Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Prison overpopulation answer

One of California's and probably most states largest social and financial problems is prison overpopulation. Do you have any idea how much it costs to house and feed prisoners? One incredibly logical idea has been staring us in the face from the beginning. Decriminalizing drugs! I know that drugs do incredible damage to people and society. I also know there's not a law in the world that can keep a junkie from his drugs. Drugs have been against the law for years and years now. Has the usage even slowed down one little bit. No, it's gotten worse and worse.

Decriminalization may lead to more addiction in the short run, but it will take drug trade away from the gangs, causing the price of a fix to plummet along with the rates of murders, shootings and theft. With the many billions of dollars wasted on this useless debacle of a "war on drugs", we are no better off than we were when it began in the Nixon administration. Abandoning this idiocy would save lives and tons of tax payer money. Education and drug treatment programs are much cheaper, more effective methods. Use some of those billions we waste on housing and feeding these unfortunate drug addicts in ways that might actually start solving this huge ongoing problem. For those addicts who don't want help, that is their choice and they just might solve it for us all by simply dying and taking their apparently insurmountably personal problems with them. As we all know, you can only offer anyone help. The ultimate choice of action is their own to make, not ours.

Nor do I think the rise in addiction would last. Losing it's outlaw cachet, drug use would cease to be "cool" and would quickly be seen as what it is, a sinkhole for pathetic losers. The lessons we learned from the prohibition of alcohol should be applied across the board.

I really think that the only reason this insanity is still going on in this inlightened day and age is the pressure from the alcohol companies to keep it illegal, therefore keeping them rich with their "legal" drugs.



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Come on.......DO IT!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Right on Paul... but the fact that prisons are the biggest industry in America and the money and jobs it creates for the Blue Meanies will not go away before the second coming. Legalize drugs and you could fire half the cops in america and elliminate two thirds of the prisons.....My God Man, watch what you say cause look what it would do to employment and PERs.

Ray Robinson
Deadwood, Oregon