^ I was not using "you must" as an empty accusation that goes unanswered, like your commentary toward the government. I am saying that wherever all this harm is coming from, it is not a big enough problem for you.
The crux is your argument is that the current situation is a problem. How big of a problem is it?
"Mexican drug war toll: 47,500 killed in 5 years"
1. Some people are going to break the law regardless of how logical the law is. Making things illegal does not fix what is wrong with them, but it does limit the extent of the damage.
If the harm can be reduced in some way that is good.
Making a substance which someone ingests in an attempt to escape reality/withdrawal, a substance which has been in demand for thousands of years (in the case of naturally occurring, plant-based constituents) illegal will open the floodgates to chaos in every way imaginable. There will be much death, destruction, competition, opposition, and so forth to get the substance in question to the hands of whoever wants it.
It was initially racial motivation (and not health concerns) which made certain drugs illegal. Afterwards, it was political. Every drug czar to have ever been appointed by the president of the United States had a background in law enforcement, and none in any type of science relevant to the topic at hand whatsoever. It's quite obvious when you read the following:
"Marijuana leads to homosexuality... and therefore to AIDS." - Carlton Turners (President Ronald Regan's Drug Czar)
2. Could you imagine on one hand that a government is killing 47,500 for participating in harmless recreation and amusing itself with its wealth, while on the other hand also imagine a business selling heroin to people that is not corrupt?
Other than Heroin, a drug developed by Bayer, the makers of Aspirin, which was sold OTC in pharmacies all over the US, nothing is left to the imagination when you substitute Heroin with an alcoholic beverage, or a pack of cigarettes.
More people in the US die each year from second-hand smoking than all street drug-related deaths combined.
3. Because of the illegal status of drugs, dealers are exposed to litigation. If you make drug sales legitimate, then one facet of the problem improves, but the trouble does not simply vanish. Things only work in your favor because of government regulation. The current regulation may not prevent all crimes against you, but it does prevent as much as it can.
You mean like it does for big pharma when they're found guilty of fraud? A slap on the wrist every time (an easily affordable fine), a just punishment for being responsible for the deaths of countless patients?
4. For those who can stay within the confines of the law, things work out, so why in the world would a majority of voters want to expose themselves?
Not everyone can idly stand by like a selfish conservative capitalist while their government is systematically kicking addicts to the curb while they're down on their backs, and in need of medical attention.
5. I am sure it sucks that you are willing to put up with all the negative consequences in order to use your drugs. So you must need them pretty bad. That sucks for you and that is why in school they teach you not to even get started on them. Some users get cleaned up and try to find a way to better their lives but drugs make it hard to deal with ordinary life. The government does not make money the same way that drug dealers make money, by burying their community.
Many addicts are victims of circumstance. They didn't ask to become physically dependent on some potent prescription painkiller after a life-changing accident. They didn't want to be abandoned by their doctor after complaining of severe full-like symptoms after running out of pain medication. They didn't know that their doctor would interpret their distress as the beginning of addiction (when in fact it was withdrawal from physical dependency - something completely different). Even though they had a right to be on pain meds, they were kicked out on their ass. When they couldn't take it anymore, they turned to the black market - some to heroin (which is converted to morphine in the body).
6. Legitimate drugs are being abused just as rampantly. They are regulated for extremely justifiable reasons. That is another reason I can not see how you blame legislation. It has nothing to do with limited access or bad production. What is easier to understand is this justifes behavior by blaming it on someone else. As if the litter on the street justifies me tossing trash out the window.
Big pharma is happy you vouch for them and their sometimes fraudulent research and clinical trials.
7. Drugs are abused and addictions occur and they do cause significant harm. So for something that does nobody any foreseeable good, and does harm people, making it non-criminal does not cure the more serious problems.
Please elaborate the more serious problems, because right now with the current drug policy, addicts are dying left and right because:
- The clandestinely manufactured street drugs they use are never pure, sometimes cut with a very dangerous adulterant, and they never know the exact dosage they are using.
- The needles they use are shared and therefore HIV, Hepatitis C, and so forth is adding to the carnage.
- The sky high prices they pay for a fix requires them to live a malnourished, dangerous lifestyle of prostitution, theft, drug trafficking, drug smuggling, etc.
- When an overdose does occur, any other person present never calls 911 because of fear of prosecution.
8. Teaching children how to do it "safely" is going to increase use. They already teach children about drugs. The ones that are safe and the ones that are not.
No drug use is 100% safe. None. Zero. There's always a risk involved.
9. Making drugs legal is going to increase use and this is going to increase the cost associated with drug use. The patterns and cost of drug use on a national level can be explained by the pattern of drug abuse we see on a personal level.
That may be true in the short term, but long term studies and statistics have shown that, for example, tobacco use has been in decline over the past decade.
Decriminalizing all drug use has had the same effect in Portugal.
Drug prohibition is not the answer, never was. It's proper education and tolerance with those who do have issues which will lead to a better outcome.
Addiction is an effect of human unhappiness and human suffering. When people are distressed, they want to sooth their distress. When people are in pain, they want to soothe their pain. So the real question is not "why the addiction" but "why the pain".
PS - If 47,000 Americans (the majority innocent bystanders) lost their lives due to drug cartel-related violence, you can be damn sure that drug laws would have been reformed long ago.