A Prison State, If Not a Police State

Correspondent:: "Quirk"
Date: 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800

--------
A Prison State, If Not a Police State

by Paul Craig Roberts

The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
state.

The US, "the land of the free," has the biggest prison population in
the world and the highest rate of prisoners per capita of all countries
- including countries that President Bush believes need liberating by
US armed forces.

Even China, with one party rule and a population that is 4.5 times
larger than the US population, has 30% fewer total prisoners than the
US. China's per capita rate is a small fraction of the US rate.

The US prison population per capita is three times higher than "axis of
evil" country Iran, five times higher than Tanzania, and seven times
higher than a civilized European country like Germany.

One out of every 142 Americans is in prison - and this does not include
military prisons or INS jails.

The conservatives' war on drugs, launched during President Reagan's
first term, bears much of the blame. Between 1980 and 2000, a period
during which the US population grew by 21%, the number of state and
federal inmates soared by 312%.

Almost one-half million Americans are in prison for drugs-only
offenses. Many of them are innocent or were encouraged by federal
agents or informers posing as friends to transport small amounts of
drugs as a favor.

Consider Elaine Bartlett, pardoned by New York Gov. George Pataki in
2000 after serving 16 years of a 20-year-sentence. Bartlett was tricked
by an acquaintance, who turned out to be a government informant, into
taking four ounces of cocaine to Albany. Bartlett was given 20 years
even though she had no history of arrests or convictions and left 4
children behind, the oldest being 10 years old.

Most government informants are real criminals who escape charges or are
given lenient plea bargains in exchange for helping prosecutors boost
their conviction rates by entrapping innocent people. It is a disgrace
to the US legal system that judges permit such false convictions.

Many other innocents are in jail because police dropped small packets
of drugs - or in the Texas cases bags of ground up wallboard - into
their cars when stopped, allegedly for traffic offenses.

Society gained nothing but more criminals by locking up Bartlett. Her
six-year-old son was traumatized by his mother's absence. At the end of
every prison visit he had to be forcefully removed by prison guards
from clinging to his mother. By the time he was 10 years old, he was a
drug runner. He bought his first gun at age 12 and was in prison by age
16. You can read the whole story in the book, Life on the Outside, by
Jennifer Gonnerman.

With a legal system that mass-produces criminals, prisons are being
constructed at a breathtaking rate. An Urban Institute study, "The New
Landscape of Imprisonment," released on April 29, documents the boom in
prison construction during the last two decades.

Jeremy Travis, one of the authors, says: "The prison network is now
deeply intertwined with American life, deeply integrated into the
physical and economic infrastructure of a large number of American
counties. It provides jobs for construction workers and guards, and
because the inmates are counted as residents of the counties where they
are incarcerated, it means more federal and state funding and greater
political representation for these counties."

A number of states now have prisons in almost one-third of their
counties. Florida has at least one prison in 78% of its counties! In
1923 there were only 61 prisons in the entire US.

Another conservative idea - prison privatization - has created a
contractual monster that must be fed with a constant stream of inmates.
A variety of new police Gestapos have been created that help to keep
the massive prison complex - our own Gulag Archipelago - filled.

The most dangerous is Child Protective Services, created by Walter
Mondale in response to his constituency of anti-family feminists and
"child therapists" in need of employment. CPS was set up on the insane
assumption that a large percentage of families committed "child abuse."
CPS offices are everywhere, and employees outnumber child abusers.

The child sex abuse witch hunt in Wenatchee, Washington, was set off
when the local CPS office was told to find some cases to justify its
budget. It took years to expose and overturn one of the greatest cases
of prosecutorial misconduct in human history. Dozens of families were
destroyed and 50 children were put into foster care.

The latest report from Child Protective Services Watch documents that
children placed in our "child protection system" are 5 times more
likely to die from physical abuse and 11 times more likely to be
sexually abused than they would be from remaining in the homes from
which they are removed!

Mondale and his "child advocates" got their Gestapo legislation passed
in 1974. A quarter century later there are 500,000 US kids in the
"child protection system." Soon there will be one million because of
the perverse incentive that funds the system. The federal government
pays state and country child welfare services a bounty for each child
seized from a family. Linda Wallace Pate, a California attorney
specialized in foster cases, calls it a "kids for cash" system.

The evidence is overwhelming that children are extremely traumatized by
being ripped from families and placed in foster care.

It turns out that the overwhelming majority of abused children suffer
the abuse from their single mother's live-in boyfriends or overnight
lovers.

Child abuse is rare in two-parent families, so CPS has expanded abuse
to cover spanking - even playground bruises are grounds for seizing
children - and shouting ("verbal abuse").

The war on crime has turned even parenting into a dangerous occupation.


One can't help but wonder whether the US itself is in need of
liberation.

May 4, 2004

Dr. Roberts is John M. Olin Fellow at the Institute for Political
Economy and Research Fellow at the Independent Institute. He is a
former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal and a former
assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury. He is the co-author of The
Tyranny of Good Intentions.


Copyright © 2004 Creators Syndicate



Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 12:54:03 -0500

--------


Quirk wrote:

> The US, "the land of the free," has the biggest prison population in
> the world and the highest rate of prisoners per capita of all countries
> - including countries that President Bush believes need liberating by
> US armed forces.

The result of our anti-drug laws. The solution: repeal the anti-drug laws.

Bob Kolker



Correspondent:: "Quirk"
Date: 24 Feb 2005 10:09:12 -0800

--------

robert j. kolker wrote:

> The result of our anti-drug laws. The solution: repeal the anti-drug
laws.

The other questions: Why do blacks, who make up no more that 13% of
drug users, make up nearly 60% of those serving prison sentences for
drugs?

Are the drug laws really the problem, or just a symptom of the real
problem?



Correspondent:: König Prüße, GfbAEV
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 19:13:29 GMT

--------
"Quirk" wrote:

>
>robert j. kolker wrote:
>
>> The result of our anti-drug laws. The solution: repeal the anti-drug
>laws.
>
>The other questions: Why do blacks, who make up no more that 13% of
>drug users, make up nearly 60% of those serving prison sentences for
>drugs?
>
>Are the drug laws really the problem, or just a symptom of the real
>problem?
>


The bad news: Just a symptom of the problem.
The good news: It can be cured with drugs.




Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 17:22:42 -0500

--------


Quirk wrote:

> The other questions: Why do blacks, who make up no more that 13% of
> drug users, make up nearly 60% of those serving prison sentences for
> drugs?

Because a disproportionate number of blacks are underclass and are not
properly raised by intact families. Shit breeds shit.


>
> Are the drug laws really the problem, or just a symptom of the real
> problem?
>

Yes. We have too many people in the jug for possession and sale. If drug
laws were repealed such folk would not be taking up expensive prison space.

Bob Kolker


Correspondent:: "Quirk"
Date: 25 Feb 2005 05:14:51 -0800

--------

robert j. kolker wrote:

> Quirk wrote:

> > The other questions: Why do blacks, who make up no more that 13% of
> > drug users, make up nearly 60% of those serving prison sentences
for
> > drugs?

> Because a disproportionate number of blacks are underclass and are
not
> properly raised by intact families. Shit breeds shit.

Shit must have bread you then.

Please read more carefully, Blacks only make up 13% of drug users, yet
60% of those serving sentences.

How does your upbringing make you more or less likely to be ARRESTED
versus an equally "guilty" party from another demographic?

Blacks and Whites use drugs at almost exactly the same rates, yet Black
gets locked up more. The only "upbringing" I can see that effects this
is the upbringing of racists scum like you.

> > Are the drug laws really the problem, or just a symptom of the real
> > problem?

> Yes. We have too many people in the jug for possession and sale. If
drug
> laws were repealed such folk would not be taking up expensive prison
space.

The point is that drug laws will not be repealed, because they are just
a pretense for oppression.



Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 14:53:20 GMT

--------
On 25 Feb 2005 05:14:51 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>
>The point is that drug laws will not be repealed, because they are just
>a pretense for oppression.
>

Why retards like you continue to vote Democrat or Republican, nothing
will change, you are right.


--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 10:17:51 -0500

--------


Quirk wrote:

>
> The point is that drug laws will not be repealed, because they are just
> a pretense for oppression.

We live in a democracy. When the voters decide that it is time to end
the oppression it will end.

Bob Kolker

>


Correspondent:: "Quirk"
Date: 25 Feb 2005 07:50:22 -0800

--------

robert j. kolker wrote:

> > The point is that drug laws will not be repealed, because they are
just
> > a pretense for oppression.

> We live in a democracy. When the voters decide that it is time to end

> the oppression it will end.

AFAIK, according to polls more people support drug law liberalization
than voted for your president.

Oppression will not end so long as the ruling class benefits from it
and the rest of you think the dog-and-pony show the elite put on for
you every few years is Democracy.



Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 11:25:08 -0500

--------


Quirk wrote:
>
> Oppression will not end so long as the ruling class benefits from it
> and the rest of you think the dog-and-pony show the elite put on for
> you every few years is Democracy.

Do you think 100,000,000 voters constitute the ruling class? It is not a
dog and pony show. Unfortunately it is an excercise by the
intellectually incompetent in self mis-government. Can you think of a
workable alternative. I can't. A revolution won't change a thing and
tyranny or autocracy is even worse.

Bob Kolker

>


Correspondent:: "Quirk"
Date: 25 Feb 2005 08:36:33 -0800

--------

robert j. kolker wrote:

> Quirk wrote:

> > Oppression will not end so long as the ruling class benefits from
it
> > and the rest of you think the dog-and-pony show the elite put on
for
> > you every few years is Democracy.

> Do you think 100,000,000 voters constitute the ruling class?

Do you think they are potted petunias?

They are the RULED class. They are the dupes of the ruling class.

> It is not a dog and pony show.

Yes it is, the dog narrowly beat the pony, however both are the loyal
mutts of the ruling class.

> Unfortunately it is an excercise by the intellectually incompetent in
self
> mis-government.

Nope. The people that controll them got their money's worth. The rest
of you got screwed.

> Can you think of a workable alternative. I can't. A revolution won't
change
> a thing and tyranny or autocracy is even worse.

Americans becoming more aware and interested in genuine alternatives
would help.

Admitting their system is one that depends on systemic exploitation is
a good start.



Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 11:38:55 -0500

--------


Quirk wrote:

> Americans becoming more aware and interested in genuine alternatives
> would help.
>
> Admitting their system is one that depends on systemic exploitation is
> a good start.

What if they are enjoying the system? After all they have 16 hours a day
to waste.

Bob Kolker

>


Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 11:41:20 -0500

--------


Quirk wrote:
> Americans becoming more aware and interested in genuine alternatives
> would help.

Yoda says: Do not your breath hold for that any difference to make young
Quirk, else purple turn you will you.

Bob Kolker


Correspondent:: "Quirk"
Date: 25 Feb 2005 10:22:24 -0800

--------

robert j. kolker wrote:

> Yoda says: Do not your breath hold for that any difference to make
young
> Quirk, else purple turn you will you.

Not holding by breath, spreading the word.

The US Peso is at 0.7557 Euro today, and even having lost 35% of it's
value since 2002, the bottom is still no where to be seen.

I think average Americans will start waking up when the ruling class
can no longer ply them into stupidity with the booty from the
productivity of foreign countries.

The era of US dollar hegemony is almost done.



Correspondent:: König Prüße, GfbAEV
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 16:36:50 GMT

--------
"Quirk" wrote:

>
>robert j. kolker wrote:
>
>> > The point is that drug laws will not be repealed, because they are
>just
>> > a pretense for oppression.
>
>> We live in a democracy. When the voters decide that it is time to end
>
>> the oppression it will end.
>
>AFAIK, according to polls more people support drug law liberalization
>than voted for your president.
>
>Oppression will not end so long as the ruling class benefits from it
>and the rest of you think the dog-and-pony show the elite put on for
>you every few years is Democracy.
>

bread and circuses
PLURAL NOUN:Offerings, such as benefits or entertainments,
intended to placate discontent or distract attention from a policy
or situation.
ETYMOLOGY:Translation of Latin pnem et circnss,
a phrase coined by the Roman poet Juvenal :
pnem, accusative singular of pnis, bread + et,
and + circnss, circus games.




Correspondent:: Les Cargill
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 22:23:26 GMT

--------
Quirk wrote:

> robert j. kolker wrote:
>
>
>>Quirk wrote:
>
>
>>>The other questions: Why do blacks, who make up no more that 13% of
>>>drug users, make up nearly 60% of those serving prison sentences
>
> for
>
>>>drugs?
>
>
>>Because a disproportionate number of blacks are underclass and are
>
> not
>
>>properly raised by intact families. Shit breeds shit.
>
>
> Shit must have bread you then.
>
> Please read more carefully, Blacks only make up 13% of drug users, yet
> 60% of those serving sentences.
>
> How does your upbringing make you more or less likely to be ARRESTED
> versus an equally "guilty" party from another demographic?
>
> Blacks and Whites use drugs at almost exactly the same rates, yet Black
> gets locked up more. The only "upbringing" I can see that effects this
> is the upbringing of racists scum like you.
>
>
>>>Are the drug laws really the problem, or just a symptom of the real
>>>problem?
>
>
>>Yes. We have too many people in the jug for possession and sale. If
>
> drug
>
>>laws were repealed such folk would not be taking up expensive prison
>
> space.
>
> The point is that drug laws will not be repealed, because they are just
> a pretense for oppression.
>

That is not why they will not be repealed. They will
not be repealed because they are immensely popular.

--
Les Cargill


Correspondent:: "Ghost"
Date: 25 Feb 2005 14:42:07 -0800

--------
If that was the case surely one of the power bases would hook into it
gain power.
Countries are run by the money men, the conglomerates, generally right
wing, white christian purists who seek salvation in the togetherness of
the 2 parent family for all, or pretend to do sobut in fact are only
interestedin protecting their power base from their seemingly moral
standpoint. Like bad shit doesn't happen in 2 parent family homes!!!
Anyway, its irrelevent, as orwell said - "The party is not concerned
with perpetuating itself. Who wields power is not important, as long as
the hierarchial structure remains intact"
Its the dirty bastard child of capitalism; they have the power and the
money and they will kill to keep it that way. See Iraq. Common
political tactic to take emphasis away from home unrest, create a
foreign enemy, a fear and then wage war on that fear thus "protecting"
your average voter.

Sick but true,

Ghost



Correspondent:: Les Cargill
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 05:12:49 GMT

--------
Ghost wrote:

> If that was the case surely one of the power bases would hook into it
> gain power.

It really doesn't work that way. There's significant hubris
in black marketeering, and people can't be very rational
while doing it. See also the Al Pacino version of "Scarface".

> Countries are run by the money men, the conglomerates, generally right
> wing, white christian purists who seek salvation in the togetherness of
> the 2 parent family for all, or pretend to do sobut in fact are only
> interestedin protecting their power base from their seemingly moral
> standpoint.

That is not particularly true, either. It's really run
as it appears to be run. It's us that are the problem.

Democracy devolves to a latency problem.

> Like bad shit doesn't happen in 2 parent family homes!!!
> Anyway, its irrelevent, as orwell said - "The party is not concerned
> with perpetuating itself. Who wields power is not important, as long as
> the hierarchial structure remains intact"

A heirarchical structure in the face of significant
competition fails, every time. See the Tatar invasion
of Europe for examples.

Hierarchies hold out against raw entropic forces better than
anarchies. Anarchies burn bright and short.

> Its the dirty bastard child of capitalism; they have the power and the
> money and they will kill to keep it that way. See Iraq.

I see Iraq. And I see the scion of a former CIA chief trying
to upgrade Iraq into the 21st century. Perhaps it's foolish
in the sense that Churchill was foolish at Gallipoli.

But we won't know, will we?

> Common
> political tactic to take emphasis away from home unrest, create a
> foreign enemy, a fear and then wage war on that fear thus "protecting"
> your average voter.
>
> Sick but true,
>

I suppose it is most unfortunate that orwell never really explained
the backstory of "1984" - he didn't feel he had to . In Hitchen's
book about him, it's made pretty clear what that is.

This isn't a failure per se of any person - it's an
educational opportunity. Determinism/positivism couldn't
work because the warp and weave of the plane it operates on
can't work that way.

As much vitriol has been flung at it, it really was a semi
honest mistake increasingly implemented by dishonest people.

> Ghost
>
--
Les Cargill


Correspondent:: "Quirk"
Date: 26 Feb 2005 07:09:46 -0800

--------

Les Cargill wrote:
> > The point is that drug laws will not be repealed, because they are
just
> > a pretense for oppression.

> That is not why they will not be repealed. They will
> not be repealed because they are immensely popular.

Backwards IMO, whatever popularity they have is because of deliberate
propaganda from the ruling class, to whom the drug laws are a usefull
tool of oppression.

And despite this, they are not that popular, a good portion, if not the
majority of the US support some degree of liberlization of the drug
laws.



Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 10:35:19 -0500

--------


Quirk wrote:
> Backwards IMO, whatever popularity they have is because of deliberate
> propaganda from the ruling class, to whom the drug laws are a usefull
> tool of oppression.

That is a very arrogant assumption. You assume over 150,000,000 are shit
stupid. They may be self interested and narrow in their views, but
stupid? I think not.

>
> And despite this, they are not that popular, a good portion, if not the
> majority of the US support some degree of liberlization of the drug
> laws.

You have just contradicted yourself. The People are both enslaved by
propaganda and not enslaved by propaganda. Which is it?

Bob Kolker

>


Correspondent:: König Prüße, GfbAEV
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 16:49:37 GMT

--------
"robert j. kolker" wrote:

>
>
>Quirk wrote:
>> Backwards IMO, whatever popularity they have is because of deliberate
>> propaganda from the ruling class, to whom the drug laws are a usefull
>> tool of oppression.
>
>That is a very arrogant assumption. You assume over 150,000,000 are shit
>stupid. They may be self interested and narrow in their views, but
>stupid? I think not.
>
>>
>> And despite this, they are not that popular, a good portion, if not the
>> majority of the US support some degree of liberlization of the drug
>> laws.
>
>You have just contradicted yourself. The People are both enslaved by
>propaganda and not enslaved by propaganda. Which is it?
>
>Bob Kolker
>
>>

Depends if you believe your own propagada, or not--



Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 12:01:23 -0500

--------


König Prüße wrote:
>
> Depends if you believe your own propagada, or not--

I asked which of two contradictory assertions is the case. I am not
getting an answer.

Bob Kolker

>


Correspondent:: König Prüße, GfbAEV
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 17:15:29 GMT

--------
"robert j. kolker" wrote:

>
>
>König Prüße wrote:
>>
>> Depends if you believe your own propagada, or not--
>
>I asked which of two contradictory assertions is the case. I am not
>getting an answer.
>
>Bob Kolker
>
>>

I'm certain that Quirk will jump one way or the other;
he's not the sort to try to jump in both directions, although
I expect some "double-think"




Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 17:41:10 GMT

--------
On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 10:35:19 -0500, "robert j. kolker"
wrote:

>Quirk wrote:
>> Backwards IMO, whatever popularity they have is because of deliberate
>> propaganda from the ruling class, to whom the drug laws are a usefull
>> tool of oppression.
>
>That is a very arrogant assumption. You assume over 150,000,000 are shit
>stupid. They may be self interested and narrow in their views, but
>stupid? I think not.

Think again. Half have IQs of 100 or less. Just think about what
that implies.

Many years ago, I worked on a research project to examine the
relationship between IQ and opinion on a broad spectrum of issues.
One of our strongest results was a negative correlation between IQ and
support for the War on Drugs.

>> And despite this, they are not that popular, a good portion, if not the
>> majority of the US support some degree of liberlization of the drug
>> laws.
>
>You have just contradicted yourself. The People are both enslaved by
>propaganda and not enslaved by propaganda. Which is it?

False dichotomy.

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: Dan Clore
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 22:00:13 -0800

--------
royls@telus.net wrote:
> On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 10:35:19 -0500, "robert j. kolker"
> wrote:
>>Quirk wrote:

> Think again. Half have IQs of 100 or less. Just think about what
> that implies.

Like they say in the Church of the SubGenius, you know how
dumb the average guy is? Well, by definition, half of them
are even dumber than that!

> Many years ago, I worked on a research project to examine the
> relationship between IQ and opinion on a broad spectrum of issues.
> One of our strongest results was a negative correlation between IQ and
> support for the War on Drugs.

Any information on-line about this?

--
Dan Clore

My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587154838/thedanclorenecro/
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
-- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"



Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:23:01 GMT

--------
On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 22:00:13 -0800, Dan Clore
wrote:

>royls@telus.net wrote:
>
>> Many years ago, I worked on a research project to examine the
>> relationship between IQ and opinion on a broad spectrum of issues.
>> One of our strongest results was a negative correlation between IQ and
>> support for the War on Drugs.
>
>Any information on-line about this?

Don't think so. I just Googled some key words and came up empty.
I've lost touch with the guy who had the data, but I do have a hard
copy of the results sitting around somewhere. Anything in particular
you'd like to know?

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: "Quirk"
Date: 28 Feb 2005 02:09:13 -0800

--------

robert j. kolker wrote:

> Quirk wrote:
> > Backwards IMO, whatever popularity they have is because of
deliberate
> > propaganda from the ruling class, to whom the drug laws are a
usefull
> > tool of oppression.

> That is a very arrogant assumption. You assume over 150,000,000 are
shit
> stupid. They may be self interested and narrow in their views, but
> stupid? I think not.

Now that is shit stupid, however I hope most Americans are smarter than
you.

People are influenced by propaganda, not only the stupid, this is well
understood by everyone from socialogist to advertisers to Macheavelian
despots.

> > And despite this, they are not that popular, a good portion, if not
the
> > majority of the US support some degree of liberlization of the drug
> > laws.

> You have just contradicted yourself. The People are both enslaved by
> propaganda and not enslaved by propaganda. Which is it?

No contradiction, while support for drug laws is higher that it may be
in absence of propaganda, it is still not that high.

What is so hard to understand?



Correspondent:: König Prüße, GfbAEV
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 14:50:57 GMT

--------
"Quirk" wrote:

>
>robert j. kolker wrote:
>
>> Quirk wrote:
>> > Backwards IMO, whatever popularity they have is because of
>deliberate
>> > propaganda from the ruling class, to whom the drug laws are a
>usefull
>> > tool of oppression.
>
>> That is a very arrogant assumption. You assume over 150,000,000 are
>shit
>> stupid. They may be self interested and narrow in their views, but
>> stupid? I think not.
>
>Now that is shit stupid, however I hope most Americans are smarter than
>you.
>
>People are influenced by propaganda, not only the stupid, this is well
>understood by everyone from socialogist to advertisers to Macheavelian
>despots.

About 60% of the general population are susceptible to
primary suggestibility, about 20% more are susceptible to
secondary suggestibility (weak arguments) and the rest
are hard to sway because they are rational or irrational.

Drink Coca-Cola!





Correspondent:: Les Cargill
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 00:29:44 GMT

--------
Quirk wrote:

> Les Cargill wrote:
>
>>>The point is that drug laws will not be repealed, because they are
>
> just
>
>>>a pretense for oppression.
>
>
>>That is not why they will not be repealed. They will
>>not be repealed because they are immensely popular.
>
>
> Backwards IMO, whatever popularity they have is because of deliberate
> propaganda from the ruling class, to whom the drug laws are a usefull
> tool of oppression.
>

I'm afraid not. Really. When Reagan re-warmed
the WOD, it was because of a grass-roots group
of affluent housewives from a suburb of Atlanta.

No mainstream politician can publically oppose
the policy, because there are so many horror
stories.

It has immense popular support.

> And despite this, they are not that popular, a good portion, if not the
> majority of the US support some degree of liberlization of the drug
> laws.
>

--
Les Cargill


Correspondent:: MS
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 00:40:40 GMT

--------
robert j. kolker wrote:
>
>
> Quirk wrote:
>
>> The US, "the land of the free," has the biggest prison population in
>> the world and the highest rate of prisoners per capita of all countries
>> - including countries that President Bush believes need liberating by
>> US armed forces.
>
>
> The result of our anti-drug laws. The solution: repeal the anti-drug laws.

