How about changing the laws on Illegal drug use & sales?

Question

OK this is a question I thought I would never be asking.
I am an extreme left wing liberal in just about all political issues, but I am God**mn sick and tired of all these senseless murders on our streets whiping out these beautiful young otherwise healthy able bodied kids of ours. The N R A with all it's money and political clout have pretty much eliminated even the slightest possability of any gun control laws, and the meager ones we do have apparently don't work at all, so let's try something else.I am asking all of you if you think we as a country should pass a simple law nationally that would give anyone found guilty of buying or selling illegal drugs an automatic LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT THE POSSABILITY OF PAROLE, regardless of age. I don't care if your 13 or 103. (No discretion by the courts) Everyone will know the automatic sentance and will know what they are getting into before they do it. It will cost the tax payers alot at first, but will save lives and tax ultimately.

Answer 1

You're criminalizing symptoms of a disease. What is the CAUSE of drug use? Poverty is a big one. Focusing on eliminating poverty would be the best step.

The majority of people in jail are minorities as well, so your policy is a bit racist.

People know the penalty for murder is death, but it still happens. America already has the highest prison rate in the world and this hasn't solved the crime problem. If more prison were the solution, America would already be the safest country in the world.

Answer 2

Yes, I'd agree with you we need to do something. I'd think we either have to make it all legal OR alternatively, keep it all illegal and increase the penalty so high that no one will dare break the law. Other countries , that have more serious consequences do show that they have less crime . Of course, there are many that are going to argue that they aren't civilized. They will say it's cruel / unusual punishment for going to jail for a buying or selling an illegal drug.

I'd almost support the legalization of it all . In many foreign countries, prescription drugs are sold without prescriptions because they can't afford doctors. The pharmacist is the primary health care provider point of contact. People walk into pharmacies and the pharmacist tells them what to take for various conditions . You do not see these people lined up to abuse morphine. If they legalized all this stuff, they would have the tax benefit / the drug cartels, gangs, stree people would get cut out of the business . They say terrorist are getting involved with drug cartels. If they found a way to make it all legal and regulate it , no one would be as interested in it. Less people would die ? I believe it would become like alcohol is now. Anyone can buy it in a liqour store. Has alcoholism inceased since prohibition ? I am not really sure of if there are any studies about this , these are just a few theories. I do think that we need to take a position one way or another and then stand by it. I'm just not sure of what it would take to change or how to do it. Being positioned middle of the fence doesn't seem to be helping us.

The MADD group has changed a lot of laws for drunk driving. Maybe a citizens group should form to try to change laws for drugs ? Make them get tougher ?

Answer 3

This question depends on what religion you are reffering to. Some religions use drugs (such as marijuana) as a tool for rituals. Mostly, Religions tell us to not do anything that "harms" the body - even though it may be in the religions past. Todays religion has been morphed from yesterdays, so rules change. Im sure this wouldn't be a problem 2000 years ago - after all, didn't Jesus have wine with his disciples at the last supper? Drugs have always played a part in history. And don't let religion control your moral beliefs - let you control them.

Answer 4

you did not lie when you said you are a liberal lol ha. look at your self wanting to jump right to elimination and don't care about it type policy! OK I do see your point but the idea would have more holes and problems then the ones we have now. see you don't give room to filter FALSE PROSECUTION and still what would this do? when people get the idea that "prison is just the new hood" that just makes them not care and will make them more violent and destroying. now things do need to be changed but not to the extreme look at what this would you want absolutely no guns then fine but then what some one could just go next door with a knife and oops no guns to defend your self if the wire is cut so how do you stop crime then! another idea corrupted have a nice day thank you.

Answer 5

Just what we need, to fill up the jails with drug users instead of murderers and rapists.

Making drugs even more illegal is not the answer. Every time there is a "crack down" on drug related crimes, violence escalates.

Crime surrounds drugs because drugs are illegal.

I think the solution is the other direction. Relax and repeal the laws that make drugs illegal. Sell through stores and collect taxes on the sales. Use the taxes to pay for treatment programs to help people that are addicted.

If you have read about prohibition in the 20's you might understand my point. Prohibition created organized crime, it did not reduce drinking or drinking deaths.

Some drugs like pot as on the same level with alcohol. We allow appropriate usage of alcohol. We should also allow appropriate usage of many of the street drugs.

Answer 6

If you put everyone in jail who buys, sells, or uses drugs, you will suddenly find yourself alone. It is a plague on our society, and locking them up would be disastrous on our economy, both because of the outright cost, and because of the loss of productivity (yes, believe it or not alot of drug users still have jobs).

What we need to do instead is make anyone caught and convicted of drug use/sale/or possession serve community service. The worse the drug, &/or the larger the quantity, the longer they have to serve. And they don't get cushy assignments like reading to kids or walking pets at the pound. Instead they get many hours of hard labor - cleaning up litter, removing graffiti, moving lawns at public parks, or doing whatever else society needs done, but we can't afford to do. Personally I think the more dirty, difficult, and demeaning the job is, the better effect it will have on them as some people would rather go to jail than be embarrassed or have to work hard.

Having them do community service rather than go to jail will save society enormous amounts of money, which could be put to better use including new schools, health care, and anything else we need. And not sending someone to prison who is caught with one joint is better for society as well because you don't take a minor criminal and turn him into a hardened and violent criminal by sending him to Prison University.

The money you save by not sending them to prison can go to treatment - mandatory treatment of course, which they will begin when they report for community service. I know treatment is usually considered a dirty word (and doesn't always work anyway) because alot of people think it means you are being soft on crime, but it isn't like the enforcement & anti-treatment concept has worked much over the past twenty plus years - anymore than the mandatory sentencing laws have worked.

Continuing to do the same thing over and over again (for decades upon decades) long after it has proven to not work it the height of ignorance and waste of tax dollars.

Community service, even if it didn't do anything else would at least result in less trash, and graffiti, and other blights in our cities, and probably less pollution in our lakes, and nicer cleaner parks, etc, etc, etc. It would be cheaper, would serve the same purpose if not potentially better, and wouldn't continue turning out criminals who were worse when they came out then they were when they went in.

Answer 7

No. there might be a lot of bad eggs out there but what about the ones trying to change and the ones that do change. automatic life in prison is not an answer.

Answer 8

I would consider that to be cruel and unusual punishment totally out of proportion to the the crime. The drug laws are stupid and discriminatory due to selective enforcement.

Legalizing drugs would end the violence associated with it, just like repealing prohibition stopped violence over alcohol.

Your idea is the antithesis of liberal thought you sound like a "leftest" of the Stalinist variety.

Personally, I think people should be able to do what ever they want in the privacy of their own homes including killing themselves with drugs -- if they commit crimes while they are "on drugs" prosecute them for those crimes, not drug use.

Answer 9

Dude, harsh sentences don't stop drug use. If we put mandatory life sentences on drug offenses, our country would go bankrupt with prison costs. Making drugs LEGAL would stop violence, because then dealers won't have to be criminals, killing people to avoid being identified and going BACK to jail. Life sentences would increase violence. Look at capital punishment - does it stop murders from happening? nope.

Answer 10

I'm not sure life in prison is the answer; but I do know the tendency for courts to "slap their hands" several times doesn't work either.