Mani said:
There's nothing wrong with doing a little coke, speed or extacy now and then and the people who tell you not to are usually born again christian scum who preach nothing but hatred.
Ahh, but there is. There is an unseen cost to drug use that most people tend to forget; who is getting the money for your buying "a little coke, speed or extacy now and then".
Trafficking in illicit drugs tends to be associated with the commission of violent crimes for the competition of drug markets and disputes among individuals involved in the illegal drug market. In order to re-establish the rule of law and fight down the anarchy there is a need for more police, jails, and courts. The money used to fund these legal systems comes from taxes of the citizens.
I know what you are thinking. Instead of harping on the costs of drug prevention, save the money by legalizing it. With no violations prohibiting or regulating the possession, use, distribution, or manufacture of illegal drugs things would be great. No more need for all those cops and courts and trial lawyers. The U.S. Bureau of the Census conducted surveys of State and Federal prison inmates for the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Bureau of Prisons found the majority of prison inmates reported they were under the influence of drugs at the time of their offense. This same set of studies also found that a huge majority of crimes were committed to obtain money (or goods to sell to get money) to support drug use. Instead of tax money being spent on arresting those with the drugs, it gets spent on combating those who commit crimes while under the effects of mind-altering drugs. Not much better.
Lets look at another way. Long term use of illegal drugs can lead to major health problems, and since long term drug users are unlikely to have the jobs that pay for health care, they burden the medical system for those that can, increasing the costs for everybody.
The effects of all drugs, including marijuana is impairing thinking, reading comprehension, and verbal and mathematical skills, even after the high as abated. Can these people hold highly complex jobs of engineers, doctors, programmers, architects. What do they contribute to society? Would Edison the pot smoker have created some 1093 inventions? Can you see a coke snorting Yoshiro Nakamatsu create some 3,000 inventions. Could Carl Koller even create cocaine if he had been high on extacy or marijuana?
Then again, I might be just another Christian scum who preaches nothing but hatred against the mindless, marching morons of modern civilization as parasites living off the achievements of others.
Drugs are for those who lack the strength or character to face reality.
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