OMG! For once we agree with each other. :-)


Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 14:56:42 GMT

--------
On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 00:40:40 GMT, MS wrote:
>
>robert j. kolker wrote:
>>
>>
>> Quirk wrote:
>>
>>> The US, "the land of the free," has the biggest prison population in
>>> the world and the highest rate of prisoners per capita of all countries
>>> - including countries that President Bush believes need liberating by
>>> US armed forces.
>>
>>
>> The result of our anti-drug laws. The solution: repeal the anti-drug laws.
>
>OMG! For once we agree with each other. :-)
>

Count me in, too. Freedom works every time, not just in economic
matters.



--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 18:37:20 GMT

--------
On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 14:56:42 GMT, Socialism is a Mental Disease
wrote:

>On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 00:40:40 GMT, MS wrote:
>>
>>robert j. kolker wrote:
>>>
>>> Quirk wrote:
>>>
>>>> The US, "the land of the free," has the biggest prison population in
>>>> the world and the highest rate of prisoners per capita of all countries
>>>> - including countries that President Bush believes need liberating by
>>>> US armed forces.
>>>
>>> The result of our anti-drug laws. The solution: repeal the anti-drug laws.
>>
>>OMG! For once we agree with each other. :-)
>
>Count me in, too. Freedom works every time, not just in economic
>matters.

It is obvious to anyone with an IQ in three digits that the only
beneficiaries of drug prohibition are the drug dealers and those in
their employ, and the prison industry. Those in positions of
authority, political or academic, who voice support for drug
prohibition are invariably on the payroll of either the drug dealers
or the prison industry.

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: "Quirk"
Date: 25 Feb 2005 10:48:23 -0800

--------

r...@telus.net wrote:

> It is obvious to anyone with an IQ in three digits that the only
> beneficiaries of drug prohibition are the drug dealers and those in
> their employ, and the prison industry.

It's a shame so many Americans can't see that, and instead chose to
believe racist ideas.

But I would go further, I think it goes much wider than that, the
existence of an underclass has many direct and indirect benefits to the
ruling class, and the drug laws are part of the apparatus to keep them
down, thus enabling there exploitation.

Who benefits from this exploited underclass?

The list is pretty is pretty long, starting with the two you mention,
along with the military-industrial complex, slumlords, employers of
unskilled labour, etc.

"If violence is wrong in America, violence is wrong abroad. If it is
wrong to be violent defending black women and black children and black
babies and black men, then it is wrong for America to draft us, and
make us violent abroad in defense of her. And if it is right for
America to draft us, and teach us how to be violent in defense of her,
then it is right for you and me to do whatever is necessary to defend
our own people right here in this country."

-- Malcolm X , Nov. 1963, New York City.



Correspondent:: "Ghost"
Date: 25 Feb 2005 11:26:42 -0800

--------
Im sure you dont really belive that. Did alcohol prohibition work? Oh
no.
Freedom of individual choice that will not harm another is the only way
forward. if i want to shoot up I will, no matter what law says i
shouldn't. I dont, but i fully back an individuals free will to do so.
Oh, and the drug Barons are certainly not in favour of prohibition, a
standardised, legal and controlled system of drug dispensing would take
away their mass revenue. The only payoffs happening are to the corrupt
officials you elect to turn a blind eye.

The masses against the classes,

Ghost



Correspondent:: Manny Davis
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 19:36:35 GMT

--------
Ghost wrote:

> Im sure you dont really belive that. Did alcohol prohibition work? Oh
> no.
> Freedom of individual choice that will not harm another is the only way
> forward. if i want to shoot up I will, no matter what law says i
> shouldn't. I dont, but i fully back an individuals free will to do so.
> Oh, and the drug Barons are certainly not in favour of prohibition, a
> standardised, legal and controlled system of drug dispensing would take
> away their mass revenue.

Government standards? Government controlled?

No thanks.



Correspondent:: "Ghost"
Date: 25 Feb 2005 12:08:11 -0800

--------
I never said government standards or government controlled.
However, under the present rule that would be the only possibility, and
quite frankly a step forward for indiviual freedoms.
That said, i think it more likely to happen here in the uk than under
George W, but even then its an outside chance.
The masses dont care for results, past present or future, if it sounds
good(no matter how flawed in reality and practice) come election time,
the uninformed masses will vote the same way.
Lets face it, the majority votes on what will be the best for them, the
indiviual, rather than the good of all.
Drugs are taboo because people are fed untrue statistics and are made
to fear "drugs", sorry, the illegal drugs, and not one major party in
the uk or us would dare to lose votes even if they thought it the way
forward to legalize.
Its funny how alcohol and cigarette related crime never really seem to
crop up in election run ups, just crime unemployment and drugs.
Who takes the larger proportion of drugs, commits the crimes? The lower
classes. Why? Its an escapism from the shite existence they lead,
knowing they'll never get further than their 9-5 because the primary
role of governments is to protect property from the majority. Or worse
still from unemployment. Is it an indiviuals problem they cant get a
job? No, its an economic problem. Why? Capitalism. "In competitive
behaviour there is always a loser" John Nash, Mathematics Genius and
Nobel prize winner.

"Mr Lenin awaken the boy"

Ghost



Correspondent:: Manny Davis
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 23:20:39 GMT

--------
Ghost wrote:

> I never said government standards or government controlled.

You wrote:

"...a standardised, legal and controlled system of drug dispensing would
take away their [drug baron's] mass revenue."

If you were not referring to government, who is it you had in mind
to do the drug controlling and the drug dispensing?

> However, under the present rule that would be the only possibility, and
> quite frankly a step forward for indiviual freedoms.

I don't see how that is a possibility within the current prescription drug
system.

> That said, i think it more likely to happen here in the uk than under
> George W, but even then its an outside chance.
> The masses dont care for results, past present or future, if it sounds
> good(no matter how flawed in reality and practice) come election time,
> the uninformed masses will vote the same way.
>
> Lets face it, the majority votes on what will be the best for them, the
> indiviual, rather than the good of all.

I think it would be more accurate to say that legislators vote in a way
that is best for them, rather than the good of all.


> Drugs are taboo because people are fed untrue statistics and are made
> to fear "drugs", sorry, the illegal drugs, and not one major party in
> the uk or us would dare to lose votes even if they thought it the way
> forward to legalize.
> Its funny how alcohol and cigarette related crime never really seem to
> crop up in election run ups, just crime unemployment and drugs.
> Who takes the larger proportion of drugs, commits the crimes? The lower
> classes. Why? Its an escapism from the shite existence they lead,
> knowing they'll never get further than their 9-5 because the primary
> role of governments is to protect property from the majority. Or worse
> still from unemployment. Is it an indiviuals problem they cant get a
> job? No, its an economic problem. Why? Capitalism. "In competitive
> behaviour there is always a loser" John Nash, Mathematics Genius and
> Nobel prize winner.
>
> "Mr Lenin awaken the boy"
>
> Ghost
>



Correspondent:: "What the..."
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 12:56:03 -0500

--------

"Quirk" wrote in message
news:1109265248.051817.51940@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
A Prison State, If Not a Police State


Almost one-half million Americans are in prison for drugs-only
offenses.


And is this the reason that arsonists, burglars, bank robbers and
other major criminals are often put right back out on the streets
within a month or two after their arrests?




Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 20:00:36 GMT

--------
On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 12:56:03 -0500, "What the..."
wrote:

>"Quirk" wrote in message
>news:1109265248.051817.51940@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
>A Prison State, If Not a Police State
>
>Almost one-half million Americans are in prison for drugs-only
>offenses.
>
>And is this the reason that arsonists, burglars, bank robbers and
>other major criminals are often put right back out on the streets
>within a month or two after their arrests?

Of course. There is no money for the police/prison state in catching
or incarcerating actual criminals. Fabricated criminals, OTOH, are an
excellent source not only of government money, but of bribe money,
seized assets, and of course primo drugs for police officer
consumption.

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: "Dr. Zarkov"
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 13:28:31 -0500

--------
The war on drugs and the prison industry are most certainly not just due
to conservatives. Clinton fired his own surgeon general for having the
guts to suggest that we should at least consider drug decriminalization.
Neither he nor Gore nor Kerry nor any other Democrat or "liberal" of
note has had the courage to attack the war on drugs or the prison
industry. In fact, "liberal" Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel of
New York has been one of the most prominent proponents of the war on
drugs and the most vigorous opponents of legalization/decriminalization.

As far as prison privatization goes, it's effect is trivial compared to
public prisons. In many states, including my own, the public prison
guards represent a strong voting block. The politicians, including the
so-called "liberal" Democrats who control the state, have refused to do
anything to antagonize them. This is in spite of the fact that
investigations have shown many guards routinely rack up $150,000 a year
with overtime.

As for Walter Mondale and the Child Protective Services--Mondale was one
of the most prominent "liberal" Democrats. And Janet Reno, Clinton's
attorney general, made her mark in Florida prosecuting people in the
"child abuse" witch hunt of the 80s.

Quirk wrote:

> A Prison State, If Not a Police State
>
> by Paul Craig Roberts
>
> The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
> state.

> The US, "the land of the free," has the biggest prison population in
> the world and the highest rate of prisoners per capita of all countries
> - including countries that President Bush believes need liberating by
> US armed forces.
>
> Even China, with one party rule and a population that is 4.5 times
> larger than the US population, has 30% fewer total prisoners than the
> US. China's per capita rate is a small fraction of the US rate.
>
> The US prison population per capita is three times higher than "axis of
> evil" country Iran, five times higher than Tanzania, and seven times
> higher than a civilized European country like Germany.
>
> One out of every 142 Americans is in prison - and this does not include
> military prisons or INS jails.
>
> The conservatives' war on drugs, launched during President Reagan's
> first term, bears much of the blame. Between 1980 and 2000, a period
> during which the US population grew by 21%, the number of state and
> federal inmates soared by 312%.
>
> Almost one-half million Americans are in prison for drugs-only
> offenses. Many of them are innocent or were encouraged by federal
> agents or informers posing as friends to transport small amounts of
> drugs as a favor.
>
> Consider Elaine Bartlett, pardoned by New York Gov. George Pataki in
> 2000 after serving 16 years of a 20-year-sentence. Bartlett was tricked
> by an acquaintance, who turned out to be a government informant, into
> taking four ounces of cocaine to Albany. Bartlett was given 20 years
> even though she had no history of arrests or convictions and left 4
> children behind, the oldest being 10 years old.
>
> Most government informants are real criminals who escape charges or are
> given lenient plea bargains in exchange for helping prosecutors boost
> their conviction rates by entrapping innocent people. It is a disgrace
> to the US legal system that judges permit such false convictions.
>
> Many other innocents are in jail because police dropped small packets
> of drugs - or in the Texas cases bags of ground up wallboard - into
> their cars when stopped, allegedly for traffic offenses.
>
> Society gained nothing but more criminals by locking up Bartlett. Her
> six-year-old son was traumatized by his mother's absence. At the end of
> every prison visit he had to be forcefully removed by prison guards
> from clinging to his mother. By the time he was 10 years old, he was a
> drug runner. He bought his first gun at age 12 and was in prison by age
> 16. You can read the whole story in the book, Life on the Outside, by
> Jennifer Gonnerman.
>
> With a legal system that mass-produces criminals, prisons are being
> constructed at a breathtaking rate. An Urban Institute study, "The New
> Landscape of Imprisonment," released on April 29, documents the boom in
> prison construction during the last two decades.
>
> Jeremy Travis, one of the authors, says: "The prison network is now
> deeply intertwined with American life, deeply integrated into the
> physical and economic infrastructure of a large number of American
> counties. It provides jobs for construction workers and guards, and
> because the inmates are counted as residents of the counties where they
> are incarcerated, it means more federal and state funding and greater
> political representation for these counties."
>
> A number of states now have prisons in almost one-third of their
> counties. Florida has at least one prison in 78% of its counties! In
> 1923 there were only 61 prisons in the entire US.
>
> Another conservative idea - prison privatization - has created a
> contractual monster that must be fed with a constant stream of inmates.
> A variety of new police Gestapos have been created that help to keep
> the massive prison complex - our own Gulag Archipelago - filled.
>
> The most dangerous is Child Protective Services, created by Walter
> Mondale in response to his constituency of anti-family feminists and
> "child therapists" in need of employment. CPS was set up on the insane
> assumption that a large percentage of families committed "child abuse."
> CPS offices are everywhere, and employees outnumber child abusers.
>
> The child sex abuse witch hunt in Wenatchee, Washington, was set off
> when the local CPS office was told to find some cases to justify its
> budget. It took years to expose and overturn one of the greatest cases
> of prosecutorial misconduct in human history. Dozens of families were
> destroyed and 50 children were put into foster care.
>
> The latest report from Child Protective Services Watch documents that
> children placed in our "child protection system" are 5 times more
> likely to die from physical abuse and 11 times more likely to be
> sexually abused than they would be from remaining in the homes from
> which they are removed!
>
> Mondale and his "child advocates" got their Gestapo legislation passed
> in 1974. A quarter century later there are 500,000 US kids in the
> "child protection system." Soon there will be one million because of
> the perverse incentive that funds the system. The federal government
> pays state and country child welfare services a bounty for each child
> seized from a family. Linda Wallace Pate, a California attorney
> specialized in foster cases, calls it a "kids for cash" system.
>
> The evidence is overwhelming that children are extremely traumatized by
> being ripped from families and placed in foster care.
>
> It turns out that the overwhelming majority of abused children suffer
> the abuse from their single mother's live-in boyfriends or overnight
> lovers.
>
> Child abuse is rare in two-parent families, so CPS has expanded abuse
> to cover spanking - even playground bruises are grounds for seizing
> children - and shouting ("verbal abuse").
>
> The war on crime has turned even parenting into a dangerous occupation.
>
>
> One can't help but wonder whether the US itself is in need of
> liberation.
>
> May 4, 2004
>
> Dr. Roberts is John M. Olin Fellow at the Institute for Political
> Economy and Research Fellow at the Independent Institute. He is a
> former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal and a former
> assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury. He is the co-author of The
> Tyranny of Good Intentions.
>
>
> Copyright © 2004 Creators Syndicate
>


Correspondent:: "Quirk"
Date: 24 Feb 2005 10:33:35 -0800

--------

Dr. Zarkov wrote:

> The war on drugs and the prison industry are most certainly not just
due
> to conservatives.

Neither party is mine, not the jackass or the elephant.

Splitzing the blame between the parties does not address the question,
why does the USA have the highest percentage of incarcerated people of
any nation on earth? And further, why is the racial makeup of the
prison population so different from the population at large?



Correspondent:: Gordon Sande
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 18:59:56 GMT

--------


Quirk wrote:
> Dr. Zarkov wrote:
>
>
>>The war on drugs and the prison industry are most certainly not just
>
> due
>
>>to conservatives.
>
>
> Neither party is mine, not the jackass or the elephant.
>
> Splitzing the blame between the parties does not address the question,
> why does the USA have the highest percentage of incarcerated people of
> any nation on earth? And further, why is the racial makeup of the
> prison population so different from the population at large?
>

Where is David Lloyd-Jones (of sci.econ) when you need him?

His question was always "Why do prison guards make more than teachers?"

His claim was that education deserves better staffing than prisons.

Seems like a rather sensible question.





Correspondent:: "Rev. Richard Skull"
Date: 24 Feb 2005 17:29:32 -0800

--------
>>Where is David Lloyd-Jones (of sci.econ) when you need him?

His question was always "Why do prison guards make more than teachers?"



His claim was that education deserves better staffing than prisons.


Seems like a rather sensible question. <<

I don't know. Down South where the Prisons are full and the Guards I.Q.
and wages are low, anyone who can feed their family is considered
"overpaid"



Correspondent:: israel
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 01:47:08 GMT

--------
"Rev. Richard Skull" writes:

>>>Where is David Lloyd-Jones (of sci.econ) when you need him?
>
> His question was always "Why do prison guards make more than teachers?"

Market forces.
There are always more people willing to teach than there are who want to be prison guards.



Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 18:20:27 GMT

--------
On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 01:47:08 GMT, israel
wrote:

>"Rev. Richard Skull" writes:
>
>>>>Where is David Lloyd-Jones (of sci.econ) when you need him?
>>
>> His question was always "Why do prison guards make more than teachers?"
>
>Market forces.
>There are always more people willing to teach than there are who want to be prison guards.

?? Uh, part of the point here is that many of the people who might
not mind being prison guards are currently on the other side of the
bars.

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: "Dr. Zarkov"
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 16:01:33 -0500

--------
Quirk wrote:
> Dr. Zarkov wrote:
>
>
>>The war on drugs and the prison industry are most certainly not just
>
> due
>
>>to conservatives.
>
>
> Neither party is mine, not the jackass or the elephant.
>
> Splitzing the blame between the parties does not address the question,
> why does the USA have the highest percentage of incarcerated people of
> any nation on earth?


But that's part of the problem: Unfortunately, the U.S. has a two-party
system, and neither has the guts to address the reasons--a main one
being that about 37% of those imprisoned are there for drug offenses.
The other, related one being that the war on drugs and prison industry
now comprise a vast army of parasites (in law enforcement, prisons,
various agencies) who represent a major power block and voting block.
All of which of course is one of the snags of "democracy."


Correspondent:: Les Cargill
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 03:06:15 GMT

--------
Dr. Zarkov wrote:

> Quirk wrote:
>
>> Dr. Zarkov wrote:
>>
>>
>>> The war on drugs and the prison industry are most certainly not just
>>
>>
>> due
>>
>>> to conservatives.
>>
>>
>>
>> Neither party is mine, not the jackass or the elephant.
>>
>> Splitzing the blame between the parties does not address the question,
>> why does the USA have the highest percentage of incarcerated people of
>> any nation on earth?
>
>
>
> But that's part of the problem: Unfortunately, the U.S. has a two-party
> system, and neither has the guts to address the reasons--a main one
> being that about 37% of those imprisoned are there for drug offenses.
> The other, related one being that the war on drugs and prison industry
> now comprise a vast army of parasites (in law enforcement, prisons,
> various agencies) who represent a major power block and voting block.
> All of which of course is one of the snags of "democracy."


The other defect is that one entry into professional
politics is as an elected District Attorney. DA's
invariably run on ther conviction record.

--
Les Cargill


Correspondent:: "Rev. Richard Skull"
Date: 25 Feb 2005 10:16:59 -0800

--------
The other defect is that one entry into professional
politics is as an elected District Attorney. DA's
invariably run on ther conviction record

Or if your in Illinios, the umber of innocent people who you put on
death row!



Correspondent:: "angelicusrex"
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 23:17:12 -0700

--------


> Or if your in Illinios, the umber of innocent people who you put on
> death row!

Or if you are Governor of Texas looking to be President, how many retards
and niggers you executed who were on Death Row for less than one year.

A.P.




Correspondent:: "Dr. Zarkov"
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 11:23:59 -0500

--------
Les Cargill wrote:
> Dr. Zarkov wrote:
>> Quirk wrote:
>> Dr. Zarkov wrote:
>>>
>>>> The war on drugs and the prison industry are most certainly not just due
>>>> to conservatives.

>>>
>>> Neither party is mine, not the jackass or the elephant.
>>>
>>> Splitzing the blame between the parties does not address the question,
>>> why does the USA have the highest percentage of incarcerated people of
>>> any nation on earth?

>>
>> But that's part of the problem: Unfortunately, the U.S. has a
>> two-party system, and neither has the guts to address the reasons--a
>> main one being that about 37% of those imprisoned are there for drug
>> offenses. The other, related one being that the war on drugs and
>> prison industry now comprise a vast army of parasites (in law
>> enforcement, prisons, various agencies) who represent a major power
>> block and voting block. All of which of course is one of the snags of
>> "democracy."
>
>
> The other defect is that one entry into professional
> politics is as an elected District Attorney. DA's
> invariably run on ther conviction record.


Right, and when they cite their conviction rate, they don't tell you
that they only go to trial with the cases they're pretty sure they can
win. Thus you'll hear rates of 90% to even near 100%. But the actual
rate of persons convicted for total crimes committed is around 1%.

A lot of prosecutors made their name during the "child abuse" witch
hunts--including Janet Reno. It was later shown that many (possible
most) of those convicted were innocent, but the prosecutors never had to
take any of the blame for it--nor did the police or anyone in
government. See:
_No Crueler Tyrannies: Accusation, False Witness, and Other Terrors of
Our Times_
by Dorothy Rabinowitz 2003 Wall Street Journal book, Free Press, NY, NY
http://www.injusticebusters.com/2003/Rabinowitz_interview.htm


Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 17:25:53 -0500

--------


Quirk wrote:
>
> Splitzing the blame between the parties does not address the question,
> why does the USA have the highest percentage of incarcerated people of
> any nation on earth? And further, why is the racial makeup of the
> prison population so different from the population at large?

Anti-drug laws account for the bulk of the prison populations. Why are
so many blacks in trouble. Because so many are brought up out of wedlock
and improperly socialized and educated. The barbarian is not just AT the
gate. The barbarian is INSIDE the gate.

If a male is not properly socialized and domesticated by the time he is
fifteen he is a chronic problem to society, and that is true regardless
of race. Black males are among the most improperly brought up people in
our country. Too much testosterone and not enough self control. A bad
combination.

Bob Kolker

>


Correspondent:: "Ghost"
Date: 24 Feb 2005 15:26:42 -0800

--------
Thats such racist shit. You cant generalize like that and blame all
your society woes on black males, "The barabrians inside the gate"! Who
brought the "barbarian" inside the gate to work as slaves, then beat,
raped, tortured and killed them for the privelidge. You reap what you
sow. The biggest fucking criminals in your country are the good ol'
white boys who pass the laws and the power playing capitalists behind
them. Try looking at your gun laws if your wondering why you have so
much crime, or the poverty imposed by a capitalist system. "If white
America told the truth for just one day it's whole world would fall
apart"

Ghost



Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 19:56:58 -0500

--------


Ghost wrote:

> Thats such racist shit. You cant generalize like that and blame all
> your society woes on black males, "The barabrians inside the gate"! Who
> brought the "barbarian" inside the gate to work as slaves, then beat,
> raped, tortured and killed them for the privelidge.

Well it sure wasn't me are any of my relatives. My people came in
steerage in the late 1890-s.

Bob Kolker



Correspondent:: "Ghost"
Date: 24 Feb 2005 17:16:06 -0800

--------
Didn't say it was you Bob, but you are compounding the it by pointing
your rightwing stick at blacks and blaming they for state of society.
Got to look at the root cause and that goes all the way back to the
founding days of America. Surely one of the underlying principles of
anarchism is egalitarianism not fascism?

The spilling of innocent blood stains us all.

Ghost



Correspondent:: Les Cargill
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 03:12:03 GMT

--------
robert j. kolker wrote:

>
>
> Ghost wrote:
>
>> Thats such racist shit. You cant generalize like that and blame all
>> your society woes on black males, "The barabrians inside the gate"! Who
>> brought the "barbarian" inside the gate to work as slaves, then beat,
>> raped, tortured and killed them for the privelidge.
>
>
> Well it sure wasn't me are any of my relatives. My people came in
> steerage in the late 1890-s.
>
> Bob Kolker
>

Then there's a surprisingly high probability
one of 'em in the '10s, '20s or '30s was a
gangster.

The Jewish gangs did not survive the '30s push by
J. Edgar and others. There was no Jewish Cosa
Nostra offshore as an example and resource. But
Chicago and New York had very significant Jewish
gangs - I think the Purple Gang was mostly Jewish.

They could wear Jules from "Pulp Fiction"'s "Bad
M*********" wallet.

It's only significant in gang history because gangs
tended to be organized on ethnic lines.

--
Les Cargill


Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 03:40:43 -0500

--------


L>
> Then there's a surprisingly high probability
> one of 'em in the '10s, '20s or '30s was a
> gangster.

I know all my relatives to way back then. No gangsters. First generation
were laborers. My maternal grandfather and his uncle and another partner
opened up Pechters Bakery in the Bronx. They made Silverloaf Whitebread.
Most of my folks were either laborers of low grade professionals like
accountants/bookkeeps. Some opened stores. No gangsters.

