat.

 

[dogtowner]

So what of the 9th amendment that states we have other rights not enumerated in the Constitution?

they are outside the realm of federal jurisdiction and therefore moot in this discussion.

 

[steveox]

The older I get, the less tolerant of the left and more conservative I become.

I'm also a recovered Democrat.

Ill bet youre gonna re-elect Obama

 

[dogtowner]

Ill bet youre gonna re-elect Obama

I got a buck that says 'no'. You on Big Man ? : )

 

[Pandora]

Two reasons:

The result of the war on drugs has been an explosion in the numbers and power of violent gangs in this country and in others. We have a de facto war going on in Mexico between the cartels and the Federales fueled by fighting over who gets the lucrative privilege of smuggling drugs across the border. Our inner cities have become much like war zones as well due to fighting over "turf", i.e., places to sell illegal drugs. Moreover, pot growers are taking over public lands, shooting at hikers and anglers who wander into their "plantations" and creating environmental havoc where they do their growing.

Second, there is nothing in the Constitution that allows the federal government to regulate what substances are and are not legal.

Those are interesting reasons. I am not sure why you think the first reason will go away. Drugs being legal or illegal they always seem to come with violence and trouble, the trouble will just end up in the high schools and middle schools where I would hope they will still be illegal. Even Ron Paul isn’t advocating selling to kid’s right?

The second reason, I don’t know about either. The constitution was changed to make blacks a full person and that was a good thing and we have made laws that add new departments in like the FDA and it turns out its important to know where our meat comes from.

I thought your answer would be more on the lines of, we spent a whole lot of money fighting the war on drugs and it’s not worked so we should just give up since it’s a lost cause.

 

[dogtowner]

Those are interesting reasons. I am not sure why you think the first reason will go away. Drugs being legal or illegal they always seem to come with violence and trouble, the trouble will just end up in the high schools and middle schools where I would hope they will still be illegal. Even Ron Paul isn’t advocating selling to kid’s right?

The second reason, I don’t know about either. The constitution was changed to make blacks a full person and that was a good thing and we have made laws that add new departments in like the FDA and it turns out its important to know where our meat comes from.

I thought your answer would be more on the lines of, we spent a whole lot of money fighting the war on drugs and it’s not worked so we should just give up since it’s a lost cause.

it is a lost cause. high time to admit it's failre and look for more effectve approaches to the myriad problems that it has spawned.

 

[PLC1]

Those are interesting reasons. I am not sure why you think the first reason will go away. Drugs being legal or illegal they always seem to come with violence and trouble, the trouble will just end up in the high schools and middle schools where I would hope they will still be illegal. Even Ron Paul isn’t advocating selling to kid’s right?

We already learned what happened when prohibition was passed. The war on drugs is the same thing, only more intense. Alcohol is still illegal on high school campuses, and yet we aren't seeing the violence that was a part of prohibition being transferred there.

No, not even Ron Paul is advocating selling drugs to kids, at least I don't think he is. Making drugs legal and then regulating their sale would most likely make them less available to kids, nor more.

The second reason, I don’t know about either. The constitution was changed to make blacks a full person and that was a good thing and we have made laws that add new departments in like the FDA and it turns out its important to know where our meat comes from.

Yes, the Constitution was amended to make blacks a full person, and yes, that was a good thing. The constitution has not been amended to allow the federal government the right to decide what drugs are and are not acceptable, however.

I thought your answer would be more on the lines of, we spent a whole lot of money fighting the war on drugs and it’s not worked so we should just give up since it’s a lost cause.

It's worse than a waste of money and a failed government program. It is resulting in increased violence in our country as well as in Mexico and in Colombia. It is also unconstitutional. But yes, it is a lost cause as well.

 

[Pandora]

We already learned what happened when prohibition was passed. The war on drugs is the same thing, only more intense. Alcohol is still illegal on high school campuses, and yet we aren't seeing the violence that was a part of prohibition being transferred there.

No, not even Ron Paul is advocating selling drugs to kids, at least I don't think he is. Making drugs legal and then regulating their sale would most likely make them less available to kids, nor more.




Yes, the Constitution was amended to make blacks a full person, and yes, that was a good thing. The constitution has not been amended to allow the federal government the right to decide what drugs are and are not acceptable, however.





It's worse than a waste of money and a failed government program. It is resulting in increased violence in our country as well as in Mexico and in Colombia. It is also unconstitutional. But yes, it is a lost cause as well.

Trying to keep illegals out has been a failure and big waste of money, should we give up on that too? and just say everyones legal?

