And he’s the kind of person that worries me. He does it over and over again. He’s wrecked his car 3 or 4 times, always while driving stoned. Luckily, he’s never killed or injured anyone but himself.

And field sobriety tests are OK as far as they go. But they don’t work so well if the driver is already unconscious in the hospital or dead in the morgue.

And as far as the “most people don’t get high and drive, they do it in private places.” argument, well, in my experience, we always* did it in private locations BECAUSE IT’S ILLEGAL!

*Except for concerts….

And like I said, I think the current system is seriously broken, and I do think some sort of legalization is in order. The lessons learned from alcohol prohibition are pretty clear. And if weed were suddenly made legal, I’d plant a few seeds myself.

I’m just saying, there are potential consequences that we really need to think through with this stuff.

I never said it was. I said it wasn’t necessarily fearmongering.

However, just to be clear, opposing our obscene drug laws does not mean that we take a lassez-faire attitude. I have no problem whatsoever with strict labeling laws, restrictions on where, when, and how you can use or sell it, etc. Heck, if you want to, let’s have a law that says selling or even giving the stuff to minors merits you a 20 year stay in the slammer, and if a kid dies using drugs you sold them, you get charged with their murder. I’m fine with that.

Arnold: Your response illustrates my point perfectly: the only reason you support these obscene laws is because you just don’t like druggies. I actually admire you for your honesty on that one.

I also admire the fact that you do not trot out the obscene lie that these laws are a protection for families. Becaue they aren’t. They destroy families more effectively than any drug possibly could.

Making drugs illegal does little to make driving safer. If someone wants to intoxicate themselves before driving, there are all sorts of ways they can do so legally.

In any case, I’m guessing you aren’t that familiar with marijuana, as marijuana causes risk-averse behavior. You’re much more likely to be honking at him for driving 10 mph under the speed limit.

And sober isn’t necessarily safe. Frankly, your lo-cal diet probably makes you a much bigger risk than someone who smoked a couple puffs on a joint before heading to the local movie theater. In addition to the strong possibility of hypoglycemia-dulled reflexes, there’s also the well-known correlation between hunger and rage.

It’s just that I’ve had it up to my eyebrows listening to people whine about their rights to use the stuff. I just wish to hell these folks would hide themselves in some (hopefully air-conditioned) closet and zonk themselves out where none of the normal nine-tenths of humanity have to listen them acting pious about taking dope. As if this were some sort of crusade for human rights.

And just to get things straight, Deadrody, I don’t drink anymore. Because it’s bad for my lo-cal starvation diet. I don’t even drink real coffee anymore. Just decaf once/twice a day, with some salt-free peanuts, almonds, cashews, raisins and figs. So I have to be numbered as one of the most cold sober dudes alive.

And I never said I want to punish druggies because I care about their families or their communities. To be utterly candid with all of you, it’s my ass I care about. When I’m behind the wheel of my auto, I have to think:

“That guy coming at me down the opposite lane of this 55 mph highway at a combined closing speed of 110 mph, is that guy stoned out of his mind, like so many kids these days? How long would it take me to flick the steering wheel to the right and run it into that ditch, in case he steers his buggy into my lane? Will the crash into that ditch save my life or will it kill me just as if I took a head-on? Or will the airbags snap open like a big white parachute and save me?”

Do I trust people in general anymore to use common sense in the daily management of their lives? No way. It’s not that kind of America anymore. Maybe it hasn’t been for 60 years and more, and I’ve been fooling myself about it.

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI

Everyone agrees you shouldn’t operate dangerous equipment when intoxicated, but we have those rules for all kinds of legal substances.

And if drugs are generally legal, that means that research into synthetic drugs which are far more addictive will be legal

Given what people will do for heroin and coke, I doubt anything can be significantly more addictive than what’s out there now. In any case, it will always be an individual’s choice whether to consume something. We need to educate people not to use drugs rather than using government force to oppress them when they do.

It’s really not even close.

BTW, jay, while there are currently no chemical tests for being impaired due to marijuana, there are field sobriety tests that you can use just like you can for alcohol.

I would, however, point out that there are occassionally prosecutions for driving while impaired due to drugs. But they are very rare. Why ? Well, because the simple fact of the matter is, drunk people often get drunk at a bar and are compelled to drive home. That decision making process is both driven by the alcohol and impaired by it at the same time. On the other hand, people that smoke pot generally do so in private and are not compelled to go anywhere for the most part.

Simply put, the idea that there will somehow be a spike in “driving while stoned” the truth is, there are millions of people smoking pot regularly, and they don’t commit that crime, really, at all.

I’m in favor of legalizing most drugs, but not all drugs are the same. Drugs like heroin can be really, amazingly bad. In places (well, more times) where heroin was legal, it caused amazing amounts of damage. And if drugs are generally legal, that means that research into synthetic drugs which are far more addictive will be legal. As I understand it, for many people heroin is the sort of drug where unlike alcohol, there’s no such thing as responsible usage. Once you try it, you have to have it. With synthetic drugs, we can expect that researchers will find drugs that are far more addictive, and for more of the population.

It’s not obvious that all drugs should be legal.

The law is a blunt instrument. Welfare reform does mean that you’re punishing people who are poor. People will only get better when they want to get better, and sometimes that means that you have to make things worse for them before things will get better for them.

There’s a reason, after all, why Winston Churchill called this a “world of sin and woe”.

“Drugs hurt families!”

Yeah right. So put my mom or dad or brother or sister in jail. Because you want to support my family. Put my daughter or son in jail because you care about my family.

Give me a break.

Stop lying. You don’t give a shit about my family. You just want to punish druggies.

You want. To put. Sick people. In jail. That’s all you’re about. Why don’t you just admit it, you hypocrites?