Some of my relatives may have paid protection money, but that was not
all that common.

Bob Kolker


Correspondent:: HellPope Huey
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 01:54:56 GMT

--------
In article <1109287602.174577.185500@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
"Ghost" wrote:

> Thats such racist shit. You cant generalize like that and blame all
> your society woes on black males, "The barbarians inside the gate"!

Well, no. The simple fact is that most of the world's problems are due
to Whitey. There's no dearth of monsters and assholes, true, but Whitey
has the longest global reach and has, so far at least, been the most
crafty at milking your mammy's dugs until her face ended up draped over
her cheekbones like tattered flags.

Whitey has brought about much good in the world by being resourceful
and creative, but likewise, the arrogance that has accompanied so much
if it has often turned the honey green. So by all means, let's lay the
proper responsibility for The Bad Things at the feet of those who
willfully generate them with ignorance, greed and testosteronolicious
foolishness, but always remember that at the end of the day, kicking
Whitey in the ass is richly deserved.

If you need proof, consider that I today saw 4" high rubber Boobahs on
sale at Wal-Mart for a dollar. They were originally $3, they were made
with near-slave labor in China, are composed of poisonous goo and are on
sale at Wal-Mart. Woe be unto thee, Babylon! Nyuk nyuk!

--

HellPope Huey
Composer, Decomposer,
Poseur, EpiscoPopopalian

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it
because the only people who really know where it is
are the ones who have gone over."
-Hunter S. Thompson

"I dreamed I went to Heaven,
but they realized it wasn't my time,
so they sent me back to a brewery."
- "Family Guy"


Correspondent:: König Prüße, GfbAEV
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 02:19:58 GMT

--------
"Ghost" wrote:

>Thats such racist shit. You cant generalize like that and blame all
>your society woes on black males, "The barabrians inside the gate"! Who
>brought the "barbarian" inside the gate to work as slaves, then beat,
>raped, tortured and killed them for the privelidge. You reap what you
>sow. The biggest fucking criminals in your country are the good ol'
>white boys who pass the laws and the power playing capitalists behind
>them. Try looking at your gun laws if your wondering why you have so
>much crime, or the poverty imposed by a capitalist system. "If white
>America told the truth for just one day it's whole world would fall
>apart"
>
>Ghost
>

That's true, so true! In sociology we studied that the "dominant culture"
is legitimate, but could not exist "as is" without the illegitimate sub-cultures.
So, it would appear that "first-class citizens" require "second-class citizens"
to do their shit-work for them. Stop picking-up Whitey's garbage for a while,
and things slow down considerably quick, Remember the Memphis Sanitation
Worker's Strike?
http://www.afscme.org/about/memphist.htm
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Work Union! Live Better!






Correspondent:: Les Cargill
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 03:04:48 GMT

--------
Quirk wrote:

> Dr. Zarkov wrote:
>
>
>>The war on drugs and the prison industry are most certainly not just
>
> due
>
>>to conservatives.
>
>
> Neither party is mine, not the jackass or the elephant.
>
> Splitzing the blame between the parties does not address the question,
> why does the USA have the highest percentage of incarcerated people of
> any nation on earth?


For one, it's the most heterogenous society
on earth. For another, it has the widest
distribution of income. For another, the
drug prohibtion laws tend to incrminate
large swaths of people who would otherwise
not be criminals.

Some of this is just Puritanism, in
multiple ways.

But remember also - prison as a concept was
invented in America, in the form of
the penitentiary system. Penitentiary design was
the original American architectural form - and
its building still bear the mark. Almost all
modern high school buildings bear a striking
resemblance to the 2-story cellblock . It's a
compact way to get maximum use of space.

"The History Channel"'s "The Big House" is
quite informative on the subject.

> And further, why is the racial makeup of the
> prison population so different from the population at large?
>

The makeup of prison poulations roughly
follows the poverty curve. Poverty is
unequal along racial barriers. Also,
peoplpe of means ar emuch more likely
to be able to afford better legal
counsel, much reducing the probability
of incarceration.

--
Les Cargill


Correspondent:: König Prüße, GfbAEV
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 03:58:02 GMT

--------
Les Cargill wrote:

>Quirk wrote:
>
>> Dr. Zarkov wrote:
>>
>>
>>>The war on drugs and the prison industry are most certainly not just
>>
>> due
>>
>>>to conservatives.
>>
>>
>> Neither party is mine, not the jackass or the elephant.
>>
>> Splitzing the blame between the parties does not address the question,
>> why does the USA have the highest percentage of incarcerated people of
>> any nation on earth?
>
>
>For one, it's the most heterogenous society
>on earth. For another, it has the widest
>distribution of income. For another, the
>drug prohibtion laws tend to incrminate
>large swaths of people who would otherwise
>not be criminals.
>
>Some of this is just Puritanism, in
>multiple ways.
>
>But remember also - prison as a concept was
>invented in America, in the form of
>the penitentiary system. Penitentiary design was
>the original American architectural form - and
>its building still bear the mark. Almost all
>modern high school buildings bear a striking
>resemblance to the 2-story cellblock . It's a
>compact way to get maximum use of space.
>
>"The History Channel"'s "The Big House" is
>quite informative on the subject.
>
> > And further, why is the racial makeup of the
>> prison population so different from the population at large?
>>
>
>The makeup of prison poulations roughly
>follows the poverty curve. Poverty is
>unequal along racial barriers. Also,
>peoplpe of means ar emuch more likely
>to be able to afford better legal
>counsel, much reducing the probability
>of incarceration.
>
>--
>Les Cargill

I think that Bentham's "Panopticon" may have been the model.
Theory of Surveillance: The PANOPTICON
The PANOPTICON was proposed as a model prison
by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), a Utilitarian philosopher
and theorist of British legal reform.
http://cartome.org/panopticon1.htm



Correspondent:: "Quirk"
Date: 25 Feb 2005 05:31:15 -0800

--------

Les Cargill wrote:

> For one, it's the most heterogenous society
> on earth.

Other places are quite similarly heterogeneous, visit Canada,
especially Toronto (circa 50% foreign born), or even England or
Australia, yet do not have the incarceration rights. Canada's, for
instance is 1/6th.

> For another, it has the widest
> distribution of income.

Yes. And this wide distribution is a result of a regime of systemic
oppression.

> For another, the
> drug prohibtion laws tend to incrminate
> large swaths of people who would otherwise
> not be criminals.

Is this an accident? Or is this part of the design of the system of
oppression?

> Some of this is just Puritanism, in
> multiple ways.

Nope. If that where the case we'd be saying middle class white kids
being arrested too.

> > And further, why is the racial makeup of the
> > prison population so different from the population at large?

> The makeup of prison poulations roughly
> follows the poverty curve.

Bingo! We have a winner!

> Poverty is
> unequal along racial barriers.

And why is that? Systemic exploitation perhaps?

> Also,
> peoplpe of means ar emuch more likely
> to be able to afford better legal
> counsel, much reducing the probability
> of incarceration.

Unequal legal representation is a part of it, but what accounts for the
probability of *arrest*?

Black Drug Dealers More Likely To Be Arrested

December 1, 2003

By Liz Rocca

A new study says Seattle police unfairly target minorities in drug
arrests.


SEATTLE - Seattle police deny arrests are based on race, but a new
study claims officers are four times more likely to arrest black
dealers than whites.

"There's a lot of evidence that many whites deliver drugs but do not
face any kind of risk of being arrested for doing so," said Professor
Katherine Beckett.

Beckett, a University of Washington professor, analyzed Seattle Police
arrest reports and polled drug users and dealers at Seattle's Needle
Exchange.

Beckett determined that nearly two-thirds of those arrested for selling
drugs are black. Only 19 percent are white, and other racial groups
make up the rest.

Yet Beckett says the vast majority of users and dealers in Seattle are
white. On Capitol Hill, they make up 95 percent of dealers.

"In Seattle I think we are going farther than others have in showing
that white people do constitute the majority of offenders," said
defense attorney Lisa Daugaard.

Daugaard commissioned the study hoping to get the cases of 19 black
defendants dismissed. The defendants are accused of selling small
amounts of cocaine and heroin to undercover officers in downtown
Seattle. The combined weight of the drugs they were selling was less
than the weight of six plain M & M's. The street value was just $600.
Yet, combined, the defendants were facing 150 years behind bars.

With so much at stake, defense attorneys say the law had better be
applied fairly.

"This case is one of the leading examples nationally of an attempt to
ask the court system to take some action when a racial disparity in
drug arrests like this is demonstrated," said Daugaard.

The Seattle Police Department says drug enforcement patrols are often a
response to citizen complaints about illegal street activity.

And the police chief insists drug arrests are based on evidence - not
race.

Next February a King County judge will decide if the drug cases should
be thrown out based on the study results.



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 02:13:10 GMT

--------

"Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
news:4IWdnSFWyr9PgYPfRVn-3w@rcn.net...
> The war on drugs and the prison industry are most certainly not just due to
> conservatives. Clinton fired his own surgeon general for having the guts to
> suggest that we should at least consider drug decriminalization. Neither he
> nor Gore nor Kerry nor any other Democrat or "liberal" of note has had the
> courage to attack the war on drugs or the prison industry. In fact,
> "liberal" Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel of New York has been one of
> the most prominent proponents of the war on drugs and the most vigorous
> opponents of legalization/decriminalization.
>
> As far as prison privatization goes, it's effect is trivial compared to
> public prisons. In many states, including my own, the public prison guards
> represent a strong voting block. The politicians, including the so-called
> "liberal" Democrats who control the state, have refused to do anything to
> antagonize them. This is in spite of the fact that investigations have
> shown many guards routinely rack up $150,000 a year with overtime.
>

Which suggests a currious question. What if prisoners or ex-prisioners
(ex-felons) were allowed to vote?

Bill

> As for Walter Mondale and the Child Protective Services--Mondale was one of
> the most prominent "liberal" Democrats. And Janet Reno, Clinton's attorney
> general, made her mark in Florida prosecuting people in the "child abuse"
> witch hunt of the 80s.
>
> Quirk wrote:
>
>> A Prison State, If Not a Police State
>>
>> by Paul Craig Roberts
>>
>> The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
>> state.
>
>> The US, "the land of the free," has the biggest prison population in
>> the world and the highest rate of prisoners per capita of all countries
>> - including countries that President Bush believes need liberating by
>> US armed forces.
>>
>> Even China, with one party rule and a population that is 4.5 times
>> larger than the US population, has 30% fewer total prisoners than the
>> US. China's per capita rate is a small fraction of the US rate.
>>
>> The US prison population per capita is three times higher than "axis of
>> evil" country Iran, five times higher than Tanzania, and seven times
>> higher than a civilized European country like Germany.
>>
>> One out of every 142 Americans is in prison - and this does not include
>> military prisons or INS jails.
>>
>> The conservatives' war on drugs, launched during President Reagan's
>> first term, bears much of the blame. Between 1980 and 2000, a period
>> during which the US population grew by 21%, the number of state and
>> federal inmates soared by 312%.
>>
>> Almost one-half million Americans are in prison for drugs-only
>> offenses. Many of them are innocent or were encouraged by federal
>> agents or informers posing as friends to transport small amounts of
>> drugs as a favor.
>>
>> Consider Elaine Bartlett, pardoned by New York Gov. George Pataki in
>> 2000 after serving 16 years of a 20-year-sentence. Bartlett was tricked
>> by an acquaintance, who turned out to be a government informant, into
>> taking four ounces of cocaine to Albany. Bartlett was given 20 years
>> even though she had no history of arrests or convictions and left 4
>> children behind, the oldest being 10 years old.
>>
>> Most government informants are real criminals who escape charges or are
>> given lenient plea bargains in exchange for helping prosecutors boost
>> their conviction rates by entrapping innocent people. It is a disgrace
>> to the US legal system that judges permit such false convictions.
>>
>> Many other innocents are in jail because police dropped small packets
>> of drugs - or in the Texas cases bags of ground up wallboard - into
>> their cars when stopped, allegedly for traffic offenses.
>>
>> Society gained nothing but more criminals by locking up Bartlett. Her
>> six-year-old son was traumatized by his mother's absence. At the end of
>> every prison visit he had to be forcefully removed by prison guards
>> from clinging to his mother. By the time he was 10 years old, he was a
>> drug runner. He bought his first gun at age 12 and was in prison by age
>> 16. You can read the whole story in the book, Life on the Outside, by
>> Jennifer Gonnerman.
>>
>> With a legal system that mass-produces criminals, prisons are being
>> constructed at a breathtaking rate. An Urban Institute study, "The New
>> Landscape of Imprisonment," released on April 29, documents the boom in
>> prison construction during the last two decades.
>>
>> Jeremy Travis, one of the authors, says: "The prison network is now
>> deeply intertwined with American life, deeply integrated into the
>> physical and economic infrastructure of a large number of American
>> counties. It provides jobs for construction workers and guards, and
>> because the inmates are counted as residents of the counties where they
>> are incarcerated, it means more federal and state funding and greater
>> political representation for these counties."
>>
>> A number of states now have prisons in almost one-third of their
>> counties. Florida has at least one prison in 78% of its counties! In
>> 1923 there were only 61 prisons in the entire US.
>>
>> Another conservative idea - prison privatization - has created a
>> contractual monster that must be fed with a constant stream of inmates.
>> A variety of new police Gestapos have been created that help to keep
>> the massive prison complex - our own Gulag Archipelago - filled.
>>
>> The most dangerous is Child Protective Services, created by Walter
>> Mondale in response to his constituency of anti-family feminists and
>> "child therapists" in need of employment. CPS was set up on the insane
>> assumption that a large percentage of families committed "child abuse."
>> CPS offices are everywhere, and employees outnumber child abusers.
>>
>> The child sex abuse witch hunt in Wenatchee, Washington, was set off
>> when the local CPS office was told to find some cases to justify its
>> budget. It took years to expose and overturn one of the greatest cases
>> of prosecutorial misconduct in human history. Dozens of families were
>> destroyed and 50 children were put into foster care.
>>
>> The latest report from Child Protective Services Watch documents that
>> children placed in our "child protection system" are 5 times more
>> likely to die from physical abuse and 11 times more likely to be
>> sexually abused than they would be from remaining in the homes from
>> which they are removed!
>>
>> Mondale and his "child advocates" got their Gestapo legislation passed
>> in 1974. A quarter century later there are 500,000 US kids in the
>> "child protection system." Soon there will be one million because of
>> the perverse incentive that funds the system. The federal government
>> pays state and country child welfare services a bounty for each child
>> seized from a family. Linda Wallace Pate, a California attorney
>> specialized in foster cases, calls it a "kids for cash" system.
>>
>> The evidence is overwhelming that children are extremely traumatized by
>> being ripped from families and placed in foster care.
>>
>> It turns out that the overwhelming majority of abused children suffer
>> the abuse from their single mother's live-in boyfriends or overnight
>> lovers.
>>
>> Child abuse is rare in two-parent families, so CPS has expanded abuse
>> to cover spanking - even playground bruises are grounds for seizing
>> children - and shouting ("verbal abuse").
>>
>> The war on crime has turned even parenting into a dangerous occupation.
>>
>>
>> One can't help but wonder whether the US itself is in need of
>> liberation.
>>
>> May 4, 2004
>>
>> Dr. Roberts is John M. Olin Fellow at the Institute for Political
>> Economy and Research Fellow at the Independent Institute. He is a
>> former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal and a former
>> assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury. He is the co-author of The
>> Tyranny of Good Intentions. Copyright © 2004 Creators Syndicate
>>




Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 14:57:31 GMT

--------
On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 13:28:31 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
wrote:
>
>The war on drugs and the prison industry are most certainly not just due
>to conservatives. Clinton fired his own surgeon general for having the
>guts to suggest that we should at least consider drug decriminalization.
>

Indeed! Both parties are to be blamed for this.


--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: "angelicusrex"
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 15:21:51 -0700

--------


"Quirk" wrote in message
news:1109265248.051817.51940@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
A Prison State, If Not a Police State

by Paul Craig Roberts

The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
state.

The US, "the land of the free," has the biggest prison population in
the world and the highest rate of prisoners per capita of all countries
- including countries that President Bush believes need liberating by
US armed forces.


That's because the other countries just kill the fucking criminals and
sometimes their families. The only pissy part is that "criminal" there means
something different than criminal here. A criminal activity in Thailand is
chewing gum on the subway, That's a death sentence right there! In Iraq of
course first the criminal is given to the artists in residence in the Rape
Rooms, then they are benutted, bedicked, bebreasted and/or beheaded and fed
to the jackals in the desert, or they are simply gassed.

Being a criminal elsewhere in the world is like being the damned in hell,
here it's three hots and a cot every day and they teach you how to do
laundry, ride rodeo or make shivs and license plates, or better yet, as New
Mexico did, they make you a director of tourism and you give out tour
information the live long day!

Giving out tours in the hot sun, I fought the law and I'm glad they won!

A.P.




Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 02:22:30 GMT

--------

"angelicusrex" wrote in message
news:3872b7F5h3jq7U1@individual.net...
>
>
> "Quirk" wrote in message
> news:1109265248.051817.51940@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> A Prison State, If Not a Police State
>
> by Paul Craig Roberts
>
> The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
> state.
>
> The US, "the land of the free," has the biggest prison population in
> the world and the highest rate of prisoners per capita of all countries
> - including countries that President Bush believes need liberating by
> US armed forces.
>
>
> That's because the other countries just kill the fucking criminals and
> sometimes their families.

Canada is a good example. I'm sure you can think of others.

>The only pissy part is that "criminal" there means something different than
>criminal here. A criminal activity in Thailand is chewing gum on the subway,
>That's a death sentence right there!

I suspect you are thinking of Singapore. And the max. penalty is caning.

>In Iraq of course first the criminal is given to the artists in residence in
>the Rape Rooms, then they are benutted, bedicked, bebreasted and/or beheaded
>and fed to the jackals in the desert, or they are simply gassed.
>

Still?

Bill

> Being a criminal elsewhere in the world is like being the damned in hell,
> here it's three hots and a cot every day and they teach you how to do
> laundry, ride rodeo or make shivs and license plates, or better yet, as New
> Mexico did, they make you a director of tourism and you give out tour
> information the live long day!
>
> Giving out tours in the hot sun, I fought the law and I'm glad they won!
>
> A.P.
>




Correspondent:: Duncan Patton
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 22:27:18 GMT

--------
On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800
"Quirk" wrote:

> A Prison State, If Not a Police State
>
> by Paul Craig Roberts
>
> The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
> state.
>
[]

And most of 'em are african-american men. Sounds like a eugenics
pogrom t'me.


>
> It turns out that the overwhelming majority of abused children suffer
> the abuse from their single mother's live-in boyfriends or overnight
> lovers.
>

This is so.

> Child abuse is rare in two-parent families, so CPS has expanded abuse
> to cover spanking - even playground bruises are grounds for seizing
> children - and shouting ("verbal abuse").
>

This is also true, and from my observation, regardless of the parents'
sex. Children are a lot of work and brain-strain, more than most
people are up to by themselves.

> The war on crime has turned even parenting into a dangerous occupation.
>
>
> One can't help but wonder whether the US itself is in need of
> liberation.
>
> May 4, 2004
>
> Dr. Roberts is John M. Olin Fellow at the Institute for Political
> Economy and Research Fellow at the Independent Institute. He is a
> former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal and a former
> assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury. He is the co-author of The
> Tyranny of Good Intentions.
>
>
> Copyright © 2004 Creators Syndicate
>


--
???????????????????????????????????????

All persons named herein are purely fictional victims
of the Canidian Bagle Breeder's Association.

Save the Bagle!

Sun Ðhu

???????????????????????????????????????




Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 18:17:14 GMT

--------
On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 22:27:18 GMT, Duncan Patton
wrote:

>On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800
>"Quirk" wrote:
>
>> Child abuse is rare in two-parent families, so CPS has expanded abuse
>> to cover spanking - even playground bruises are grounds for seizing
>> children - and shouting ("verbal abuse").
>>=20
>
>This is also true, and from my observation, regardless of the parents'
>sex. Children are a lot of work and brain-strain, more than most=20
>people are up to by themselves.

Especially if they are working full time to support a parasitic
landowning class as well.

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: Duncan Patton
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 22:03:09 GMT

--------
On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 18:17:14 GMT
royls@telus.net wrote:

> On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 22:27:18 GMT, Duncan Patton
> wrote:
>
> >On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800
> >"Quirk" wrote:
> >
> >> Child abuse is rare in two-parent families, so CPS has expanded abuse
> >> to cover spanking - even playground bruises are grounds for seizing
> >> children - and shouting ("verbal abuse").
> >>=20
> >
> >This is also true, and from my observation, regardless of the parents'
> >sex. Children are a lot of work and brain-strain, more than most=20
> >people are up to by themselves.
>
> Especially if they are working full time to support a parasitic
> landowning class as well.
>
> -- Roy L

Nah. It's needs four eyes to watch yard-apes, and most folks don't got three.

Dhu



--
???????????????????????????????????????

All persons named herein are purely fictional victims
of the Canidian Bagle Breeder's Association.

Save the Bagle!

Sun Ðhu

???????????????????????????????????????




Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 14:51:29 GMT

--------
On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>
>A Prison State, If Not a Police State
>The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
>state.
>

Yeap, this is sad, and mainly due to the silly War on Drugs that both
major parties embrace so fondly.



--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: Big Dog <>
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 20:10:44 -0600

--------
On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:

>A Prison State, If Not a Police State
>
>by Paul Craig Roberts
>
>The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
>state.
>
Not necessarily a problem. The US crime rate is also falling, while
countries with fewer people in jail are seeing a rising crime rate.

Having said that, I must admit that, if I had my way, the US would
decriminalize drug use. As I understand it though, only about 20% of
inmates are in jail for drug use. Another 30% are distributors or
drug makers.


[deleted]

Thanks,
Big Dog




Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 21:11:26 -0500

--------


Big Dog wrote:

>
> Having said that, I must admit that, if I had my way, the US would
> decriminalize drug use. As I understand it though, only about 20% of
> inmates are in jail for drug use. Another 30% are distributors or
> drug makers.

Decriminalize both sale and use. Over half of the prison population walks.

Bob Kolker


Correspondent:: Big Dog <>
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 20:12:35 -0600

--------
On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 21:11:26 -0500, "robert j. kolker"
wrote:

>Big Dog wrote:
>
>> Having said that, I must admit that, if I had my way, the US would
>> decriminalize drug use. As I understand it though, only about 20% of
>> inmates are in jail for drug use. Another 30% are distributors or
>> drug makers.
>
>Decriminalize both sale and use. Over half of the prison population walks.

That is my understanding. I could be wrong. This makes you unhappy,
or what?

Thanks,
Big Dog




Correspondent:: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey)
Date: 2 Mar 2005 10:29:21 -0500

--------
In article , Big Dog <> wrote:
>On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 21:11:26 -0500, "robert j. kolker"
> wrote:
>
>>Big Dog wrote:
>>
>>> Having said that, I must admit that, if I had my way, the US would
>>> decriminalize drug use. As I understand it though, only about 20% of
>>> inmates are in jail for drug use. Another 30% are distributors or
>>> drug makers.
>>
>>Decriminalize both sale and use. Over half of the prison population walks.
>
>That is my understanding. I could be wrong. This makes you unhappy,
>or what?

This is foolish and nonsensical. Right now, kids are living in the ghetto
who see hatred and destruction and poverty all around them. And then a bright
ray of light shines in their life: the drug dealer. The drug dealer drives
a fancy car, he has diamond rings and gold chains and clearly lives the good
life. Kids see the drug dealer and they know their is a way out of their
grinding poverty. They see that selling drugs can bring them a better life.

If you legalize drugs, these children will have no hope. Their neighborhoods
will no longer be patrolled by drug dealers, and these children will lose
the only role models they have. When marijuana is available at the local
convenience store, there will no longer be any profit in selling drugs on
the street. Money that would have been going to the deserving poor in the
ghetto will be going to rich bankers and tobacco companies.