 

[PLC1]

Trying to keep illegals out has been a failure and big waste of money, should we give up on that too? and just say everyones legal?

Trying to keep illegals out does not lead to violence, nor does it fund violent gangs, and no, we should not give up on that and make everyone legal. That was tried back in the mid '80s, too, and it was a disaster.

What we should do is try an effective policy to keep the illegals out, but that would not be in the interests of the big donors who pay for campaigns and who depend on cheap labor.

 

[dogtowner]

Trying to keep illegals out has been a failure and big waste of money, should we give up on that too? and just say everyones legal?

no. we are taking a predictably hopeless approach to illegal immigration b y doing about everything in our power to encourage it (with welfare and appeasement) and ignoring the obvious tactics.

 

[Pandora]

Trying to keep illegals out does not lead to violence, nor does it fund violent gangs, and no, we should not give up on that and make everyone legal. That was tried back in the mid '80s, too, and it was a disaster.

What we should do is try an effective policy to keep the illegals out, but that would not be in the interests of the big donors who pay for campaigns and who depend on cheap labor.

I think we should try an effective policy to keep the illegal drugs out too but the 420 crowd gets bigger and bigger so the support to fight it gets smaller and smaller. Truth is if drugs were legal I’d probably try them for pain and just hope I didn't develop an addiction.

 

[PLC1]

I think we should try an effective policy to keep the illegal drugs out too but the 420 crowd gets bigger and bigger so the support to fight it gets smaller and smaller. Truth is if drugs were legal I’d probably try them for pain and just hope I didn't develop an addiction.

I don't think I'd try them even if they were legal. What's the up side?

What do you think would be an effective policy to actually win the war on drugs?

420 crowd??

 

[Pandora]

I don't think I'd try them even if they were legal. What's the up side?

What do you think would be an effective policy to actually win the war on drugs?

420 crowd??

Well why I think I would try them is because I hate going to the doctor and I try to self-diagnose and self-medicate when possible, I can see using various drugs for pain exc. instead of going to a doctor and getting something.



So the upside is if you hate doctors as much as I do you can self-medicate



I am not sure what would be an effective policy; I just know the current way isn't working. We throw tons of money at the problem and then are very inconsistent on dealing with it.



Cocaine has one penalty (small) and crack has another (huge) but they are both basically the same thing. Just one drug is done by more wealthy people and one by poor.



In one state a drug can put you in prison and in another state that same drug might get you a fine.



I think we should come up with a real solution before we just give up.

I feel the same way about illegals



The people who are constantly advocating to make pot legal are called the 420 crowd, they all love ron paul too J and whenever a talk show host says Mary Jane should stay illegal the 420 crowd starts calling in freaking out!

 

[dogtowner]

I don't think I'd try them even if they were legal. What's the up side?

What do you think would be an effective policy to actually win the war on drugs?

420 crowd??

not sure what a 420 crowd is but you really want to combat it then you have to make it socially unaceptable. That means drug testingto get/keep a job (any job), get any sort of government benefit. but that will never happen.

 

[PLC1]

Well why I think I would try them is because I hate going to the doctor and I try to self-diagnose and self-medicate when possible, I can see using various drugs for pain exc. instead of going to a doctor and getting something.



So the upside is if you hate doctors as much as I do you can self-medicate

You can self medicate now. Aspirin is legal, and probably one of the most effective medications we have. It's cheap, too.

I am not sure what would be an effective policy; I just know the current way isn't working. We throw tons of money at the problem and then are very inconsistent on dealing with it.

I'm not sure that there is and effective method of outlawing drugs, but throwing tons of money at a problem and getting only negative results isn't it.

Cocaine has one penalty (small) and crack has another (huge) but they are both basically the same thing. Just one drug is done by more wealthy people and one by poor.

You've noticed that, too. Yes, it seems that the wealthy can get by with things that the poor would be thrown in jail for.

In one state a drug can put you in prison and in another state that same drug might get you a fine.

That is pretty inconsistent for sure. Moreover, here in California, having a joint will get you a small fine if the cops bother at all. If you step on to federal land, as in the national forests or national parks, it can get you thrown in jail.

I think we should come up with a real solution before we just give up.

The real solution is education so people can make an informed decision, along with the federal government stepping aside and allowing the states and individuals to decide the issue. The Constitution does not give the feds the right to outlaw pot.

I feel the same way about illegals

I think most of us do.

The people who are constantly advocating to make pot legal are called the 420 crowd, they all love ron paul too J and whenever a talk show host says Mary Jane should stay illegal the 420 crowd starts calling in freaking out!

Oh. I hadn't heard that term.