Everyone Loves Marijuana Prohibition (Except the 44% Who Don't)
The CBS debate between Judge James Gray and David Evans continues today, and you are going to absolutely love it (if your idea of a good time is listening to a judge explain why the drug war doesn’t work, while a frustrated drug warrior sputters redundantly).
I think my favorite part is an attempt by Evans to explain all the reasons why you can’t compare alcohol prohibition with drug prohibition. This one topped his list:
Apparently, David Evans hasn’t checked out the comment section yet. Incredibly, he appears not to even understand why he was invited to participate in a marijuana legalization debate in the first place. Literally, the whole point of this dialogue is to indulge the raging debate over marijuana policy that now grips the nation. If there were a "national consensus" in favor of marijuana prohibition, you wouldn't have spent the last two days on the CBS website arguing against legalization.
I think my favorite part is an attempt by Evans to explain all the reasons why you can’t compare alcohol prohibition with drug prohibition. This one topped his list:
(1) During prohibition the government sought to restrict the consumption of alcohol although lacking the consensus of the nation. Even during Prohibition most people had experience with and accepted alcohol. That is not the same today for illicit drugs. Prohibition went against the national consensus whereas the current drug policies do not.
Apparently, David Evans hasn’t checked out the comment section yet. Incredibly, he appears not to even understand why he was invited to participate in a marijuana legalization debate in the first place. Literally, the whole point of this dialogue is to indulge the raging debate over marijuana policy that now grips the nation. If there were a "national consensus" in favor of marijuana prohibition, you wouldn't have spent the last two days on the CBS website arguing against legalization.
Looking for the easiest way to join the anti-drug war movement? You've found it!
Hey man go easy on Mr.
Hey man go easy on Mr. Evans. Logic isn't his strong suit.
How can someone debate against something they have never tried?
Would you listen to a person who is telling you how bad lobster tastes if they have never tried it themselves? Then they compare it to the terrible taste of shrimp, but they have not actually tried shrimp either.
Then the experienced person is trying to explain that lobster is very good, but raw liver is not so good. Then the other guy says that he is wrong, that he has heard countless law enforcement officers tell him that lobster taste just like dog crap, so that is how he knows lobster taste bad.
This is how most of these marijuana debates come down to these days. People need to take a bite of lobster before they start ranting about how bad they think it tastes. You fill me?
True but....
What you say would make most parents nod in agreement. Small children always make the same argument when it comes to trying new food. The claims by prohibitionists are equally childish and, like children, they should never be allowed to play with guns. Someone always gets hurt.
I would make the point, though, that many prohibitionists and police have tried drugs, particularly cannabis. It's just that they're really big hypocrites... and liars to boot. More people are asking the right questions these days (such as: Why are we spending more and more money on a war we're always losing?) and that's making it a lot harder for the prohibitionists to sell their special brand of bullshit. The only thing they can do is employ that old political trick of not answering the question but just repeat the same tired, old lies instead.
Do you have to drink bleach
Do you have to drink bleach to know its bad for you? Do you have to taste it to know it will taste bad?
haha Mr. Anonymo above me
haha Mr. Anonymo above me knows that bleach isn't good for his health. Any right minded person wouldn't use drinking bleach as a metaphor for smoking the reefer.
I think that simple minded
I think that simple minded people like the fellow stated above is why the country is in the shape it is in. People need to open there minds and consider the cost. The drug war needs to be fighting against the Herion, Prescription pills, Extasy, Cocain, and lets not forget the big one that is bring our country down more than ever, METH. There hasn't been one overdose on marijuana ever reported. Alcohol and tobacco has so many more dangerous effects than any of the drugs i stated above. More people die from Herion, Pills, Boo's, Cigs, MEth, cocain....so why don't we redirect the war to these fronts? Lets leave the stuff that is no more harmless than a Soda pop alone. Anyone who has ever done marijuana would agree!
Harm done to others is key
No one will argue that abuse of drugs like cocaine, heroin, MDMA and others is not a bad thing. The problem is people do harm to themselves all the time in so many ways. If I drink too much alcohol and end up in the hospital because of it, I have not a committed a violation of the law. If I do the same with heroin or any other illicit drug I am subject to severe penalties. That is plainly and obviously wrong.
People need to be held accountable for what they do to others, not to themselves. If every potentially fatal act was illegal, the world would be a very different place. If skydiving could be made into a highly valuable commodity simply by changing the law, it would be illegal tomorrow.
We live in world where the dangerous activities of some are ignored, condoned or even promoted. Others must face harsh penalties for doing things that are often less dangerous.
As Judge Gray says perfectly, when we have true system of regulation in place for all drugs, we can focus on those people who truly cannot handle themselves and cause harm to others because they use drugs.
Great post
So simple and yet so profound. I copied it to my Senators and Congressman, with this small addition to your final paragraph:
"As Judge Gray says, perfectly, when we have a true system of regulation in place for all drugs, we can focus on those people who truly cannot handle themselves and cause harm to others because they use drugs", via the use of our (Constitutional) criminal statutes.
I'm pro-choice on EVERYTHING!
Evans Needs To 'Chill'
I bet David Evans has never smoked weed, drank a beer, or banged a hottie. He's the weirdo hanging out in glasses and suspenders at the bar hoping he hooks up with big whale women. Don't listen to this guy manipulating facts. The truth is that marijuana is harmless when compared to our 'legal' thrills in alcohol, cigarettes, and pills.
Prohibition and the National Consensus
“During prohibition the government sought to restrict the consumption of alcohol although lacking the consensus of the nation.”
So Mr. Evans admits he understands why people hate having idiotic alcohol laws shoved down their throats instead of booze. And that means drug laws are different because the laws allegedly don’t get forced upon the unwilling? Or is it because these uncontrolled substances haven’t been legalized and regulated yet? Consensus, defined as harmony and agreement, is the end game, not the beginning.
drug war mania
let people do what they want until they hurt someone then lock them up. You could spend 8 trillion dollars and the flow of drugs will keep coming. this is the reason for our extreme national debt. The AMA knows pot isn't bad for you anyway.Whoever is for legalizing it all, vote libertarian with me!
Libertarian
Yes, I will vote Libertarian!
Hold on now
Mr. Evans cites the skyrocketing of abuse when crack cocaine was more readily available and equates that with increased THC levels in cannabis. Sorry, Mr. Evans, but our own U.S. Government via the CIA was importing mass amounts of coke into the country. It's old news. Now, are we to assume that we have lax border security that is allowing drugs to come into this country, or are the criminals really that much smarter that they can sneak it in so easily? If he's willing to go on record as saying he's too stupid to stop the flow of drugs- kudos for honesty! In the meantime, the war on drugs is SO successful, Mexico is calling for NATO to come in. Sorry, but when a narco state is on your doorsteps, "more of the same" seems to be a dangerously foolish approach.
Some debate. One man has
Some debate. One man has seen the falseness and tyranny and says "enough".The other man can't see, but say's there is never enough.One of them is deliberately $tupid. The public can see this for themselves ,and so consensus changes.
Gateway Drug
Alcohol it's not a gateway drug you can't get any higher than when your totally slobber faced drunk! And it's legal so the collateral damage is acceptable in the eyes of the media.
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