The prohibition of alcohol was a fine thing. It brought boating and aviation
to a huge new audience of private citizens who would never have learned about
such freedom without it. It helped shore up and solidify local governments
in many American cities. It brought us a whole new upper class, people like
the Kennedies who saw alcohol as a way up the social ladder.

When the Volstead act was repealed, the economy of West Virginia collapsed
completely with the loss of their major export. More than half a century
later, it still has yet to recover.

Think of the children, and keep drugs illegal.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."


Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Wed, 02 Mar 2005 19:18:40 GMT

--------
On 2 Mar 2005 10:29:21 -0500, kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

>In article , Big Dog <> wrote:
>>On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 21:11:26 -0500, "robert j. kolker"
>> wrote:
>>
>>>Big Dog wrote:
>>>
>>>> Having said that, I must admit that, if I had my way, the US would
>>>> decriminalize drug use. As I understand it though, only about 20% of
>>>> inmates are in jail for drug use. Another 30% are distributors or
>>>> drug makers.
>>>
>>>Decriminalize both sale and use. Over half of the prison population walks.
>>
>>That is my understanding. I could be wrong. This makes you unhappy,
>>or what?
>
>This is foolish and nonsensical. Right now, kids are living in the ghetto
>who see hatred and destruction and poverty all around them. And then a bright
>ray of light shines in their life: the drug dealer. The drug dealer drives
>a fancy car, he has diamond rings and gold chains and clearly lives the good
>life. Kids see the drug dealer and they know their is a way out of their
>grinding poverty. They see that selling drugs can bring them a better life.

You forget the pimp: he also has a fancy car, etc. Keeping
prostitution illegal (and prostitutes enslaved) gives ghetto kids a
role model, too.

>If you legalize drugs, these children will have no hope. Their neighborhoods
>will no longer be patrolled by drug dealers, and these children will lose
>the only role models they have. When marijuana is available at the local
>convenience store, there will no longer be any profit in selling drugs on
>the street. Money that would have been going to the deserving poor in the
>ghetto will be going to rich bankers and tobacco companies.
>
>The prohibition of alcohol was a fine thing. It brought boating and aviation
>to a huge new audience of private citizens who would never have learned about
>such freedom without it. It helped shore up and solidify local governments
>in many American cities. It brought us a whole new upper class, people like
>the Kennedies who saw alcohol as a way up the social ladder.
>
>When the Volstead act was repealed, the economy of West Virginia collapsed
>completely with the loss of their major export. More than half a century
>later, it still has yet to recover.
>
>Think of the children, and keep drugs illegal.

Hehe. I bet a lot of people would take your post seriously.

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: brthrn@dangermedia.org
Date: 2 Mar 2005 13:08:09 -0800

--------
yah. who?'


Is't she a dumb bitch?



Correspondent:: brthrn@dangermedia.org
Date: 2 Mar 2005 13:15:51 -0800

--------
"Swxcrrerimkiinalaliszatgion



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT

--------

wrote in message news:nqa221tuo4fmqq7ih670ejqbghradeeoto@4ax.com...
> On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>
>>A Prison State, If Not a Police State
>>
>>by Paul Craig Roberts
>>
>>The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
>>state.
>>
> Not necessarily a problem. The US crime rate is also falling, while
> countries with fewer people in jail are seeing a rising crime rate.
>

Part of that is demographics - older people are less likely to comit crimes
and as the population ages the rate of a particular crime per 100,000 people
would drop. And part is due to the excellent techniques introduced by Braton &
Co. in NYC and now elsewhere.

I'm not familiar with the trends in Canada, but they would have a long way to
go to catch up to the US in terms of the proportion of citizens in prision.

What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts. This is not from a
moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill themselves
and destroy their lives with this stuff.



Bill

> Having said that, I must admit that, if I had my way, the US would
> decriminalize drug use. As I understand it though, only about 20% of
> inmates are in jail for drug use. Another 30% are distributors or
> drug makers.
>
>
> [deleted]
>
> Thanks,
> Big Dog
>
>




Correspondent:: Peter White
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:29:07 GMT

--------


Bill wrote:

> wrote in message news:nqa221tuo4fmqq7ih670ejqbghradeeoto@4ax.com...
>
>>On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>>
>>
>>>A Prison State, If Not a Police State
>>>
>>>by Paul Craig Roberts
>>>
>>>The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
>>>state.
>>>
>>
>>Not necessarily a problem. The US crime rate is also falling, while
>>countries with fewer people in jail are seeing a rising crime rate.
>>
>
>
> Part of that is demographics - older people are less likely to comit crimes
> and as the population ages the rate of a particular crime per 100,000 people
> would drop. And part is due to the excellent techniques introduced by Braton &
> Co. in NYC and now elsewhere.
>
> I'm not familiar with the trends in Canada, but they would have a long way to
> go to catch up to the US in terms of the proportion of citizens in prision.
>
> What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
> push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
> drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts. This is not from a
> moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill themselves
> and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>

And of course you would make it illegal for people to consume trans fats.
You are so noble! Such a concept of liberty and freedom.




>
>
> Bill
>
>
>>Having said that, I must admit that, if I had my way, the US would
>>decriminalize drug use. As I understand it though, only about 20% of
>>inmates are in jail for drug use. Another 30% are distributors or
>>drug makers.
>>
>>
>>[deleted]
>>
>>Thanks,
>>Big Dog
>>
>>
>
>
>



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:41:37 GMT

--------

"Peter White" wrote in message
news:DUcUd.10309$oh4.376355@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca...
>
>
> Bill wrote:
>
>> wrote in message
>> news:nqa221tuo4fmqq7ih670ejqbghradeeoto@4ax.com...
>>
>>>On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>A Prison State, If Not a Police State
>>>>
>>>>by Paul Craig Roberts
>>>>
>>>>The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
>>>>state.
>>>>
>>>
>>>Not necessarily a problem. The US crime rate is also falling, while
>>>countries with fewer people in jail are seeing a rising crime rate.
>>>
>>
>>
>> Part of that is demographics - older people are less likely to comit crimes
>> and as the population ages the rate of a particular crime per 100,000
>> people would drop. And part is due to the excellent techniques introduced
>> by Braton & Co. in NYC and now elsewhere.
>>
>> I'm not familiar with the trends in Canada, but they would have a long way
>> to go to catch up to the US in terms of the proportion of citizens in
>> prision.
>>
>> What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
>> push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>> drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts. This is not from a
>> moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill
>> themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>
>
> And of course you would make it illegal for people to consume trans fats.
> You are so noble! Such a concept of liberty and freedom.
>
>
>
>

No. That would be similar to the argument a tobacco executive made equating
gummy bears to cigarettes. But thanks for the compliment anyway.

Bill
>>
>>
>> Bill
>>
>>
>>>Having said that, I must admit that, if I had my way, the US would
>>>decriminalize drug use. As I understand it though, only about 20% of
>>>inmates are in jail for drug use. Another 30% are distributors or
>>>drug makers.
>>>
>>>
>>>[deleted]
>>>
>>>Thanks,
>>>Big Dog
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>




Correspondent:: Dan Clore
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 22:06:51 -0800

--------
Bill wrote:
> wrote in message news:nqa221tuo4fmqq7ih670ejqbghradeeoto@4ax.com...
>>On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:

> What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
> push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
> drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts. This is not from a
> moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill themselves
> and destroy their lives with this stuff.

Won't work worth a damn. You might lower the supply, but
that would raise the price and hence both increase the
associated crime by addicts who need a fix, and increase the
incentive to go into the business. Also, focusing on
stopping drugs at the border would only shift use to drugs
that don't need to be imported, such as methamphetamines,
made from OTC cold medicines. By decreasing the choices
among drugs, you increase the likelihood of people choosing
more harmful drugs.

You're right that people destroy their lives and even kill
themselves with drugs, but the law enforcement approach
maximizes the harm done, rather than minimizing it.

--
Dan Clore

My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587154838/thedanclorenecro/
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
-- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT

--------

"Dan Clore" wrote in message
news:38d6caF5h6vmsU1@individual.net...
> Bill wrote:
>> wrote in message
>> news:nqa221tuo4fmqq7ih670ejqbghradeeoto@4ax.com...
>>>On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>
>> What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
>> push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>> drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts. This is not from a
>> moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill
>> themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>
> Won't work worth a damn. You might lower the supply, but that would raise
> the price and hence both increase the associated crime by addicts who need a
> fix, and increase the incentive to go into the business. Also, focusing on
> stopping drugs at the border would only shift use to drugs that don't need
> to be imported, such as methamphetamines, made from OTC cold medicines. By
> decreasing the choices among drugs, you increase the likelihood of people
> choosing more harmful drugs.

I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and place
such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that if you
ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less addicts. On the local
level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law enforcement.

Bill

>
> You're right that people destroy their lives and even kill themselves with
> drugs, but the law enforcement approach maximizes the harm done, rather than
> minimizing it.
>
> --
> Dan Clore
>
> My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587154838/thedanclorenecro/
> Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
> http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
> News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
>
> Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
> immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
> -- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"
>




Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 07:07:01 GMT

--------
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and place
>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that if you
>ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less addicts. On the local
>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law enforcement.
>

Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?

Could anyone please tell me where the hell do these fascists come
from? Maybe there is a way to close the damn hole...




--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT

--------

"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and place
>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that if you
>>ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less addicts. On the local
>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law enforcement.
>>
>
> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
>

For you, please eat more. :)

Bill

> Could anyone please tell me where the hell do these fascists come
> from? Maybe there is a way to close the damn hole...
>
>
>
>
> --
> "A society that robs an individual of the product of his
> effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
> gang rule." -- Ayn Rand




Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 19:06:42 GMT

--------
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and place
>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that if you
>>>ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less addicts. On the local
>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law enforcement.
>>>
>>
>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
>>
>
>For you, please eat more. :)
>

Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do with
themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?


--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: Wraith
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 12:31:46 -0700

--------
Socialism is a Mental Disease wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
>>
>>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and place
>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that if you
>>>>ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less addicts. On the local
>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law enforcement.
>>>>
>>>
>>>Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
>>>
>>
>>For you, please eat more. :)
>>
>
>
> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do with
> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
>
>

Dear empire,

I am considering a Herod-esque cleansing in order to eliminate this new
tyrant who has been seen under certain aliases. To the respectable and
disrespectable-but-prostrating, get your things in order and take your
people inside.

//


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:38:26 GMT

--------

"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
news:og642150e7fdjgg5qc7j4na53ngeb5ihgk@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>
>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and
>>>>place
>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that if you
>>>>ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less addicts. On the local
>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law enforcement.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
>>>
>>
>>For you, please eat more. :)
>>
>
> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do with
> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
>
>

It is pretty much the opposite. But you seem to have the same stock answers to
fit all situations whether they apply or not. Have another hamburger.

Bill
> --
> "A society that robs an individual of the product of his
> effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
> gang rule." -- Ayn Rand




Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 05:10:40 GMT

--------
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:38:26 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>news:og642150e7fdjgg5qc7j4na53ngeb5ihgk@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and
>>>>>place
>>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that if you
>>>>>ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less addicts. On the local
>>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law enforcement.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
>>>>
>>>
>>>For you, please eat more. :)
>>>
>>
>> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do with
>> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
>>
>>
>
>It is pretty much the opposite. But you seem to have the same stock answers to
>fit all situations whether they apply or not. Have another hamburger.
>

You want to control what people do with your own bodies. You may not
see yourself as a tyrant but a tyrant you are.


--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 05:36:30 GMT

--------

"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
news:gt9521hkjj6vpb6c85vjt0s7v8l97nd9ge@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:38:26 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>news:og642150e7fdjgg5qc7j4na53ngeb5ihgk@4ax.com...
>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>
>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and
>>>>>>place
>>>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that if you
>>>>>>ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less addicts. On the
>>>>>>local
>>>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law enforcement.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>For you, please eat more. :)
>>>>
>>>
>>> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do with
>>> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
>>>
>>>
>>
>>It is pretty much the opposite. But you seem to have the same stock answers
>>to
>>fit all situations whether they apply or not. Have another hamburger.
>>
>
> You want to control what people do with your own bodies.

Certainly. But I have but 1.

>You may not
> see yourself as a tyrant but a tyrant you are.
>
>

Actually, I am emphasizing control at the boarder not at the local level and
more help to people at the local level. In part because drugs are infectious -
they spread one to the other. And in part because people become addicted -
they have no control. If you see this a tyrannical, that's OK with me. I do
not.

Bill

> --
> "A society that robs an individual of the product of his
> effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
> gang rule." -- Ayn Rand




Correspondent:: Manny Davis
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 06:01:31 GMT

--------
"Bill" wrote in
news:y5yUd.4346$DW.4279@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:

>
> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
> news:gt9521hkjj6vpb6c85vjt0s7v8l97nd9ge@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:38:26 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>news:og642150e7fdjgg5qc7j4na53ngeb5ihgk@4ax.com...
>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia
>>>>>>>and place
>>>>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that
>>>>>>>if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less
>>>>>>>addicts. On the local
>>>>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law
>>>>>>>enforcement.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>For you, please eat more. :)
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do with
>>>> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>It is pretty much the opposite. But you seem to have the same stock
>>>answers to
>>>fit all situations whether they apply or not. Have another hamburger.
>>>
>>
>> You want to control what people do with your own bodies.
>
> Certainly. But I have but 1.
>
>>You may not
>> see yourself as a tyrant but a tyrant you are.
>>
>>
>
> Actually, I am emphasizing control at the boarder not at the local
> level and more help to people at the local level. In part because
> drugs are infectious - they spread one to the other.

What nonsense. Ingesting a drug is a volitional decision. If I choose to
use a drug I am not being "infected" by someone else.

Do you consider alcohol and tobacco to be "infectious" also? Or are only
the drugs you don't like infectious?


> And in part
> because people become addicted - they have no control.

More nonsense. Millions of people have quit alcohol, tobacco, heroin,
cocaine, demonstrating that they have control. Sure it can be difficult,
but breaking any habit can be difficult.








Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 06:09:01 GMT

--------

"Manny Davis" wrote in message
news:Xns960BAC7E7570nothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
> "Bill" wrote in
> news:y5yUd.4346$DW.4279@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:
>
>>
>> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>> news:gt9521hkjj6vpb6c85vjt0s7v8l97nd9ge@4ax.com...
>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:38:26 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>
>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>news:og642150e7fdjgg5qc7j4na53ngeb5ihgk@4ax.com...
>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
>>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia
>>>>>>>>and place
>>>>>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that
>>>>>>>>if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less
>>>>>>>>addicts. On the local
>>>>>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law
>>>>>>>>enforcement.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>For you, please eat more. :)
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do with
>>>>> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>It is pretty much the opposite. But you seem to have the same stock
>>>>answers to
>>>>fit all situations whether they apply or not. Have another hamburger.
>>>>
>>>
>>> You want to control what people do with your own bodies.
>>
>> Certainly. But I have but 1.
>>
>>>You may not
>>> see yourself as a tyrant but a tyrant you are.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Actually, I am emphasizing control at the boarder not at the local
>> level and more help to people at the local level. In part because
>> drugs are infectious - they spread one to the other.
>
> What nonsense. Ingesting a drug is a volitional decision. If I choose to
> use a drug I am not being "infected" by someone else.
>
> Do you consider alcohol and tobacco to be "infectious" also? Or are only
> the drugs you don't like infectious?
>
>

Probably. What I mean is that users tend to make other people users.

>> And in part
>> because people become addicted - they have no control.
>
> More nonsense. Millions of people have quit alcohol, tobacco, heroin,
> cocaine, demonstrating that they have control. Sure it can be difficult,
> but breaking any habit can be difficult.
>
>

Yes. But it can be very very difficult. And the health effects of heroin can
be very severe.

And again I assert that a country has a right to control its boarders.

Bill

>
>
>
>




Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 15:59:29 GMT

--------
On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 06:09:01 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>"Manny Davis" wrote in message
>news:Xns960BAC7E7570nothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>> "Bill" wrote in
>> news:y5yUd.4346$DW.4279@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:
>>
>>>
>>> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>> news:gt9521hkjj6vpb6c85vjt0s7v8l97nd9ge@4ax.com...
>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:38:26 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>>news:og642150e7fdjgg5qc7j4na53ngeb5ihgk@4ax.com...
>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>>>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
>>>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia
>>>>>>>>>and place
>>>>>>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that
>>>>>>>>>if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less
>>>>>>>>>addicts. On the local
>>>>>>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law
>>>>>>>>>enforcement.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>For you, please eat more. :)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do with
>>>>>> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>It is pretty much the opposite. But you seem to have the same stock
>>>>>answers to
>>>>>fit all situations whether they apply or not. Have another hamburger.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> You want to control what people do with your own bodies.
>>>
>>> Certainly. But I have but 1.
>>>
>>>>You may not
>>>> see yourself as a tyrant but a tyrant you are.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> Actually, I am emphasizing control at the boarder not at the local
>>> level and more help to people at the local level. In part because
>>> drugs are infectious - they spread one to the other.
>>
>> What nonsense. Ingesting a drug is a volitional decision. If I choose to
>> use a drug I am not being "infected" by someone else.
>>
>> Do you consider alcohol and tobacco to be "infectious" also? Or are only
>> the drugs you don't like infectious?
>>
>>
>
>Probably. What I mean is that users tend to make other people users.
>

More retarded shit coming out of your mouth.



--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 18:55:40 GMT

--------

"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
news:k2g621phu1a8li641p30bg0qt00rgplhrj@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 06:09:01 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>>"Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>news:Xns960BAC7E7570nothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>> "Bill" wrote in
>>> news:y5yUd.4346$DW.4279@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>> news:gt9521hkjj6vpb6c85vjt0s7v8l97nd9ge@4ax.com...
>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:38:26 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>>>news:og642150e7fdjgg5qc7j4na53ngeb5ihgk@4ax.com...
>>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>>>>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
>>>>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia
>>>>>>>>>>and place
>>>>>>>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that
>>>>>>>>>>if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less
>>>>>>>>>>addicts. On the local
>>>>>>>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law
>>>>>>>>>>enforcement.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>For you, please eat more. :)
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do with
>>>>>>> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>It is pretty much the opposite. But you seem to have the same stock
>>>>>>answers to
>>>>>>fit all situations whether they apply or not. Have another hamburger.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> You want to control what people do with your own bodies.
>>>>
>>>> Certainly. But I have but 1.
>>>>
>>>>>You may not
>>>>> see yourself as a tyrant but a tyrant you are.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Actually, I am emphasizing control at the boarder not at the local
>>>> level and more help to people at the local level. In part because
>>>> drugs are infectious - they spread one to the other.
>>>
>>> What nonsense. Ingesting a drug is a volitional decision. If I choose to
>>> use a drug I am not being "infected" by someone else.
>>>
>>> Do you consider alcohol and tobacco to be "infectious" also? Or are only
>>> the drugs you don't like infectious?
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Probably. What I mean is that users tend to make other people users.
>>
>
> More retarded shit coming out of your mouth.
>
>
>
ploink. You are incapable of reasoned discussion and more into name calling.

> --
> "A society that robs an individual of the product of his
> effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
> gang rule." -- Ayn Rand




Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:16:51 GMT

--------
On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 18:55:40 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>news:k2g621phu1a8li641p30bg0qt00rgplhrj@4ax.com...
>> On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 06:09:01 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>"Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>news:Xns960BAC7E7570nothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>>> "Bill" wrote in
>>>> news:y5yUd.4346$DW.4279@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>> news:gt9521hkjj6vpb6c85vjt0s7v8l97nd9ge@4ax.com...
>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:38:26 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>>>>news:og642150e7fdjgg5qc7j4na53ngeb5ihgk@4ax.com...
>>>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>>>>>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
>>>>>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia
>>>>>>>>>>>and place
>>>>>>>>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that
>>>>>>>>>>>if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less
>>>>>>>>>>>addicts. On the local
>>>>>>>>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law
>>>>>>>>>>>enforcement.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>For you, please eat more. :)
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do with
>>>>>>>> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>It is pretty much the opposite. But you seem to have the same stock
>>>>>>>answers to
>>>>>>>fit all situations whether they apply or not. Have another hamburger.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> You want to control what people do with your own bodies.
>>>>>
>>>>> Certainly. But I have but 1.
>>>>>
>>>>>>You may not
>>>>>> see yourself as a tyrant but a tyrant you are.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Actually, I am emphasizing control at the boarder not at the local
>>>>> level and more help to people at the local level. In part because
>>>>> drugs are infectious - they spread one to the other.
>>>>
>>>> What nonsense. Ingesting a drug is a volitional decision. If I choose to
>>>> use a drug I am not being "infected" by someone else.
>>>>
>>>> Do you consider alcohol and tobacco to be "infectious" also? Or are only
>>>> the drugs you don't like infectious?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>Probably. What I mean is that users tend to make other people users.
>>>
>>
>> More retarded shit coming out of your mouth.
>>
>>
>>
>ploink. You are incapable of reasoned discussion and more into name calling.
>

I don't want any reasoned discussion with tyrants.


--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 28 Feb 2005 14:25:41 -0800

--------

Bill wrote:
> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
> news:Xns960BAC7E7570nothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
> > "Bill" wrote in
> > news:y5yUd.4346$DW.4279@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:
> >
> >>
> >> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
> >> news:gt9521hkjj6vpb6c85vjt0s7v8l97nd9ge@4ax.com...
> >>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:38:26 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
message
> >>>>news:og642150e7fdjgg5qc7j4na53ngeb5ihgk@4ax.com...
> >>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
message
> >>>>>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
> >>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control
ammonia
> >>>>>>>>and place
> >>>>>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear
that
> >>>>>>>>if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less
> >>>>>>>>addicts. On the local
> >>>>>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law
> >>>>>>>>enforcement.
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>For you, please eat more. :)
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do
with
> >>>>> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>It is pretty much the opposite. But you seem to have the same
stock
> >>>>answers to
> >>>>fit all situations whether they apply or not. Have another
hamburger.
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>> You want to control what people do with your own bodies.
> >>
> >> Certainly. But I have but 1.
> >>
> >>>You may not
> >>> see yourself as a tyrant but a tyrant you are.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >> Actually, I am emphasizing control at the boarder not at the local
> >> level and more help to people at the local level. In part because
> >> drugs are infectious - they spread one to the other.
> >
> > What nonsense. Ingesting a drug is a volitional decision. If I
choose to
> > use a drug I am not being "infected" by someone else.
> >
> > Do you consider alcohol and tobacco to be "infectious" also? Or are
only
> > the drugs you don't like infectious?
> >
> >
>
> Probably. What I mean is that users tend to make other people users.
>

Wrong. People still have a *choice* in the matter. This isn't a case
of "public health" like the flu where if I spread it the people who get
it don't have a choice to reject it.

> >> And in part
> >> because people become addicted - they have no control.
> >
> > More nonsense. Millions of people have quit alcohol, tobacco,
heroin,
> > cocaine, demonstrating that they have control. Sure it can be
difficult,
> > but breaking any habit can be difficult.
> >
> >
>
> Yes. But it can be very very difficult. And the health effects of
heroin can
> be very severe.
>

As can the health effects of alcohol, tobacco, spray paint (which is
inhaled), etc.

> And again I assert that a country has a right to control its
boarders.
>

But few if any can seal them off entirely. Go ahead and send more
people down to the borders. It'll just be more money wasted.



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 14:41:30 GMT

--------

"Rump Ranger" wrote in message
news:1109629541.423655.307910@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>
> Bill wrote:
>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>> news:Xns960BAC7E7570nothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>> > "Bill" wrote in
>> > news:y5yUd.4346$DW.4279@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:
>> >
>> >>
>> >> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>> >> news:gt9521hkjj6vpb6c85vjt0s7v8l97nd9ge@4ax.com...
>> >>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:38:26 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>> >>>>
>> >>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
> message
>> >>>>news:og642150e7fdjgg5qc7j4na53ngeb5ihgk@4ax.com...
>> >>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
> message
>> >>>>>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
>> >>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control
> ammonia
>> >>>>>>>>and place
>> >>>>>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear
> that
>> >>>>>>>>if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less
>> >>>>>>>>addicts. On the local
>> >>>>>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law
>> >>>>>>>>enforcement.
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>For you, please eat more. :)
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do
> with
>> >>>>> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>It is pretty much the opposite. But you seem to have the same
> stock
>> >>>>answers to
>> >>>>fit all situations whether they apply or not. Have another
> hamburger.
>> >>>>
>> >>>
>> >>> You want to control what people do with your own bodies.
>> >>
>> >> Certainly. But I have but 1.
>> >>
>> >>>You may not
>> >>> see yourself as a tyrant but a tyrant you are.
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>
>> >> Actually, I am emphasizing control at the boarder not at the local
>> >> level and more help to people at the local level. In part because
>> >> drugs are infectious - they spread one to the other.
>> >
>> > What nonsense. Ingesting a drug is a volitional decision. If I
> choose to
>> > use a drug I am not being "infected" by someone else.
>> >
>> > Do you consider alcohol and tobacco to be "infectious" also? Or are
> only
>> > the drugs you don't like infectious?
>> >
>> >
>>
>> Probably. What I mean is that users tend to make other people users.
>>
>
> Wrong.

No. It is absoluetly true. I "learned" to smoke from peers around me, for
example. So as I said users tend to make other people users. Obviously they
have a choice. This is not an issue I raised,

> People still have a *choice* in the matter. This isn't a case
> of "public health" like the flu where if I spread it the people who get
> it don't have a choice to reject it.
>
>> >> And in part
>> >> because people become addicted - they have no control.
>> >
>> > More nonsense. Millions of people have quit alcohol, tobacco,
> heroin,
>> > cocaine, demonstrating that they have control. Sure it can be
> difficult,
>> > but breaking any habit can be difficult.
>> >
>> >
>>
>> Yes. But it can be very very difficult. And the health effects of
> heroin can
>> be very severe.
>>
>
> As can the health effects of alcohol, tobacco, spray paint (which is
> inhaled), etc.
>

Per dose, I think heroin is worse. You rarely hear of people overdosing on
tobacco, for example, it is more a long term thing.

>> And again I assert that a country has a right to control its
> boarders.
>>
>
> But few if any can seal them off entirely. Go ahead and send more
> people down to the borders. It'll just be more money wasted.
>

That is what I propose. Along with other things - More fences. Use of more
technology etc. In effect, place most of the empasis there rather than in
other aspects of the drug war - except to also provide more assistance to
those who want to get clean.

Bill




Correspondent:: Manny Davis
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 15:11:57 GMT

--------
"Bill" wrote in
news:ta%Ud.15291$hU7.1722@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com:

>
> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
> news:1109629541.423655.307910@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>>
>> Bill wrote:
>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>> news:Xns960BAC7E7570nothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>> > "Bill" wrote in
>>> > news:y5yUd.4346$DW.4279@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:
>>> >
>>> >>
>>> >> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
>>> >> message news:gt9521hkjj6vpb6c85vjt0s7v8l97nd9ge@4ax.com...
>>> >>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:38:26 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>> >>>>
>>> >>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
>> message
>>> >>>>news:og642150e7fdjgg5qc7j4na53ngeb5ihgk@4ax.com...
>>> >>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>> >>>>>>
>>> >>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
>> message
>>> >>>>>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
>>> >>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>> >>>>>>>>
>>> >>>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control
>> ammonia
>>> >>>>>>>>and place
>>> >>>>>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear
>> that
>>> >>>>>>>>if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less
>>> >>>>>>>>addicts. On the local
>>> >>>>>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law
>>> >>>>>>>>enforcement.
>>> >>>>>>>>
>>> >>>>>>>
>>> >>>>>>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every
>>> >>>>>>> week?
>>> >>>>>>>
>>> >>>>>>
>>> >>>>>>For you, please eat more. :)
>>> >>>>>>
>>> >>>>>
>>> >>>>> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do
>> with
>>> >>>>> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
>>> >>>>>
>>> >>>>>
>>> >>>>
>>> >>>>It is pretty much the opposite. But you seem to have the same
>> stock
>>> >>>>answers to
>>> >>>>fit all situations whether they apply or not. Have another
>> hamburger.
>>> >>>>
>>> >>>
>>> >>> You want to control what people do with your own bodies.
>>> >>
>>> >> Certainly. But I have but 1.
>>> >>
>>> >>>You may not
>>> >>> see yourself as a tyrant but a tyrant you are.
>>> >>>
>>> >>>
>>> >>
>>> >> Actually, I am emphasizing control at the boarder not at the
>>> >> local level and more help to people at the local level. In part
>>> >> because drugs are infectious - they spread one to the other.
>>> >
>>> > What nonsense. Ingesting a drug is a volitional decision. If I
>> choose to
>>> > use a drug I am not being "infected" by someone else.
>>> >
>>> > Do you consider alcohol and tobacco to be "infectious" also? Or
>>> > are
>> only
>>> > the drugs you don't like infectious?
>>> >
>>> >
>>>
>>> Probably. What I mean is that users tend to make other people users.
>>>
>>
>> Wrong.
>
> No. It is absoluetly true. I "learned" to smoke from peers around me,
> for example. So as I said users tend to make other people users.
> Obviously they have a choice. This is not an issue I raised,

It isn't true as written. How about if reword your claim to something
like "Users sometimes influence other people into using."

But the opposite of that claim is also true. People who use drugs like meth
and crack often have the opposite effect on non users. One can see a meth
addict and quickly realize that you want nothing to do with that drug.

Furthermore, why limit this idea to just drugs? You, for instance, have the
idea in your head that government agents should shoot people who cross the
border of a country. In my mind this is horribly wrong. Yet you are
"infecting" others by talking about it here on usenet, and perhaps others
will begin to think like you do. The "infection" you are spreading
is far more pernicious than that of a peaceful drug user.




Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 16:14:19 GMT

--------

"Manny Davis" wrote in message
news:Xns960C681B29F15nothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
> "Bill" wrote in
> news:ta%Ud.15291$hU7.1722@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com:
>
>>
>> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
>> news:1109629541.423655.307910@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>>>
>>> Bill wrote:
>>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>> news:Xns960BAC7E7570nothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>>> > "Bill" wrote in
>>>> > news:y5yUd.4346$DW.4279@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:
>>>> >
>>>> >>
>>>> >> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
>>>> >> message news:gt9521hkjj6vpb6c85vjt0s7v8l97nd9ge@4ax.com...
>>>> >>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:38:26 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>> >>>>
>>>> >>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
>>> message
>>>> >>>>news:og642150e7fdjgg5qc7j4na53ngeb5ihgk@4ax.com...
>>>> >>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>> >>>>>>
>>>> >>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
>>> message
>>>> >>>>>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
>>>> >>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>> >>>>>>>>
>>>> >>>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control
>>> ammonia
>>>> >>>>>>>>and place
>>>> >>>>>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear
>>> that
>>>> >>>>>>>>if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less
>>>> >>>>>>>>addicts. On the local
>>>> >>>>>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law
>>>> >>>>>>>>enforcement.
>>>> >>>>>>>>
>>>> >>>>>>>
>>>> >>>>>>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every
>>>> >>>>>>> week?
>>>> >>>>>>>
>>>> >>>>>>
>>>> >>>>>>For you, please eat more. :)
>>>> >>>>>>
>>>> >>>>>
>>>> >>>>> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do
>>> with
>>>> >>>>> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
>>>> >>>>>
>>>> >>>>>
>>>> >>>>
>>>> >>>>It is pretty much the opposite. But you seem to have the same
>>> stock
>>>> >>>>answers to
>>>> >>>>fit all situations whether they apply or not. Have another
>>> hamburger.
>>>> >>>>
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>> You want to control what people do with your own bodies.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Certainly. But I have but 1.
>>>> >>
>>>> >>>You may not
>>>> >>> see yourself as a tyrant but a tyrant you are.
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>>
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Actually, I am emphasizing control at the boarder not at the
>>>> >> local level and more help to people at the local level. In part
>>>> >> because drugs are infectious - they spread one to the other.
>>>> >
>>>> > What nonsense. Ingesting a drug is a volitional decision. If I
>>> choose to
>>>> > use a drug I am not being "infected" by someone else.
>>>> >
>>>> > Do you consider alcohol and tobacco to be "infectious" also? Or
>>>> > are
>>> only
>>>> > the drugs you don't like infectious?
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>>
>>>> Probably. What I mean is that users tend to make other people users.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Wrong.
>>
>> No. It is absoluetly true. I "learned" to smoke from peers around me,
>> for example. So as I said users tend to make other people users.
>> Obviously they have a choice. This is not an issue I raised,
>
> It isn't true as written. How about if reword your claim to something
> like "Users sometimes influence other people into using."
>
> But the opposite of that claim is also true. People who use drugs like meth
> and crack often have the opposite effect on non users. One can see a meth
> addict and quickly realize that you want nothing to do with that drug.
>
> Furthermore, why limit this idea to just drugs? You, for instance, have the
> idea in your head that government agents should shoot people who cross the
> border of a country.

I never suggested any such thing. In fact I have said the opposite. People
should not be shot but an attempt made to capture - as happens today.


> In my mind this is horribly wrong. Yet you are
> "infecting" others by talking about it here on usenet, and perhaps others
> will begin to think like you do. The "infection" you are spreading
> is far more pernicious than that of a peaceful drug user.
>
>

I'm not even sure where this discussion started but I think it was my
suggestion that people are sometimes introduced to drugs by others in social
situations and if they were very scarce this would be less likely to happen.
This still seems true.

Bill




Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 19:10:27 GMT

--------
On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 16:14:19 GMT, "Bill" wrote:

>I'm not even sure where this discussion started but I think it was my
>suggestion that people are sometimes introduced to drugs by others in social
>situations and if they were very scarce this would be less likely to happen.
>This still seems true.

But you don't seem to have a handle on the concepts of "cost" and
"benefit." Addictions imply a certain level of cost to society, but
so does enforcement. Spending $1G on enforcement to eliminate $1M in
addiction costs does not make a lot of sense; but at the
zero-tolerance margin, that is what you are proposing, and worse.
Think of it this way: if at any given level of drug importation you
could cut drug imports in half by spending $1G on enforcement, how
much would you have to spend on enforcement to eliminate drug imports
entirely? How much benefit would you get by spending $1G to reduce
total imports from a gram to half a gram?

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 19:55:02 GMT

--------

wrote in message news:4224bd28.8238933@news.telus.net...
> On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 16:14:19 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>>I'm not even sure where this discussion started but I think it was my
>>suggestion that people are sometimes introduced to drugs by others in social
>>situations and if they were very scarce this would be less likely to happen.
>>This still seems true.
>
> But you don't seem to have a handle on the concepts of "cost" and
> "benefit." Addictions imply a certain level of cost to society, but
> so does enforcement. Spending $1G on enforcement to eliminate $1M in
> addiction costs does not make a lot of sense; but at the
> zero-tolerance margin, that is what you are proposing, and worse.

Actually that is not what I'm suggesting. What I'm suggesting is more focus on
the border and less on the local level and less on criminalization and more
and helping people. But I do understand your concept. But there are also
unmeasurable costs - e.g. fatherless familes, beyond the direct govt. costs.
However, I did not suggest you could cut things to zero.

> Think of it this way: if at any given level of drug importation you
> could cut drug imports in half by spending $1G on enforcement, how
> much would you have to spend on enforcement to eliminate drug imports
> entirely? How much benefit would you get by spending $1G to reduce
> total imports from a gram to half a gram?
>
> -- Roy L




Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 28 Feb 2005 14:22:40 -0800

--------
Manny Davis wrote:
> "Bill" wrote in
> news:y5yUd.4346$DW.4279@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:
>
> >
> > "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
> > news:gt9521hkjj6vpb6c85vjt0s7v8l97nd9ge@4ax.com...
> >> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:38:26 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
> >>>
> >>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
> >>>news:og642150e7fdjgg5qc7j4na53ngeb5ihgk@4ax.com...
> >>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
message
> >>>>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
> >>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control
ammonia
> >>>>>>>and place
> >>>>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear
that
> >>>>>>>if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less
> >>>>>>>addicts. On the local
> >>>>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law
> >>>>>>>enforcement.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>For you, please eat more. :)
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do
with
> >>>> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>It is pretty much the opposite. But you seem to have the same
stock
> >>>answers to
> >>>fit all situations whether they apply or not. Have another
hamburger.
> >>>
> >>
> >> You want to control what people do with your own bodies.
> >
> > Certainly. But I have but 1.
> >
> >>You may not
> >> see yourself as a tyrant but a tyrant you are.
> >>
> >>
> >
> > Actually, I am emphasizing control at the boarder not at the local
> > level and more help to people at the local level. In part because
> > drugs are infectious - they spread one to the other.
>
> What nonsense. Ingesting a drug is a volitional decision. If I choose
to
> use a drug I am not being "infected" by someone else.
>
> Do you consider alcohol and tobacco to be "infectious" also? Or are
only
> the drugs you don't like infectious?
>
>
> > And in part
> > because people become addicted - they have no control.
>
> More nonsense. Millions of people have quit alcohol, tobacco, heroin,

> cocaine, demonstrating that they have control. Sure it can be
difficult,
> but breaking any habit can be difficult.

He probably thinks 12 Step groups are the "best" form of "treatment."
He certainly shares some of their more irrational beliefs. Addiction
is no disease. It's a behavioral choice. Unlike real diseases like
cancer or diabetes.



Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 15:58:28 GMT

--------
On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 05:36:30 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>news:gt9521hkjj6vpb6c85vjt0s7v8l97nd9ge@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:38:26 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>news:og642150e7fdjgg5qc7j4na53ngeb5ihgk@4ax.com...
>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:14:22 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>>news:g9s22114p013o5fjfrm925nv91eps39v45@4ax.com...
>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and
>>>>>>>place
>>>>>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that if you
>>>>>>>ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less addicts. On the
>>>>>>>local
>>>>>>>level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law enforcement.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>For you, please eat more. :)
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Do you have some sick pleasure in controlling what people do with
>>>> themselves? Is that a tyrant gene I see in your DNA?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>It is pretty much the opposite. But you seem to have the same stock answers
>>>to
>>>fit all situations whether they apply or not. Have another hamburger.
>>>
>>
>> You want to control what people do with your own bodies.
>
>Certainly. But I have but 1.
>

Huh?

>>You may not
>> see yourself as a tyrant but a tyrant you are.
>>
>>
>
>Actually, I am emphasizing control at the boarder not at the local level and
>more help to people at the local level.
>

I see. Not only do you want to control what people do with their own
bodies, you also want to prevent people from trading with others,
across the borders. The picture gets clearer every time you post.

>
>In part because drugs are infectious - they spread one to the other.
>

Bwahahahahahaha! That's the most retarded thing I've heard lately
regarding drugs.



--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 28 Feb 2005 14:05:33 -0800

--------
Socialism is a Mental Disease wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:37:15 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
> >
> >I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia
and place
> >such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that if
you
> >ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less addicts. On the
local
> >level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law
enforcement.
> >
>
> Hey, how about controlling how many burgers I eat every week?
>
> Could anyone please tell me where the hell do these fascists come
> from? Maybe there is a way to close the damn hole...
>

Want to know where they come from? Easy. They're told from the time
they are little through indoctrination programs (i.e. the public
"education" system) that these myths are true. They're told the
government does no wrong and that making drugs illegal "reduces" the
number of addicts (even though it's obvious that is wrong because the
US has more drug addicts than Europe even though most of their
countries have legalized drugs). Like gun grabbers, these
Prohibitionists have no rational argument.



Correspondent:: Dan Clore
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 00:03:48 -0800

--------
Bill wrote:
> "Dan Clore" wrote in message
> news:38d6caF5h6vmsU1@individual.net...
>>Bill wrote:
>>> wrote in message
>>>news:nqa221tuo4fmqq7ih670ejqbghradeeoto@4ax.com...
>>>>On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:

>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts. This is not from a
>>>moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill
>>>themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>
>>Won't work worth a damn. You might lower the supply, but that would raise
>>the price and hence both increase the associated crime by addicts who need a
>>fix, and increase the incentive to go into the business. Also, focusing on
>>stopping drugs at the border would only shift use to drugs that don't need
>>to be imported, such as methamphetamines, made from OTC cold medicines. By
>>decreasing the choices among drugs, you increase the likelihood of people
>>choosing more harmful drugs.
>
> I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and place
> such cold medications behind pharmacy counters.

Making more and more of a hassle for everyone, not just the
group you want to target.

> It is clear that if you
> ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less addicts.

No, it is not. With a lower supply and increased price,
users tend to use the strongest form available (injecting
methamphetamines instead of taking amphetamine pills,
injecting heroin instead of taking codeine pills or syrup,
smoking crack instead of chewing coca leaves), leading to an
increased chance of addiction and more harm instead of less.

--
Dan Clore

My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587154838/thedanclorenecro/
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
-- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:23:48 GMT

--------

"Dan Clore" wrote in message
news:38dd7jF5mupppU1@individual.net...
> Bill wrote:
>> "Dan Clore" wrote in message
>> news:38d6caF5h6vmsU1@individual.net...
>>>Bill wrote:
>>>> wrote in message
>>>>news:nqa221tuo4fmqq7ih670ejqbghradeeoto@4ax.com...
>>>>>On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>
>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a
>>>>big push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops.
>>>>Less drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts. This is not
>>>>from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill
>>>>themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>>
>>>Won't work worth a damn. You might lower the supply, but that would raise
>>>the price and hence both increase the associated crime by addicts who need
>>>a fix, and increase the incentive to go into the business. Also, focusing
>>>on stopping drugs at the border would only shift use to drugs that don't
>>>need to be imported, such as methamphetamines, made from OTC cold
>>>medicines. By decreasing the choices among drugs, you increase the
>>>likelihood of people choosing more harmful drugs.
>>
>> I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and place
>> such cold medications behind pharmacy counters.
>
> Making more and more of a hassle for everyone, not just the group you want
> to target.
>

That's true.

>> It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be
>> less addicts.
>
> No, it is not. With a lower supply and increased price, users tend to use
> the strongest form available (injecting methamphetamines instead of taking
> amphetamine pills, injecting heroin instead of taking codeine pills or
> syrup, smoking crack instead of chewing coca leaves), leading to an
> increased chance of addiction and more harm instead of less.
>

As I said originally, you focus on hard drugs. In fact the worse, the more
focus. I would, for example, lower or even remove any attention to marijuana.
And there are not many coco leaf chewers in the US.

Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be fewer
addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that make sense to
you?

Bill

> --
> Dan Clore
>
> My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587154838/thedanclorenecro/
> Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
> http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
> News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
>
> Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
> immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
> -- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"
>




Correspondent:: Manny Davis
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 15:23:35 GMT

--------
"Bill" wrote in
news:EkgUd.14089$hU7.2232@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com:

>
> "Dan Clore" wrote in message
> news:38dd7jF5mupppU1@individual.net...
>> Bill wrote:
>>> "Dan Clore" wrote in message
>>> news:38d6caF5h6vmsU1@individual.net...
>>>>Bill wrote:
>>>>> wrote in message
>>>>>news:nqa221tuo4fmqq7ih670ejqbghradeeoto@4ax.com...
>>>>>>On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>>
>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it,
>>>>>make a big push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps
>>>>>using troops. Less drugs on the streets automatically implies less
>>>>>addicts. This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather
>>>>>that people really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with
>>>>>this stuff.
>>>>
>>>>Won't work worth a damn. You might lower the supply, but that would
>>>>raise the price and hence both increase the associated crime by
>>>>addicts who need a fix, and increase the incentive to go into the
>>>>business. Also, focusing on stopping drugs at the border would only
>>>>shift use to drugs that don't need to be imported, such as
>>>>methamphetamines, made from OTC cold medicines. By decreasing the
>>>>choices among drugs, you increase the likelihood of people choosing
>>>>more harmful drugs.
>>>
>>> I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia
>>> and place such cold medications behind pharmacy counters.
>>
>> Making more and more of a hassle for everyone, not just the group you
>> want to target.
>>
>
> That's true.
>
>>> It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will
>>> be less addicts.
>>
>> No, it is not. With a lower supply and increased price, users tend to
>> use the strongest form available (injecting methamphetamines instead
>> of taking amphetamine pills, injecting heroin instead of taking
>> codeine pills or syrup, smoking crack instead of chewing coca
>> leaves), leading to an increased chance of addiction and more harm
>> instead of less.
>>
>
> As I said originally, you focus on hard drugs. In fact the worse, the
> more focus. I would, for example, lower or even remove any attention
> to marijuana. And there are not many coco leaf chewers in the US.

But you probably would increase "focus" on alcohol, because by any
reasonable definition, alcohol is a hard drug.

> Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be
> fewer addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that
> make sense to you?

I agree that with a free or semi-free market in all drugs the number of
addicts would go up. But the number of people in prison for the crime of
harming no one would go down. An addict puts drugs into his own body,
something he has the right to do if he wishes.









Correspondent:: Wraith
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 12:20:25 -0700

--------
Manny Davis wrote:

> I agree that with a free or semi-free market in all drugs the number of
> addicts would go up. But the number of people in prison for the crime of
> harming no one would go down. An addict puts drugs into his own body,
> something he has the right to do if he wishes.

Who says he has this right? Are rights universal and applicable to every
entity?

//


Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 22:01:13 GMT

--------
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 12:20:25 -0700, Wraith
wrote:

>Manny Davis wrote:
>
>> I agree that with a free or semi-free market in all drugs the number of
>> addicts would go up. But the number of people in prison for the crime of
>> harming no one would go down. An addict puts drugs into his own body,
>> something he has the right to do if he wishes.
>
>Who says he has this right? Are rights universal and applicable to every
>entity?

It comes under "pursuit of happiness."

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:09:57 GMT

--------

"Manny Davis" wrote in message
news:Xns960A6A11FB09Fnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
> "Bill" wrote in
> news:EkgUd.14089$hU7.2232@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com:
>
>>
>> "Dan Clore" wrote in message
>> news:38dd7jF5mupppU1@individual.net...
>>> Bill wrote:
>>>> "Dan Clore" wrote in message
>>>> news:38d6caF5h6vmsU1@individual.net...
>>>>>Bill wrote:
>>>>>> wrote in message
>>>>>>news:nqa221tuo4fmqq7ih670ejqbghradeeoto@4ax.com...
>>>>>>>On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>>>
>>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it,
>>>>>>make a big push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps
>>>>>>using troops. Less drugs on the streets automatically implies less
>>>>>>addicts. This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather
>>>>>>that people really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with
>>>>>>this stuff.
>>>>>
>>>>>Won't work worth a damn. You might lower the supply, but that would
>>>>>raise the price and hence both increase the associated crime by
>>>>>addicts who need a fix, and increase the incentive to go into the
>>>>>business. Also, focusing on stopping drugs at the border would only
>>>>>shift use to drugs that don't need to be imported, such as
>>>>>methamphetamines, made from OTC cold medicines. By decreasing the
>>>>>choices among drugs, you increase the likelihood of people choosing
>>>>>more harmful drugs.
>>>>
>>>> I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia
>>>> and place such cold medications behind pharmacy counters.
>>>
>>> Making more and more of a hassle for everyone, not just the group you
>>> want to target.
>>>
>>
>> That's true.
>>
>>>> It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will
>>>> be less addicts.
>>>
>>> No, it is not. With a lower supply and increased price, users tend to
>>> use the strongest form available (injecting methamphetamines instead
>>> of taking amphetamine pills, injecting heroin instead of taking
>>> codeine pills or syrup, smoking crack instead of chewing coca
>>> leaves), leading to an increased chance of addiction and more harm
>>> instead of less.
>>>
>>
>> As I said originally, you focus on hard drugs. In fact the worse, the
>> more focus. I would, for example, lower or even remove any attention
>> to marijuana. And there are not many coco leaf chewers in the US.
>
> But you probably would increase "focus" on alcohol, because by any
> reasonable definition, alcohol is a hard drug.
>
>> Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be
>> fewer addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that
>> make sense to you?
>
> I agree that with a free or semi-free market in all drugs the number of
> addicts would go up. But the number of people in prison for the crime of
> harming no one would go down. An addict puts drugs into his own body,
> something he has the right to do if he wishes.
>
>

You are confusing two things. I'm saying more enforcement at the boarder so
there are less drugs in the country. But less prision time and more help at
the local level.

In the example above, I was simply pointing out that if we opened the boarder
to more drugs (and did nothing at the local level) then there would be more
addicts. You had previously claimed that if we tighten the boarder there would
be more addicts. Both can not be true.

Bill

Bill


>
>
>
>
>




Correspondent:: Manny Davis
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 00:08:37 GMT

--------
"Bill" wrote in
>
> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
> news:Xns960A6A11FB09Fnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>> Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be
>>> fewer addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that
>>> make sense to you?
>>
>> I agree that with a free or semi-free market in all drugs the number
>> of addicts would go up. But the number of people in prison for the
>> crime of harming no one would go down. An addict puts drugs into his
>> own body, something he has the right to do if he wishes.
>>
>>
>
> You are confusing two things. I'm saying more enforcement at the
> boarder so there are less drugs in the country.

Are you aware of what it takes to even make a dent in the amount of drugs
that come across the border? Do you know how long it takes to empty the
contents of a tractor trailer, search through the boxes and put the stuff
back in the trailer? Four million trucks and (iirc) 75 million cars cross
the U.S. Mexico border every year. Are you going to search every one?
Divide those numbers by 365 days in a year and see how ludicrous the idea
is.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/usmxborder/quickfacts.html

Then you have 40 foot ocean containers that get unloaded from ships by
cranes onto waiting trucks and trains at the rate of one every fifteen
seconds. Take a look at the numbers for the Port of Los Angeles:

http://www.portoflosangeles.org/about_faq.htm#5

Millions and millions of big steel boxes. That's just one (albeit busy)
port. The U.S. has hundreds of ports.

No one knows the exact amount of yearly heroin and cocaine usage in the
U.S., but I recall an estimate that an entire years supply of heroin will
fit in one tractor trailer. I think for cocaine it was a dozen tractor
trailers.

Forget about stopping drugs at the border. It is impossible.


>But less prision time
> and more help at the local level.
>
> In the example above, I was simply pointing out that if we opened the
> boarder to more drugs (and did nothing at the local level) then there
> would be more addicts. You had previously claimed that if we tighten
> the boarder there would be more addicts. Both can not be true.

I think you are mistaking me for someone else.



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 00:41:40 GMT

--------

"Manny Davis" wrote in message
news:Xns960AC316676ADnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
> "Bill" wrote in
>>
>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>> news:Xns960A6A11FB09Fnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>>> Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be
>>>> fewer addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that
>>>> make sense to you?
>>>
>>> I agree that with a free or semi-free market in all drugs the number
>>> of addicts would go up. But the number of people in prison for the
>>> crime of harming no one would go down. An addict puts drugs into his
>>> own body, something he has the right to do if he wishes.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> You are confusing two things. I'm saying more enforcement at the
>> boarder so there are less drugs in the country.
>
> Are you aware of what it takes to even make a dent in the amount of drugs
> that come across the border? Do you know how long it takes to empty the
> contents of a tractor trailer, search through the boxes and put the stuff
> back in the trailer? Four million trucks and (iirc) 75 million cars cross
> the U.S. Mexico border every year. Are you going to search every one?
> Divide those numbers by 365 days in a year and see how ludicrous the idea
> is.
>
> http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/usmxborder/quickfacts.html
>
> Then you have 40 foot ocean containers that get unloaded from ships by
> cranes onto waiting trucks and trains at the rate of one every fifteen
> seconds. Take a look at the numbers for the Port of Los Angeles:
>
> http://www.portoflosangeles.org/about_faq.htm#5
>
> Millions and millions of big steel boxes. That's just one (albeit busy)
> port. The U.S. has hundreds of ports.
>
> No one knows the exact amount of yearly heroin and cocaine usage in the
> U.S., but I recall an estimate that an entire years supply of heroin will
> fit in one tractor trailer. I think for cocaine it was a dozen tractor
> trailers.
>
> Forget about stopping drugs at the border. It is impossible.
>
>

First, you don't have to find every one or even half. If you find some then
you can let it though and see who picks it up and you have probably made a big
dent. You can also try to trace it back to the source.

Second, in my original post I said this would have wait until the end of the
Iraq war. So I did envision a massive effort.

Third, I think you can do somethings by having very secure containers with
electronic sensors and some controls at the source. For example, a foreign toy
company would know it would lose its liscence to ship to the US if drugs were
found in its shipment through random tests.

Fourth, I would use more sophisticated technical means. For example, the
electronic equivalent of a dog's nose.

Fifth, more empasis on informers.

So you are more effective at stopping drugs at the boarder but you are also
using information to try get at the big buyers and sellers.

Bill


>>But less prision time
>> and more help at the local level.
>>
>> In the example above, I was simply pointing out that if we opened the
>> boarder to more drugs (and did nothing at the local level) then there
>> would be more addicts. You had previously claimed that if we tighten
>> the boarder there would be more addicts. Both can not be true.
>
> I think you are mistaking me for someone else.
>




Correspondent:: Manny Davis
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 01:25:08 GMT

--------
Bill wrote:

>
> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
> news:Xns960AC316676ADnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>> "Bill" wrote in
>>>
>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>> news:Xns960A6A11FB09Fnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>>>> Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be
>>>>> fewer addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that
>>>>> make sense to you?
>>>>
>>>> I agree that with a free or semi-free market in all drugs the
>>>> number of addicts would go up. But the number of people in prison
>>>> for the crime of harming no one would go down. An addict puts drugs
>>>> into his own body, something he has the right to do if he wishes.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> You are confusing two things. I'm saying more enforcement at the
>>> boarder so there are less drugs in the country.
>>
>> Are you aware of what it takes to even make a dent in the amount of
>> drugs that come across the border? Do you know how long it takes to
>> empty the contents of a tractor trailer, search through the boxes and
>> put the stuff back in the trailer? Four million trucks and (iirc) 75
>> million cars cross the U.S. Mexico border every year. Are you going
>> to search every one? Divide those numbers by 365 days in a year and
>> see how ludicrous the idea is.
>>
>> http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/usmxborder/quickfacts.html
>>
>> Then you have 40 foot ocean containers that get unloaded from ships
>> by cranes onto waiting trucks and trains at the rate of one every
>> fifteen seconds. Take a look at the numbers for the Port of Los
>> Angeles:
>>
>> http://www.portoflosangeles.org/about_faq.htm#5
>>
>> Millions and millions of big steel boxes. That's just one (albeit
>> busy) port. The U.S. has hundreds of ports.
>>
>> No one knows the exact amount of yearly heroin and cocaine usage in
>> the U.S., but I recall an estimate that an entire years supply of
>> heroin will fit in one tractor trailer. I think for cocaine it was a
>> dozen tractor trailers.
>>
>> Forget about stopping drugs at the border. It is impossible.
>>
>>
>
> First, you don't have to find every one or even half. If you find some
> then you can let it though and see who picks it up and you have
> probably made a big dent. You can also try to trace it back to the
> source.

How? By torturing the people you caught till they tell you what you want to
know? The drug lords are not stupid. They have been dealing with
interdiction efforts for a long time:

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/interdic.htm


> Second, in my original post I said this would have wait until the end
> of the Iraq war. So I did envision a massive effort.

Wonderful. I am imagining a country enclosed with barbed wire, guard
towers, german shepards, machine guns, etc. Sounds like paradise.

> Third, I think you can do somethings by having very secure containers
> with electronic sensors and some controls at the source. For example,
> a foreign toy company would know it would lose its liscence to ship to
> the US if drugs were found in its shipment through random tests.
>
> Fourth, I would use more sophisticated technical means. For example,
> the electronic equivalent of a dog's nose.

Except it doesn't exist.

> Fifth, more empasis on informers.

Great. You're willing to implement every dirty despicable government trick
in the book in order to "fight drugs".

What concern is it of yours as to what drugs other people wish to use?
Didn't your mother ever teach you to mind your own fucking business?







Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 03:10:26 GMT

--------

"Manny Davis" wrote in message
news:Xns960AD00F525CCnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
> Bill wrote:
>
>>
>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>> news:Xns960AC316676ADnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>> "Bill" wrote in
>>>>
>>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>> news:Xns960A6A11FB09Fnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>>>>> Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be
>>>>>> fewer addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that
>>>>>> make sense to you?
>>>>>
>>>>> I agree that with a free or semi-free market in all drugs the
>>>>> number of addicts would go up. But the number of people in prison
>>>>> for the crime of harming no one would go down. An addict puts drugs
>>>>> into his own body, something he has the right to do if he wishes.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> You are confusing two things. I'm saying more enforcement at the
>>>> boarder so there are less drugs in the country.
>>>
>>> Are you aware of what it takes to even make a dent in the amount of
>>> drugs that come across the border? Do you know how long it takes to
>>> empty the contents of a tractor trailer, search through the boxes and
>>> put the stuff back in the trailer? Four million trucks and (iirc) 75
>>> million cars cross the U.S. Mexico border every year. Are you going
>>> to search every one? Divide those numbers by 365 days in a year and
>>> see how ludicrous the idea is.
>>>
>>> http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/usmxborder/quickfacts.html
>>>
>>> Then you have 40 foot ocean containers that get unloaded from ships
>>> by cranes onto waiting trucks and trains at the rate of one every
>>> fifteen seconds. Take a look at the numbers for the Port of Los
>>> Angeles:
>>>
>>> http://www.portoflosangeles.org/about_faq.htm#5
>>>
>>> Millions and millions of big steel boxes. That's just one (albeit
>>> busy) port. The U.S. has hundreds of ports.
>>>
>>> No one knows the exact amount of yearly heroin and cocaine usage in
>>> the U.S., but I recall an estimate that an entire years supply of
>>> heroin will fit in one tractor trailer. I think for cocaine it was a
>>> dozen tractor trailers.
>>>
>>> Forget about stopping drugs at the border. It is impossible.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> First, you don't have to find every one or even half. If you find some
>> then you can let it though and see who picks it up and you have
>> probably made a big dent. You can also try to trace it back to the
>> source.
>
> How? By torturing the people you caught till they tell you what you want to
> know? The drug lords are not stupid. They have been dealing with
> interdiction efforts for a long time:
>
> http://www.drugwarfacts.org/interdic.htm
>
>

No. You are resorting to making up things that I never said and then
attempting to redicule them.

>> Second, in my original post I said this would have wait until the end
>> of the Iraq war. So I did envision a massive effort.
>
> Wonderful. I am imagining a country enclosed with barbed wire, guard
> towers, german shepards, machine guns, etc. Sounds like paradise.
>

Again.

>> Third, I think you can do somethings by having very secure containers
>> with electronic sensors and some controls at the source. For example,
>> a foreign toy company would know it would lose its liscence to ship to
>> the US if drugs were found in its shipment through random tests.
>>
>> Fourth, I would use more sophisticated technical means. For example,
>> the electronic equivalent of a dog's nose.
>
> Except it doesn't exist.
>

Actually, there is quite a bit of work being done on that. With more funding
it could.
>> Fifth, more empasis on informers.
>
> Great. You're willing to implement every dirty despicable government trick
> in the book in order to "fight drugs".
>

Again.

> What concern is it of yours as to what drugs other people wish to use?
> Didn't your mother ever teach you to mind your own fucking business?
>
>
>

Now mother referrences to make your argument.

>
>




Correspondent:: Manny Davis
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 05:41:12 GMT

--------
Bill wrote:

> "Manny Davis" wrote:
>> Bill wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>> news:Xns960AC316676ADnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>>> "Bill" wrote in
>>>>>
>>>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>>> news:Xns960A6A11FB09Fnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>>>>>> Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would
>>>>>>> be fewer addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does
>>>>>>> that make sense to you?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I agree that with a free or semi-free market in all drugs the
>>>>>> number of addicts would go up. But the number of people in prison
>>>>>> for the crime of harming no one would go down. An addict puts
>>>>>> drugs into his own body, something he has the right to do if he
>>>>>> wishes.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> You are confusing two things. I'm saying more enforcement at the
>>>>> boarder so there are less drugs in the country.
>>>>
>>>> Are you aware of what it takes to even make a dent in the amount of
>>>> drugs that come across the border? Do you know how long it takes to
>>>> empty the contents of a tractor trailer, search through the boxes
>>>> and put the stuff back in the trailer? Four million trucks and
>>>> (iirc) 75 million cars cross the U.S. Mexico border every year. Are
>>>> you going to search every one? Divide those numbers by 365 days in
>>>> a year and see how ludicrous the idea is.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/usmxborder/quickfacts.html
>>>>
>>>> Then you have 40 foot ocean containers that get unloaded from ships
>>>> by cranes onto waiting trucks and trains at the rate of one every
>>>> fifteen seconds. Take a look at the numbers for the Port of Los
>>>> Angeles:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.portoflosangeles.org/about_faq.htm#5
>>>>
>>>> Millions and millions of big steel boxes. That's just one (albeit
>>>> busy) port. The U.S. has hundreds of ports.
>>>>
>>>> No one knows the exact amount of yearly heroin and cocaine usage in
>>>> the U.S., but I recall an estimate that an entire years supply of
>>>> heroin will fit in one tractor trailer. I think for cocaine it was
>>>> a dozen tractor trailers.
>>>>
>>>> Forget about stopping drugs at the border. It is impossible.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> First, you don't have to find every one or even half. If you find
>>> some then you can let it though and see who picks it up and you have
>>> probably made a big dent. You can also try to trace it back to the
>>> source.
>>
>> How? By torturing the people you caught till they tell you what you
>> want to know? The drug lords are not stupid. They have been dealing
>> with interdiction efforts for a long time:
>>
>> http://www.drugwarfacts.org/interdic.htm
>>
>>
>
> No. You are resorting to making up things that I never said and then
> attempting to redicule them.

Then explain how you would "trace it back to the source". Then explain
why that isn't being done now. The drug war has been going on for
decades. What is different about what you want to do?


>
>>> Second, in my original post I said this would have wait until the
>>> end of the Iraq war. So I did envision a massive effort.
>>
>> Wonderful. I am imagining a country enclosed with barbed wire, guard
>> towers, german shepards, machine guns, etc. Sounds like paradise.
>>
>
> Again.

You want the army to engage in a "massive effort" on U.S. soil.
What else can it mean?


>>> Fifth, more empasis on informers.
>>
>> Great. You're willing to implement every dirty despicable government
>> trick in the book in order to "fight drugs".
>>
>
> Again.

You want to use informers for what is essentially a political crime, i.e.
a crime against the state, not a crime against another person or another
person's property. I am not distorting your position. Your position is,
in fact, despicable.




Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 06:02:39 GMT

--------

"Manny Davis" wrote in message
news:Xns960B755EFEEBnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
> Bill wrote:
>
>> "Manny Davis" wrote:
>>> Bill wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>> news:Xns960AC316676ADnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>>>> "Bill" wrote in
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>>>> news:Xns960A6A11FB09Fnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>>>>>>> Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would
>>>>>>>> be fewer addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does
>>>>>>>> that make sense to you?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I agree that with a free or semi-free market in all drugs the
>>>>>>> number of addicts would go up. But the number of people in prison
>>>>>>> for the crime of harming no one would go down. An addict puts
>>>>>>> drugs into his own body, something he has the right to do if he
>>>>>>> wishes.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> You are confusing two things. I'm saying more enforcement at the
>>>>>> boarder so there are less drugs in the country.
>>>>>
>>>>> Are you aware of what it takes to even make a dent in the amount of
>>>>> drugs that come across the border? Do you know how long it takes to
>>>>> empty the contents of a tractor trailer, search through the boxes
>>>>> and put the stuff back in the trailer? Four million trucks and
>>>>> (iirc) 75 million cars cross the U.S. Mexico border every year. Are
>>>>> you going to search every one? Divide those numbers by 365 days in
>>>>> a year and see how ludicrous the idea is.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/usmxborder/quickfacts.html
>>>>>
>>>>> Then you have 40 foot ocean containers that get unloaded from ships
>>>>> by cranes onto waiting trucks and trains at the rate of one every
>>>>> fifteen seconds. Take a look at the numbers for the Port of Los
>>>>> Angeles:
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.portoflosangeles.org/about_faq.htm#5
>>>>>
>>>>> Millions and millions of big steel boxes. That's just one (albeit
>>>>> busy) port. The U.S. has hundreds of ports.
>>>>>
>>>>> No one knows the exact amount of yearly heroin and cocaine usage in
>>>>> the U.S., but I recall an estimate that an entire years supply of
>>>>> heroin will fit in one tractor trailer. I think for cocaine it was
>>>>> a dozen tractor trailers.
>>>>>
>>>>> Forget about stopping drugs at the border. It is impossible.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> First, you don't have to find every one or even half. If you find
>>>> some then you can let it though and see who picks it up and you have
>>>> probably made a big dent. You can also try to trace it back to the
>>>> source.
>>>
>>> How? By torturing the people you caught till they tell you what you
>>> want to know? The drug lords are not stupid. They have been dealing
>>> with interdiction efforts for a long time:
>>>
>>> http://www.drugwarfacts.org/interdic.htm
>>>
>>>
>>
>> No. You are resorting to making up things that I never said and then
>> attempting to redicule them.
>
> Then explain how you would "trace it back to the source". Then explain
> why that isn't being done now. The drug war has been going on for
> decades. What is different about what you want to do?
>
>

It would be similar except to larger degree with more resouces expended on
each individual interception and more interceptions.

>>
>>>> Second, in my original post I said this would have wait until the
>>>> end of the Iraq war. So I did envision a massive effort.
>>>
>>> Wonderful. I am imagining a country enclosed with barbed wire, guard
>>> towers, german shepards, machine guns, etc. Sounds like paradise.
>>>
>>
>> Again.
>
> You want the army to engage in a "massive effort" on U.S. soil.
> What else can it mean?
>
>

It would not have to be the army. Just the budget resources. I don't see
German Shepards or Machine guns. Perhaps bigger walls. The emphasis would be
on stopping things from getting though and capturing people who do get
through - not killing them

>>>> Fifth, more empasis on informers.
>>>
>>> Great. You're willing to implement every dirty despicable government
>>> trick in the book in order to "fight drugs".
>>>
>>
>> Again.
>
> You want to use informers for what is essentially a political crime, i.e.
> a crime against the state, not a crime against another person or another
> person's property. I am not distorting your position. Your position is,
> in fact, despicable.
>
>

You have just chosen to label this as a political crime and then call using
informants despicable. Assume, the people were importing machine guns, That is
not a crime angains any individual or any individual's property. Why would
using an informant to find the source be despicable?

But however what you said was:

>>> Great. You're willing to implement every dirty despicable government
>>> trick in the book in order to "fight drugs".


There must be more dirty despicable government tricks in the book than using
informants.

Bill




Correspondent:: Manny Davis
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 06:22:22 GMT

--------
"Bill" wrote in
news:3uyUd.4353$DW.965@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:

>
> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
> news:Xns960B755EFEEBnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>> Bill wrote:
>>
>>> "Manny Davis" wrote:
>>>> Bill wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>>> news:Xns960AC316676ADnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>>>>> "Bill" wrote in
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>>>>> news:Xns960A6A11FB09Fnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>>>>>>>> Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there
>>>>>>>>> would be fewer addicts if simply opened the boarder to all
>>>>>>>>> drugs. Does that make sense to you?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I agree that with a free or semi-free market in all drugs the
>>>>>>>> number of addicts would go up. But the number of people in
>>>>>>>> prison for the crime of harming no one would go down. An addict
>>>>>>>> puts drugs into his own body, something he has the right to do
>>>>>>>> if he wishes.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> You are confusing two things. I'm saying more enforcement at the
>>>>>>> boarder so there are less drugs in the country.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Are you aware of what it takes to even make a dent in the amount
>>>>>> of drugs that come across the border? Do you know how long it
>>>>>> takes to empty the contents of a tractor trailer, search through
>>>>>> the boxes and put the stuff back in the trailer? Four million
>>>>>> trucks and (iirc) 75 million cars cross the U.S. Mexico border
>>>>>> every year. Are you going to search every one? Divide those
>>>>>> numbers by 365 days in a year and see how ludicrous the idea is.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/usmxborder/quickfacts.html
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Then you have 40 foot ocean containers that get unloaded from
>>>>>> ships by cranes onto waiting trucks and trains at the rate of one
>>>>>> every fifteen seconds. Take a look at the numbers for the Port of
>>>>>> Los Angeles:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://www.portoflosangeles.org/about_faq.htm#5
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Millions and millions of big steel boxes. That's just one (albeit
>>>>>> busy) port. The U.S. has hundreds of ports.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> No one knows the exact amount of yearly heroin and cocaine usage
>>>>>> in the U.S., but I recall an estimate that an entire years supply
>>>>>> of heroin will fit in one tractor trailer. I think for cocaine it
>>>>>> was a dozen tractor trailers.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Forget about stopping drugs at the border. It is impossible.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> First, you don't have to find every one or even half. If you find
>>>>> some then you can let it though and see who picks it up and you
>>>>> have probably made a big dent. You can also try to trace it back
>>>>> to the source.
>>>>
>>>> How? By torturing the people you caught till they tell you what you
>>>> want to know? The drug lords are not stupid. They have been dealing
>>>> with interdiction efforts for a long time:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.drugwarfacts.org/interdic.htm
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> No. You are resorting to making up things that I never said and then
>>> attempting to redicule them.
>>
>> Then explain how you would "trace it back to the source". Then
>> explain why that isn't being done now. The drug war has been going on
>> for decades. What is different about what you want to do?
>>
>>
>
> It would be similar except to larger degree with more resouces
> expended on each individual interception and more interceptions.
>
>>>>> Second, in my original post I said this would have wait until the
>>>>> end of the Iraq war. So I did envision a massive effort.
>>>>
>>>> Wonderful. I am imagining a country enclosed with barbed wire,
>>>> guard towers, german shepards, machine guns, etc. Sounds like
>>>> paradise.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Again.
>>
>> You want the army to engage in a "massive effort" on U.S. soil.
>> What else can it mean?
>>
>>
>
> It would not have to be the army. Just the budget resources. I don't
> see German Shepards or Machine guns. Perhaps bigger walls. The
> emphasis would be on stopping things from getting though and capturing
> people who do get through - not killing them

But it is not possible to stop things from getting through. There are too
many cars, trucks, ships, and people and only a (relatively) tiny amount
of hard drugs. Eighty percent of the drug war is marijuana, which is one
reason why MJ will never be legalized.



>>>>> Fifth, more empasis on informers.
>>>>
>>>> Great. You're willing to implement every dirty despicable
>>>> government trick in the book in order to "fight drugs".
>>>>
>>>
>>> Again.
>>
>> You want to use informers for what is essentially a political crime,
>> i.e. a crime against the state, not a crime against another person or
>> another person's property. I am not distorting your position. Your
>> position is, in fact, despicable.
>>
>>
>
> You have just chosen to label this as a political crime and then call
> using informants despicable. Assume, the people were importing machine
> guns, That is not a crime angains any individual or any individual's
> property. Why would using an informant to find the source be
> despicable?

I have no problem with people importing machine guns. If you have
evidence that they intend to do bad things with the guns, then that would
be a different story. A bag of recreational drugs is not a weapon.

Tell me, should children inform on their parents to the police if they
know their parents are using currently illegal drugs?






Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 06:39:27 GMT

--------

"Manny Davis" wrote in message
news:Xns960BE50E2B5nothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
> "Bill" wrote in
> news:3uyUd.4353$DW.965@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:
>
>>
>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>> news:Xns960B755EFEEBnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>> Bill wrote:
>>>
>>>> "Manny Davis" wrote:
>>>>> Bill wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>>>> news:Xns960AC316676ADnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>>>>>> "Bill" wrote in
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>>>>>> news:Xns960A6A11FB09Fnothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>>>>>>>>> Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there
>>>>>>>>>> would be fewer addicts if simply opened the boarder to all
>>>>>>>>>> drugs. Does that make sense to you?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I agree that with a free or semi-free market in all drugs the
>>>>>>>>> number of addicts would go up. But the number of people in
>>>>>>>>> prison for the crime of harming no one would go down. An addict
>>>>>>>>> puts drugs into his own body, something he has the right to do
>>>>>>>>> if he wishes.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> You are confusing two things. I'm saying more enforcement at the
>>>>>>>> boarder so there are less drugs in the country.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Are you aware of what it takes to even make a dent in the amount
>>>>>>> of drugs that come across the border? Do you know how long it
>>>>>>> takes to empty the contents of a tractor trailer, search through
>>>>>>> the boxes and put the stuff back in the trailer? Four million
>>>>>>> trucks and (iirc) 75 million cars cross the U.S. Mexico border
>>>>>>> every year. Are you going to search every one? Divide those
>>>>>>> numbers by 365 days in a year and see how ludicrous the idea is.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/usmxborder/quickfacts.html
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Then you have 40 foot ocean containers that get unloaded from
>>>>>>> ships by cranes onto waiting trucks and trains at the rate of one
>>>>>>> every fifteen seconds. Take a look at the numbers for the Port of
>>>>>>> Los Angeles:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> http://www.portoflosangeles.org/about_faq.htm#5
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Millions and millions of big steel boxes. That's just one (albeit
>>>>>>> busy) port. The U.S. has hundreds of ports.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> No one knows the exact amount of yearly heroin and cocaine usage
>>>>>>> in the U.S., but I recall an estimate that an entire years supply
>>>>>>> of heroin will fit in one tractor trailer. I think for cocaine it
>>>>>>> was a dozen tractor trailers.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Forget about stopping drugs at the border. It is impossible.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> First, you don't have to find every one or even half. If you find
>>>>>> some then you can let it though and see who picks it up and you
>>>>>> have probably made a big dent. You can also try to trace it back
>>>>>> to the source.
>>>>>
>>>>> How? By torturing the people you caught till they tell you what you
>>>>> want to know? The drug lords are not stupid. They have been dealing
>>>>> with interdiction efforts for a long time:
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.drugwarfacts.org/interdic.htm
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> No. You are resorting to making up things that I never said and then
>>>> attempting to redicule them.
>>>
>>> Then explain how you would "trace it back to the source". Then
>>> explain why that isn't being done now. The drug war has been going on
>>> for decades. What is different about what you want to do?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> It would be similar except to larger degree with more resouces
>> expended on each individual interception and more interceptions.
>>
>>>>>> Second, in my original post I said this would have wait until the
>>>>>> end of the Iraq war. So I did envision a massive effort.
>>>>>
>>>>> Wonderful. I am imagining a country enclosed with barbed wire,
>>>>> guard towers, german shepards, machine guns, etc. Sounds like
>>>>> paradise.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Again.
>>>
>>> You want the army to engage in a "massive effort" on U.S. soil.
>>> What else can it mean?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> It would not have to be the army. Just the budget resources. I don't
>> see German Shepards or Machine guns. Perhaps bigger walls. The
>> emphasis would be on stopping things from getting though and capturing
>> people who do get through - not killing them
>
> But it is not possible to stop things from getting through. There are too
> many cars, trucks, ships, and people and only a (relatively) tiny amount
> of hard drugs. Eighty percent of the drug war is marijuana, which is one
> reason why MJ will never be legalized.
>
>
>

It is possible to stop things from getting through. It is just a question of
how much. And I assert that if you put more resources on it, less will get
through. And, as I said before, I would put less emphasis on MJ.

>>>>>> Fifth, more empasis on informers.
>>>>>
>>>>> Great. You're willing to implement every dirty despicable
>>>>> government trick in the book in order to "fight drugs".
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Again.
>>>
>>> You want to use informers for what is essentially a political crime,
>>> i.e. a crime against the state, not a crime against another person or
>>> another person's property. I am not distorting your position. Your
>>> position is, in fact, despicable.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> You have just chosen to label this as a political crime and then call
>> using informants despicable. Assume, the people were importing machine
>> guns, That is not a crime angains any individual or any individual's
>> property. Why would using an informant to find the source be
>> despicable?
>
> I have no problem with people importing machine guns. If you have
> evidence that they intend to do bad things with the guns, then that would
> be a different story. A bag of recreational drugs is not a weapon.
>

I just disagree on the machine gun thing. But that is off the subject. Pick
any example you like - would it be dispicable if the govt. used an informant
to find someone cheating on taxes?


> Tell me, should children inform on their parents to the police if they
> know their parents are using currently illegal drugs?
>
>
>

That would be up to the kid. But it is entirely off the subject. The question
is whether it is OK for the govt. to use someone who is already engaged in
illegal activity as an informant.

Bill

>




Correspondent:: Manny Davis
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 07:29:12 GMT

--------
Bill wrote:

> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>> You have just chosen to label this as a political crime and then
>>> call using informants despicable. Assume, the people were importing
>>> machine guns, That is not a crime angains any individual or any
>>> individual's property. Why would using an informant to find the
>>> source be despicable?
>>
>> I have no problem with people importing machine guns. If you have
>> evidence that they intend to do bad things with the guns, then that
>> would be a different story. A bag of recreational drugs is not a
>> weapon.
>>
>
> I just disagree on the machine gun thing. But that is off the
> subject. Pick any example you like - would it be dispicable if the
> govt. used an informant to find someone cheating on taxes?

I concede that taxation is a real crime. The crime is extortion, the
criminal is the state, and the victims are the people who are forced to
pay the protection money. The problem is you have the informant turning
in the victim instead of the criminal.






Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 09:05:14 GMT

--------

"Manny Davis" wrote in message
news:Xns960B19A54B8C8nothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
> Bill wrote:
>
>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>> You have just chosen to label this as a political crime and then
>>>> call using informants despicable. Assume, the people were importing
>>>> machine guns, That is not a crime angains any individual or any
>>>> individual's property. Why would using an informant to find the
>>>> source be despicable?
>>>
>>> I have no problem with people importing machine guns. If you have
>>> evidence that they intend to do bad things with the guns, then that
>>> would be a different story. A bag of recreational drugs is not a
>>> weapon.
>>>
>>
>> I just disagree on the machine gun thing. But that is off the
>> subject. Pick any example you like - would it be dispicable if the
>> govt. used an informant to find someone cheating on taxes?
>
> I concede that taxation is a real crime. The crime is extortion, the
> criminal is the state, and the victims are the people who are forced to
> pay the protection money. The problem is you have the informant turning
> in the victim instead of the criminal.
>
>
>
>

OK. I concede that we have a very different view of things.

Bill




Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 16:12:09 GMT

--------
On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 09:05:14 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>"Manny Davis" wrote in message
>news:Xns960B19A54B8C8nothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>> Bill wrote:
>>
>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>>> You have just chosen to label this as a political crime and then
>>>>> call using informants despicable. Assume, the people were importing
>>>>> machine guns, That is not a crime angains any individual or any
>>>>> individual's property. Why would using an informant to find the
>>>>> source be despicable?
>>>>
>>>> I have no problem with people importing machine guns. If you have
>>>> evidence that they intend to do bad things with the guns, then that
>>>> would be a different story. A bag of recreational drugs is not a
>>>> weapon.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I just disagree on the machine gun thing. But that is off the
>>> subject. Pick any example you like - would it be dispicable if the
>>> govt. used an informant to find someone cheating on taxes?
>>
>> I concede that taxation is a real crime. The crime is extortion, the
>> criminal is the state, and the victims are the people who are forced to
>> pay the protection money. The problem is you have the informant turning
>> in the victim instead of the criminal.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>OK. I concede that we have a very different view of things.
>

Indeed! You are a tyrant and the previous poster loves freedom.


--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 18:54:27 GMT

--------

"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
news:cmg6219tkqsp40l7jdsesb2k7t9h5etk8n@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 09:05:14 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>>"Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>news:Xns960B19A54B8C8nothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>> Bill wrote:
>>>
>>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>>>> You have just chosen to label this as a political crime and then
>>>>>> call using informants despicable. Assume, the people were importing
>>>>>> machine guns, That is not a crime angains any individual or any
>>>>>> individual's property. Why would using an informant to find the
>>>>>> source be despicable?
>>>>>
>>>>> I have no problem with people importing machine guns. If you have
>>>>> evidence that they intend to do bad things with the guns, then that
>>>>> would be a different story. A bag of recreational drugs is not a
>>>>> weapon.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I just disagree on the machine gun thing. But that is off the
>>>> subject. Pick any example you like - would it be dispicable if the
>>>> govt. used an informant to find someone cheating on taxes?
>>>
>>> I concede that taxation is a real crime. The crime is extortion, the
>>> criminal is the state, and the victims are the people who are forced to
>>> pay the protection money. The problem is you have the informant turning
>>> in the victim instead of the criminal.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>OK. I concede that we have a very different view of things.
>>
>
> Indeed! You are a tyrant and the previous poster loves freedom.
>
>

Really! I did not realize I had such power.

Bill

> --
> "A society that robs an individual of the product of his
> effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
> gang rule." -- Ayn Rand




Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:18:40 GMT

--------
On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 18:54:27 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>news:cmg6219tkqsp40l7jdsesb2k7t9h5etk8n@4ax.com...
>> On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 09:05:14 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>"Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>news:Xns960B19A54B8C8nothanksnowherecom@68.1.17.6...
>>>> Bill wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> "Manny Davis" wrote in message
>>>>>>> You have just chosen to label this as a political crime and then
>>>>>>> call using informants despicable. Assume, the people were importing
>>>>>>> machine guns, That is not a crime angains any individual or any
>>>>>>> individual's property. Why would using an informant to find the
>>>>>>> source be despicable?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I have no problem with people importing machine guns. If you have
>>>>>> evidence that they intend to do bad things with the guns, then that
>>>>>> would be a different story. A bag of recreational drugs is not a
>>>>>> weapon.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I just disagree on the machine gun thing. But that is off the
>>>>> subject. Pick any example you like - would it be dispicable if the
>>>>> govt. used an informant to find someone cheating on taxes?
>>>>
>>>> I concede that taxation is a real crime. The crime is extortion, the
>>>> criminal is the state, and the victims are the people who are forced to
>>>> pay the protection money. The problem is you have the informant turning
>>>> in the victim instead of the criminal.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>OK. I concede that we have a very different view of things.
>>>
>>
>> Indeed! You are a tyrant and the previous poster loves freedom.
>>
>>
>
>Really! I did not realize I had such power.
>

You don't have the power. That's the good news.


--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: Dan Clore
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 00:52:24 -0800

--------
Bill wrote:

> In the example above, I was simply pointing out that if we opened the boarder
> to more drugs (and did nothing at the local level) then there would be more
> addicts. You had previously claimed that if we tighten the boarder there would
> be more addicts. Both can not be true.

Of course they can, if they apply to those addicted to
different drugs. Stopping drugs at the border might decrease
the number of users, though those who do use what gets
through will tend to use the stronger, more addictive forms
(crack instead of chewing coca leaves, heroin instead of
codeine pills or syrup). Likewise, those deterred from using
imported drugs will tend to switch to the available drugs,
which may be more addictive.

--
Dan Clore

My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587154838/thedanclorenecro/
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
-- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 14:56:23 GMT

--------

"Dan Clore" wrote in message
news:38ioqcF5p3bqfU1@individual.net...
> Bill wrote:
>
>> In the example above, I was simply pointing out that if we opened the
>> boarder to more drugs (and did nothing at the local level) then there would
>> be more addicts. You had previously claimed that if we tighten the boarder
>> there would be more addicts. Both can not be true.
>
> Of course they can, if they apply to those addicted to different drugs.
> Stopping drugs at the border might decrease the number of users, though
> those who do use what gets through will tend to use the stronger, more
> addictive forms (crack instead of chewing coca leaves, heroin instead of
> codeine pills or syrup). Likewise, those deterred from using imported drugs
> will tend to switch to the available drugs, which may be more addictive.
>

I am saying take the number of addicts as a whole. What you are arguing is we
are currently at the optimal (lowest) point in terms of total number of
addicts of all types. Open the boarder. More addicts. Tighten the boarder.
More addicts.That does not make sense.

Also, my focus has been on harder drugs and to pretty much give thing like MJ
a pass. To try to get people to move in that direction.

Bill

> --
> Dan Clore
>
> My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587154838/thedanclorenecro/
> Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
> http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
> News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
>
> Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
> immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
> -- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"
>




Correspondent:: Dan Clore
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 08:45:13 -0800

--------
Bill wrote:
> "Dan Clore" wrote in message
> news:38ioqcF5p3bqfU1@individual.net...
>>Bill wrote:

>>>In the example above, I was simply pointing out that if we opened the
>>>boarder to more drugs (and did nothing at the local level) then there would
>>>be more addicts. You had previously claimed that if we tighten the boarder
>>>there would be more addicts. Both can not be true.
>>
>>Of course they can, if they apply to those addicted to different drugs.
>>Stopping drugs at the border might decrease the number of users, though
>>those who do use what gets through will tend to use the stronger, more
>>addictive forms (crack instead of chewing coca leaves, heroin instead of
>>codeine pills or syrup). Likewise, those deterred from using imported drugs
>>will tend to switch to the available drugs, which may be more addictive.
>>
> I am saying take the number of addicts as a whole. What you are arguing is we
> are currently at the optimal (lowest) point in terms of total number of
> addicts of all types.

Where do you get that? I just pointed out that our current
policies (which you advocate more of) increase the
likelihood of addiction.

> Open the boarder. More addicts. Tighten the boarder.
> More addicts.That does not make sense.

*border*

--
Dan Clore

My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587154838/thedanclorenecro/
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
-- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:05:13 GMT

--------

"Dan Clore" wrote in message
news:38jkgrF5oph9oU1@individual.net...
> Bill wrote:
>> "Dan Clore" wrote in message
>> news:38ioqcF5p3bqfU1@individual.net...
>>>Bill wrote:
>
>>>>In the example above, I was simply pointing out that if we opened the
>>>>boarder to more drugs (and did nothing at the local level) then there
>>>>would be more addicts. You had previously claimed that if we tighten the
>>>>boarder there would be more addicts. Both can not be true.
>>>
>>>Of course they can, if they apply to those addicted to different drugs.
>>>Stopping drugs at the border might decrease the number of users, though
>>>those who do use what gets through will tend to use the stronger, more
>>>addictive forms (crack instead of chewing coca leaves, heroin instead of
>>>codeine pills or syrup). Likewise, those deterred from using imported drugs
>>>will tend to switch to the available drugs, which may be more addictive.
>>>
>> I am saying take the number of addicts as a whole. What you are arguing is
>> we are currently at the optimal (lowest) point in terms of total number of
>> addicts of all types.
>
> Where do you get that?

I wrote:

>>>In the example above, I was simply pointing out that if we opened the
>>>boarder to more drugs (and did nothing at the local level) then there would
>>>be more addicts. You had previously claimed that if we tighten the boarder
>>>there would be more addicts. Both can not be true.
>>

You responded:

>>Of course they can,


> I just pointed out that our current policies (which you advocate more of)
> increase the likelihood of addiction.
>

No I don't. I have repeatedly said losen up in many areas but tighten up on
border control of hard drugs.

>> Open the boarder. More addicts. Tighten the boarder. More addicts.That does
>> not make sense.
>
> *border*
>

Right. But the question remains.

Bill

> --
> Dan Clore
>
> My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587154838/thedanclorenecro/
> Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
> http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
> News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
>
> Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
> immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
> -- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"
>




Correspondent:: "Dr. Zarkov"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 13:57:16 -0500

--------
Bill wrote:
> "Dan Clore" wrote ...
>>Bill wrote:
>>>"Dan Clore" wrote
>>>>> wrote in message
>>>>>>On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
...
>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a
>>>>>big push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops.
>>>>>Less drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts. This is not
>>>>
>>>>>from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill
>>>>
>>>>>themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>>>
>>>>Won't work worth a damn. You might lower the supply, but that would raise
>>>>the price and hence both increase the associated crime by addicts who need
>>>>a fix, and increase the incentive to go into the business. Also, focusing
>>>>on stopping drugs at the border would only shift use to drugs that don't
>>>>need to be imported, such as methamphetamines, made from OTC cold
>>>>medicines. By decreasing the choices among drugs, you increase the
>>>>likelihood of people choosing more harmful drugs.
>>>
>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and place
>>>such cold medications behind pharmacy counters.
>>
>>Making more and more of a hassle for everyone, not just the group you want
>>to target.
>>
>
> That's true.
>
>
>>>It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be
>>>less addicts.
>>
>>No, it is not. With a lower supply and increased price, users tend to use
>>the strongest form available (injecting methamphetamines instead of taking
>>amphetamine pills, injecting heroin instead of taking codeine pills or
>>syrup, smoking crack instead of chewing coca leaves), leading to an
>>increased chance of addiction and more harm instead of less.
>>
>
>
> As I said originally, you focus on hard drugs. In fact the worse, the more
> focus. I would, for example, lower or even remove any attention to marijuana.
> And there are not many coco leaf chewers in the US.


No, but cocaine could be put into a similar form so that it is not as
addictive. A lozenge or gum has been suggested.


> Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be fewer
> addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that make sense to
> you?


There may not be fewer addicts, but there would not be more either. But
the main point is that it is not use of drugs that is the problem--It is
abuse and the crime and other consequences of the illegality. Aside
from the personal liberty argument, probably 99% of the social harm is
due to the illegality, not the drugs themselves. See--

_Licit and Illicit Drugs_. EM Brecher and the Editors of Consumer
Reports. Mount Vernon, NY: Consumers Union.
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/cumenu.htm


>
>>--
>>Dan Clore
>>
>>My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
>>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587154838/thedanclorenecro/
>>Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
>>http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
>>News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
>>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
>>
>>Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
>>immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
>>-- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"
>>
>
>
>


Correspondent:: Wraith
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 12:28:32 -0700

--------
Dr. Zarkov wrote:

> There may not be fewer addicts, but there would not be more either. But
> the main point is that it is not use of drugs that is the problem--It is
> abuse and the crime and other consequences of the illegality. Aside
> from the personal liberty argument, probably 99% of the social harm is
> due to the illegality, not the drugs themselves. See--

If abuse is part of the problem then drugs are part of the problem too.
Drugs themselves encourage their own abuse, through addictivity,
illegalness and stigma. What is abuse of a drug? Isn't that just using
the drug? That's how numerous quantities of people have it.

//


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:24:11 GMT

--------

"Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
news:oYqdnas3QuCMhb_fRVn-hw@rcn.net...
> Bill wrote:
>> "Dan Clore" wrote ...
>>>Bill wrote:
>>>>"Dan Clore" wrote
>>>>>> wrote in message
>>>>>>>On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
> ...
>>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a
>>>>>>big push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using
>>>>>>troops. Less drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>>>>This is not
>>>>>
>>>>>>from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do
>>>>>>kill
>>>>>
>>>>>>themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>>>>
>>>>>Won't work worth a damn. You might lower the supply, but that would raise
>>>>>the price and hence both increase the associated crime by addicts who
>>>>>need a fix, and increase the incentive to go into the business. Also,
>>>>>focusing on stopping drugs at the border would only shift use to drugs
>>>>>that don't need to be imported, such as methamphetamines, made from OTC
>>>>>cold medicines. By decreasing the choices among drugs, you increase the
>>>>>likelihood of people choosing more harmful drugs.
>>>>
>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and
>>>>place such cold medications behind pharmacy counters.
>>>
>>>Making more and more of a hassle for everyone, not just the group you want
>>>to target.
>>>
>>
>> That's true.
>>
>>
>>>>It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be
>>>>less addicts.
>>>
>>>No, it is not. With a lower supply and increased price, users tend to use
>>>the strongest form available (injecting methamphetamines instead of taking
>>>amphetamine pills, injecting heroin instead of taking codeine pills or
>>>syrup, smoking crack instead of chewing coca leaves), leading to an
>>>increased chance of addiction and more harm instead of less.
>>>
>>
>>
>> As I said originally, you focus on hard drugs. In fact the worse, the more
>> focus. I would, for example, lower or even remove any attention to
>> marijuana. And there are not many coco leaf chewers in the US.
>
>
> No, but cocaine could be put into a similar form so that it is not as
> addictive. A lozenge or gum has been suggested.
>
>
>> Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be fewer
>> addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that make sense to
>> you?
>
>
> There may not be fewer addicts, but there would not be more either.

That clearly can not be true. It would say that if 10 times as many drugs were
crossing over then the existing population of addicts would use 10 times as
much.

>But the main point is that it is not use of drugs that is the problem--It is
>abuse and the crime and other consequences of the illegality. Aside from the
>personal liberty argument, probably 99% of the social harm is due to the
>illegality, not the drugs themselves. See--
>

Note my argument has been focused on what to do at the boarder - which the
govt. has the right to protect. On the local level, I have argued for reduced
sentances and more help.

Bill
> _Licit and Illicit Drugs_. EM Brecher and the Editors of Consumer Reports.
> Mount Vernon, NY: Consumers Union.
> http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/cumenu.htm
>
>
>>
>>>--
>>>Dan Clore
>>>
>>>My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
>>>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587154838/thedanclorenecro/
>>>Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
>>>http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
>>>News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
>>>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
>>>
>>>Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
>>>immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
>>>-- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"
>>>
>>
>>



Correspondent:: "Dr. Zarkov"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 21:46:23 -0500

--------
Bill wrote:
> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote ...
>>Bill wrote:
>>>"Dan Clore" wrote ...
>>>>Bill wrote:
>>>>>"Dan Clore" wrote
>>>>>>> wrote in message
>>>>>>>>On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>>...
>>
>>>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a
>>>>>>>big push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using
>>>>>>>troops. Less drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>>>>>This is not
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do
>>>>>>>kill themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Won't work worth a damn. You might lower the supply, but that would raise
>>>>>>the price and hence both increase the associated crime by addicts who
>>>>>>need a fix, and increase the incentive to go into the business. Also,
>>>>>>focusing on stopping drugs at the border would only shift use to drugs
>>>>>>that don't need to be imported, such as methamphetamines, made from OTC
>>>>>>cold medicines. By decreasing the choices among drugs, you increase the
>>>>>>likelihood of people choosing more harmful drugs.
>>>>>
>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and
>>>>>place such cold medications behind pharmacy counters.
>>>>
>>>>Making more and more of a hassle for everyone, not just the group you want
>>>>to target.
>>>>
>>>
>>>That's true.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>>It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be
>>>>>less addicts.
>>>>
>>>>No, it is not. With a lower supply and increased price, users tend to use
>>>>the strongest form available (injecting methamphetamines instead of taking
>>>>amphetamine pills, injecting heroin instead of taking codeine pills or
>>>>syrup, smoking crack instead of chewing coca leaves), leading to an
>>>>increased chance of addiction and more harm instead of less.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>As I said originally, you focus on hard drugs. In fact the worse, the more
>>>focus. I would, for example, lower or even remove any attention to
>>>marijuana. And there are not many coco leaf chewers in the US.
>>
>>
>>No, but cocaine could be put into a similar form so that it is not as
>>addictive. A lozenge or gum has been suggested.
>>
>>
>>
>>>Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be fewer
>>>addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that make sense to
>>>you?
>>
>>
>>There may not be fewer addicts, but there would not be more either.
>
>
> That clearly can not be true. It would say that if 10 times as many drugs were
> crossing over then the existing population of addicts would use 10 times as
> much.


The difference in supply would not be anywhere near that much in any
realistic scenario. But it's assuming that all drugs go to addicts. If
there was an increase in supply and a decrease in price, use may well
increase, but that does not mean that all users would be addicts, any
more than all users of alcohol are alcoholics.


>>But the main point is that it is not use of drugs that is the problem--It is
>>abuse and the crime and other consequences of the illegality. Aside from the
>>personal liberty argument, probably 99% of the social harm is due to the
>>illegality, not the drugs themselves. See--
>>
>
>
> Note my argument has been focused on what to do at the boarder - which the
> govt. has the right to protect. On the local level, I have argued for reduced
> sentances and more help.
>
> Bill
>
>>_Licit and Illicit Drugs_. EM Brecher and the Editors of Consumer Reports.
>>Mount Vernon, NY: Consumers Union.
>>http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/cumenu.htm
>>


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 03:17:46 GMT

--------

"Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
news:XNydnR2dRK2YG7_fRVn-iA@rcn.net...
> Bill wrote:
>> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote ...
>>>Bill wrote:
>>>>"Dan Clore" wrote ...
>>>>>Bill wrote:
>>>>>>"Dan Clore" wrote
>>>>>>>> wrote in message
>>>>>>>>>On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>>>...
>>>
>>>>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make
>>>>>>>>a big push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using
>>>>>>>>troops. Less drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>>>>>>This is not
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do
>>>>>>>>kill themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Won't work worth a damn. You might lower the supply, but that would
>>>>>>>raise the price and hence both increase the associated crime by addicts
>>>>>>>who need a fix, and increase the incentive to go into the business.
>>>>>>>Also, focusing on stopping drugs at the border would only shift use to
>>>>>>>drugs that don't need to be imported, such as methamphetamines, made
>>>>>>>from OTC cold medicines. By decreasing the choices among drugs, you
>>>>>>>increase the likelihood of people choosing more harmful drugs.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and
>>>>>>place such cold medications behind pharmacy counters.
>>>>>
>>>>>Making more and more of a hassle for everyone, not just the group you
>>>>>want to target.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>That's true.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be
>>>>>>less addicts.
>>>>>
>>>>>No, it is not. With a lower supply and increased price, users tend to use
>>>>>the strongest form available (injecting methamphetamines instead of
>>>>>taking amphetamine pills, injecting heroin instead of taking codeine
>>>>>pills or syrup, smoking crack instead of chewing coca leaves), leading to
>>>>>an increased chance of addiction and more harm instead of less.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>As I said originally, you focus on hard drugs. In fact the worse, the more
>>>>focus. I would, for example, lower or even remove any attention to
>>>>marijuana. And there are not many coco leaf chewers in the US.
>>>
>>>
>>>No, but cocaine could be put into a similar form so that it is not as
>>>addictive. A lozenge or gum has been suggested.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be fewer
>>>>addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that make sense to
>>>>you?
>>>
>>>
>>>There may not be fewer addicts, but there would not be more either.
>>
>>
>> That clearly can not be true. It would say that if 10 times as many drugs
>> were crossing over then the existing population of addicts would use 10
>> times as much.
>
>
> The difference in supply would not be anywhere near that much in any
> realistic scenario. But it's assuming that all drugs go to addicts. If
> there was an increase in supply and a decrease in price, use may well
> increase, but that does not mean that all users would be addicts, any more
> than all users of alcohol are alcoholics.
>
>

You are distoring the point that I made. The point is that I originally wrote:

"It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be
less addicts."

And you responded:

"No, it is not. "

I now point out that if you increase the supply of drugs that there will be
more addicts. And you have yet to dispute that - only to suggest that I said
that all drugs would go to addicts, which I never did.

>>>But the main point is that it is not use of drugs that is the problem--It
>>>is abuse and the crime and other consequences of the illegality. Aside
>>>from the personal liberty argument, probably 99% of the social harm is due
>>>to the illegality, not the drugs themselves. See--
>>>
>>
>>
>> Note my argument has been focused on what to do at the boarder - which the
>> govt. has the right to protect. On the local level, I have argued for
>> reduced sentances and more help.
>>
>> Bill
>>
>>>_Licit and Illicit Drugs_. EM Brecher and the Editors of Consumer Reports.
>>>Mount Vernon, NY: Consumers Union.
>>>http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/cumenu.htm
>>>




Correspondent:: "Dr. Zarkov"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 12:54:38 -0500

--------
Bill wrote:
> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote...
>>Bill wrote:
>>>"Dr. Zarkov" wrote ...
>>>>Bill wrote:
>>>>>"Dan Clore" wrote ...
>>>>>>Bill wrote:
>>>>>>>"Dan Clore" wrote
>>>>>>>>> wrote in message
...
>>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and
>>>>>>>place such cold medications behind pharmacy counters.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Making more and more of a hassle for everyone, not just the group you
>>>>>>want to target.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>That's true.
...
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>>It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be
>>>>>>>less addicts.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>No, it is not. With a lower supply and increased price, users tend to use
>>>>>>the strongest form available (injecting methamphetamines instead of
>>>>>>taking amphetamine pills, injecting heroin instead of taking codeine
>>>>>>pills or syrup, smoking crack instead of chewing coca leaves), leading to
>>>>>>an increased chance of addiction and more harm instead of less.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>As I said originally, you focus on hard drugs. In fact the worse, the more
>>>>>focus. I would, for example, lower or even remove any attention to
>>>>>marijuana. And there are not many coco leaf chewers in the US.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>No, but cocaine could be put into a similar form so that it is not as
>>>>addictive. A lozenge or gum has been suggested.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be fewer
>>>>>addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that make sense to
>>>>>you?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>There may not be fewer addicts, but there would not be more either.
>>>
>>>
>>>That clearly can not be true. It would say that if 10 times as many drugs
>>>were crossing over then the existing population of addicts would use 10
>>>times as much.
>>
>>
>>The difference in supply would not be anywhere near that much in any
>>realistic scenario. But it's assuming that all drugs go to addicts. If
>>there was an increase in supply and a decrease in price, use may well
>>increase, but that does not mean that all users would be addicts, any more
>>than all users of alcohol are alcoholics.
>>
>>
>
>
> You are distoring the point that I made. The point is that I originally wrote:
>
> "It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be
> less addicts."
>
> And you responded:
>
> "No, it is not. "
>
> I now point out that if you increase the supply of drugs that there will be
> more addicts. And you have yet to dispute that - only to suggest that I said
> that all drugs would go to addicts, which I never did.


Actually it was a previous poster who posted that line of the response.

The point is that the supply of drugs coming over the border does not
determine the number of addicts--at least not within any realistically
achievable limits. And the point about supply going to addicts or just
occasional users is relevant to that.


>>>>But the main point is that it is not use of drugs that is the problem--It
>>>>is abuse and the crime and other consequences of the illegality. Aside
>>>
>>>>from the personal liberty argument, probably 99% of the social harm is due
>>>
>>>>to the illegality, not the drugs themselves. See--
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Note my argument has been focused on what to do at the boarder - which the
>>>govt. has the right to protect. On the local level, I have argued for
>>>reduced sentances and more help.
>>>
>>>Bill
>>>
>>>
>>>>_Licit and Illicit Drugs_. EM Brecher and the Editors of Consumer Reports.
>>>>Mount Vernon, NY: Consumers Union.
>>>>http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/cumenu.htm
>>>>
>
>
>


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 18:52:09 GMT

--------

"Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
news:r_KdnYHeeal-x77fRVn-gQ@rcn.net...
> Bill wrote:
>> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote...
>>>Bill wrote:
>>>>"Dr. Zarkov" wrote ...
>>>>>Bill wrote:
>>>>>>"Dan Clore" wrote ...
>>>>>>>Bill wrote:
>>>>>>>>"Dan Clore" wrote
>>>>>>>>>> wrote in message
> ...
>>>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and
>>>>>>>>place such cold medications behind pharmacy counters.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Making more and more of a hassle for everyone, not just the group you
>>>>>>>want to target.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>That's true.
> ...
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will
>>>>>>>>be less addicts.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>No, it is not. With a lower supply and increased price, users tend to
>>>>>>>use the strongest form available (injecting methamphetamines instead of
>>>>>>>taking amphetamine pills, injecting heroin instead of taking codeine
>>>>>>>pills or syrup, smoking crack instead of chewing coca leaves), leading
>>>>>>>to an increased chance of addiction and more harm instead of less.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>As I said originally, you focus on hard drugs. In fact the worse, the
>>>>>>more focus. I would, for example, lower or even remove any attention to
>>>>>>marijuana. And there are not many coco leaf chewers in the US.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>No, but cocaine could be put into a similar form so that it is not as
>>>>>addictive. A lozenge or gum has been suggested.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be fewer
>>>>>>addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that make sense
>>>>>>to you?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>There may not be fewer addicts, but there would not be more either.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>That clearly can not be true. It would say that if 10 times as many drugs
>>>>were crossing over then the existing population of addicts would use 10
>>>>times as much.
>>>
>>>
>>>The difference in supply would not be anywhere near that much in any
>>>realistic scenario. But it's assuming that all drugs go to addicts. If
>>>there was an increase in supply and a decrease in price, use may well
>>>increase, but that does not mean that all users would be addicts, any more
>>>than all users of alcohol are alcoholics.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> You are distoring the point that I made. The point is that I originally
>> wrote:
>>
>> "It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be
>> less addicts."
>>
>> And you responded:
>>
>> "No, it is not. "
>>
>> I now point out that if you increase the supply of drugs that there will be
>> more addicts. And you have yet to dispute that - only to suggest that I
>> said that all drugs would go to addicts, which I never did.
>
>
> Actually it was a previous poster who posted that line of the response.
>
> The point is that the supply of drugs coming over the border does not
> determine the number of addicts--at least not within any realistically
> achievable limits. And the point about supply going to addicts or just
> occasional users is relevant to that.
>
>

OK. I'm not following that. Assume you decrease the supply to 1/4 of what it
currently is (and also place restrictions on the ingredients for domestic
production) would that not cause fewer addicts (or fewer active ones anyway)
simply because there is fewer drugs?

Bill

>>>>>But the main point is that it is not use of drugs that is the problem--It
>>>>>is abuse and the crime and other consequences of the illegality. Aside
>>>>
>>>>>from the personal liberty argument, probably 99% of the social harm is
>>>>>due
>>>>
>>>>>to the illegality, not the drugs themselves. See--
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Note my argument has been focused on what to do at the boarder - which the
>>>>govt. has the right to protect. On the local level, I have argued for
>>>>reduced sentances and more help.
>>>>
>>>>Bill
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>_Licit and Illicit Drugs_. EM Brecher and the Editors of Consumer
>>>>>Reports. Mount Vernon, NY: Consumers Union.
>>>>>http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/cumenu.htm
>>>>>
>>
>>



Correspondent:: nini_pad@yahoo.com (michael price)
Date: 28 Feb 2005 23:30:38 -0800

--------
"Bill" wrote in message news:...
> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
> news:r_KdnYHeeal-x77fRVn-gQ@rcn.net...
> > Bill wrote:
> >> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote...
> >>>Bill wrote:
> >>>>"Dr. Zarkov" wrote ...
> >>>>>Bill wrote:
> >>>>>>"Dan Clore" wrote ...
> >>>>>>>Bill wrote:
> >>>>>>>>"Dan Clore" wrote
> >>>>>>>>>> wrote in message
> > ...
> >>>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and
> >>>>>>>>place such cold medications behind pharmacy counters.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>Making more and more of a hassle for everyone, not just the group you
> >>>>>>>want to target.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>That's true.
> > ...
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will
> >>>>>>>>be less addicts.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>No, it is not. With a lower supply and increased price, users tend to
> >>>>>>>use the strongest form available (injecting methamphetamines instead of
> >>>>>>>taking amphetamine pills, injecting heroin instead of taking codeine
> >>>>>>>pills or syrup, smoking crack instead of chewing coca leaves), leading
> >>>>>>>to an increased chance of addiction and more harm instead of less.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>As I said originally, you focus on hard drugs. In fact the worse, the
> >>>>>>more focus. I would, for example, lower or even remove any attention to
> >>>>>>marijuana. And there are not many coco leaf chewers in the US.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>No, but cocaine could be put into a similar form so that it is not as
> >>>>>addictive. A lozenge or gum has been suggested.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>>Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be fewer
> >>>>>>addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that make sense
> >>>>>>to you?
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>There may not be fewer addicts, but there would not be more either.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>That clearly can not be true. It would say that if 10 times as many drugs
> >>>>were crossing over then the existing population of addicts would use 10
> >>>>times as much.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>The difference in supply would not be anywhere near that much in any
> >>>realistic scenario. But it's assuming that all drugs go to addicts. If
> >>>there was an increase in supply and a decrease in price, use may well
> >>>increase, but that does not mean that all users would be addicts, any more
> >>>than all users of alcohol are alcoholics.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> You are distoring the point that I made. The point is that I originally
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> "It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be
> >> less addicts."
> >>
> >> And you responded:
> >>
> >> "No, it is not. "
> >>
> >> I now point out that if you increase the supply of drugs that there will be
> >> more addicts. And you have yet to dispute that - only to suggest that I
> >> said that all drugs would go to addicts, which I never did.
> >
> >
> > Actually it was a previous poster who posted that line of the response.
> >
> > The point is that the supply of drugs coming over the border does not
> > determine the number of addicts--at least not within any realistically
> > achievable limits. And the point about supply going to addicts or just
> > occasional users is relevant to that.
> >
> >
>
> OK. I'm not following that. Assume you decrease the supply to 1/4 of what it
> currently is (and also place restrictions on the ingredients for domestic
> production) would that not cause fewer addicts (or fewer active ones anyway)
> simply because there is fewer drugs?

Irrelevent since that's impossible to achieve. In any case it's not
clear that it would reduce the number of addicts. It would depend on
how much of the drugs go to addicts now and how much greater a proportion
would go to them if supply was restricted and therefore price increased.
It also depends on how much addicts can reduce the use and still remain
addicts.
>
> Bill
>
> >>>>>But the main point is that it is not use of drugs that is the problem--It
> >>>>>is abuse and the crime and other consequences of the illegality. Aside
> >>>>
> >>>>>from the personal liberty argument, probably 99% of the social harm is
> >>>>>due
> >>>>
> >>>>>to the illegality, not the drugs themselves. See--
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>Note my argument has been focused on what to do at the boarder - which the
> >>>>govt. has the right to protect. On the local level, I have argued for
> >>>>reduced sentances and more help.
> >>>>
> >>>>Bill
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>>_Licit and Illicit Drugs_. EM Brecher and the Editors of Consumer
> >>>>>Reports. Mount Vernon, NY: Consumers Union.
> >>>>>http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/cumenu.htm
> >>>>>
> >>
> >>


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 14:48:58 GMT

--------

"michael price" wrote in message
news:5678a39d.0502282330.a5d5289@posting.google.com...
> "Bill" wrote in message
> news:...
>> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
>> news:r_KdnYHeeal-x77fRVn-gQ@rcn.net...
>> > Bill wrote:
>> >> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote...
>> >>>Bill wrote:
>> >>>>"Dr. Zarkov" wrote ...
>> >>>>>Bill wrote:
>> >>>>>>"Dan Clore" wrote ...
>> >>>>>>>Bill wrote:
>> >>>>>>>>"Dan Clore" wrote
>> >>>>>>>>>> wrote in message
>> > ...
>> >>>>>>>>I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia
>> >>>>>>>>and
>> >>>>>>>>place such cold medications behind pharmacy counters.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>Making more and more of a hassle for everyone, not just the group
>> >>>>>>>you
>> >>>>>>>want to target.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>That's true.
>> > ...
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there
>> >>>>>>>>will
>> >>>>>>>>be less addicts.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>No, it is not. With a lower supply and increased price, users tend
>> >>>>>>>to
>> >>>>>>>use the strongest form available (injecting methamphetamines instead
>> >>>>>>>of
>> >>>>>>>taking amphetamine pills, injecting heroin instead of taking codeine
>> >>>>>>>pills or syrup, smoking crack instead of chewing coca leaves),
>> >>>>>>>leading
>> >>>>>>>to an increased chance of addiction and more harm instead of less.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>As I said originally, you focus on hard drugs. In fact the worse, the
>> >>>>>>more focus. I would, for example, lower or even remove any attention
>> >>>>>>to
>> >>>>>>marijuana. And there are not many coco leaf chewers in the US.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>No, but cocaine could be put into a similar form so that it is not as
>> >>>>>addictive. A lozenge or gum has been suggested.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>>Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be
>> >>>>>>fewer
>> >>>>>>addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that make
>> >>>>>>sense
>> >>>>>>to you?
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>There may not be fewer addicts, but there would not be more either.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>That clearly can not be true. It would say that if 10 times as many
>> >>>>drugs
>> >>>>were crossing over then the existing population of addicts would use 10
>> >>>>times as much.
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>The difference in supply would not be anywhere near that much in any
>> >>>realistic scenario. But it's assuming that all drugs go to addicts. If
>> >>>there was an increase in supply and a decrease in price, use may well
>> >>>increase, but that does not mean that all users would be addicts, any
>> >>>more
>> >>>than all users of alcohol are alcoholics.
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> You are distoring the point that I made. The point is that I originally
>> >> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> "It is clear that if you ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be
>> >> less addicts."
>> >>
>> >> And you responded:
>> >>
>> >> "No, it is not. "
>> >>
>> >> I now point out that if you increase the supply of drugs that there will
>> >> be
>> >> more addicts. And you have yet to dispute that - only to suggest that I
>> >> said that all drugs would go to addicts, which I never did.
>> >
>> >
>> > Actually it was a previous poster who posted that line of the response.
>> >
>> > The point is that the supply of drugs coming over the border does not
>> > determine the number of addicts--at least not within any realistically
>> > achievable limits. And the point about supply going to addicts or just
>> > occasional users is relevant to that.
>> >
>> >
>>
>> OK. I'm not following that. Assume you decrease the supply to 1/4 of what
>> it
>> currently is (and also place restrictions on the ingredients for domestic
>> production) would that not cause fewer addicts (or fewer active ones
>> anyway)
>> simply because there is fewer drugs?
>
> Irrelevent since that's impossible to achieve.

I argue it is. Assume you put a major push on it - 10 times the amount of
todays resources. It might not happen, but I don't think you could argue it is
impossible.

> In any case it's not
> clear that it would reduce the number of addicts.

It would reduce the number of addicts or at least active ones. The question is
how much.

Bill

> It would depend on
> how much of the drugs go to addicts now and how much greater a proportion
> would go to them if supply was restricted and therefore price increased.
> It also depends on how much addicts can reduce the use and still remain
> addicts.
>>


>> Bill
>>
>> >>>>>But the main point is that it is not use of drugs that is the
>> >>>>>problem--It
>> >>>>>is abuse and the crime and other consequences of the illegality.
>> >>>>>Aside
>> >>>>
>> >>>>>from the personal liberty argument, probably 99% of the social harm is
>> >>>>>due
>> >>>>
>> >>>>>to the illegality, not the drugs themselves. See--
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>Note my argument has been focused on what to do at the boarder - which
>> >>>>the
>> >>>>govt. has the right to protect. On the local level, I have argued for
>> >>>>reduced sentances and more help.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>Bill
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>>_Licit and Illicit Drugs_. EM Brecher and the Editors of Consumer
>> >>>>>Reports. Mount Vernon, NY: Consumers Union.
>> >>>>>http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/cumenu.htm
>> >>>>>
>> >>
>> >>




Correspondent:: ivan.yosifovich@gmail.com (Ivan M.)
Date: 2 Mar 2005 15:14:25 -0800

--------
"Bill" wrote in message news:...
> "michael price" wrote in message
> news:5678a39d.0502282330.a5d5289@posting.google.com...
> > "Bill" wrote in message
> > news:...
> >>
> >> Assume you decrease the supply to 1/4 of what
> >> it
> >> currently is (and also place restrictions on the ingredients for domestic
> >> production) would that not cause fewer addicts (or fewer active ones
> >> anyway)
> >> simply because there is fewer drugs?
> >
> > Irrelevent since that's impossible to achieve.
>
> I argue it is. Assume you put a major push on it - 10 times the amount of
> todays resources. It might not happen, but I don't think you could argue it
> is impossible.

You might want to check out:
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/agency/staffing.htm

Adjusting for inflation, the budget of DEA has increased 4.3 times
since 1980. Not really ten times as you propose, but one would expect
that the desired effects should have been realized at least to a
certan extent. You are probably aware that this was not the case.


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2005 01:03:22 GMT

--------

"Ivan M." wrote in message
news:8fe47a92.0503021514.197ecbfe@posting.google.com...
> "Bill" wrote in message
> news:...
>> "michael price" wrote in message
>> news:5678a39d.0502282330.a5d5289@posting.google.com...
>> > "Bill" wrote in message
>> > news:...
>> >>
>> >> Assume you decrease the supply to 1/4 of what
>> >> it
>> >> currently is (and also place restrictions on the ingredients for
>> >> domestic
>> >> production) would that not cause fewer addicts (or fewer active ones
>> >> anyway)
>> >> simply because there is fewer drugs?
>> >
>> > Irrelevent since that's impossible to achieve.
>>
>> I argue it is. Assume you put a major push on it - 10 times the amount of
>> todays resources. It might not happen, but I don't think you could argue it
>> is impossible.
>
> You might want to check out:
> http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/agency/staffing.htm
>
> Adjusting for inflation, the budget of DEA has increased 4.3 times
> since 1980. Not really ten times as you propose, but one would expect
> that the desired effects should have been realized at least to a
> certan extent. You are probably aware that this was not the case.

Actually, I don't know if your last statement is correct or not based on
population percentages. I was not focusing on the total budget but on border
control (and excluding MJ), and with 5,000 or so agents for the whole country
I assume they are not having much impact at the border.

Bill




Correspondent:: "Ken J. Wards _Great Uncle @6_feetunder.net"
Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2005 14:09:09 -0500

--------
Bill wrote:
> "Ivan M." wrote in message
> news:8fe47a92.0503021514.197ecbfe@posting.google.com...
>
>>"Bill" wrote in message
>>news:...
>>
>>>"michael price" wrote in message
>>>news:5678a39d.0502282330.a5d5289@posting.google.com...
>>>
>>>>"Bill" wrote in message
>>>>news:...
>>>>
>>>>>Assume you logoff...[poof]\--ta da!!!

b



Correspondent:: ivan.yosifovich@gmail.com (Ivan M.)
Date: 3 Mar 2005 14:43:06 -0800

--------
"Bill" wrote in message news:...
> "Ivan M." wrote in message
> news:8fe47a92.0503021514.197ecbfe@posting.google.com...
> > "Bill" wrote in message
> > news:...
> >> "michael price" wrote in message
> >> news:5678a39d.0502282330.a5d5289@posting.google.com...
> >> > "Bill" wrote in message
> >> > news:...
> >> >>
> >> >> Assume you decrease the supply to 1/4 of what
> >> >> it
> >> >> currently is (and also place restrictions on the ingredients for
> >> >> domestic
> >> >> production) would that not cause fewer addicts (or fewer active ones
> >> >> anyway)
> >> >> simply because there is fewer drugs?
> >> >
> >> > Irrelevent since that's impossible to achieve.
> >>
> >> I argue it is. Assume you put a major push on it - 10 times the amount of
> >> todays resources. It might not happen, but I don't think you could argue it
> >> is impossible.
> >
> > You might want to check out:
> > http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/agency/staffing.htm
> >
> > Adjusting for inflation, the budget of DEA has increased 4.3 times
> > since 1980. Not really ten times as you propose, but one would expect
> > that the desired effects should have been realized at least to a
> > certan extent. You are probably aware that this was not the case.
>
> Actually, I don't know if your last statement is correct or not based on
> population percentages.

Noone knows that for sure, and various estimates of the number of
addicts vary greatly. However, one good indicator is the street price
of illegal drugs, which should be constantly going up if increasing
the intensity of the drug war had any success. This is definitely not
the case, as the government itself admits:
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/price_purity/fig1_38.pdf

On the other hand, *these* effects are unambiguously clear:
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/10.GIF
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/11.htm
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/24.GIF
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/22.GIF

> I was not focusing on the total budget but on border
> control (and excluding MJ), and with 5,000 or so agents for the whole country
> I assume they are not having much impact at the border.

You seriously think that any kind of comprehensive border control is
possible in today's globalized world? Every year trillions of dollars
worth of imported goods are crossing the US border, not to mention the
population movements. Controlling any significant percentage of total
international traffic is outright impossible. Unless you would like
your country to pursue the most extreme form of isolationist economic
policy similar to that of North Korea, of course.


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2005 23:43:59 GMT

--------

"Ivan M." wrote in message
news:8fe47a92.0503031443.42a8eb59@posting.google.com...
> "Bill" wrote in message
> news:...
>> "Ivan M." wrote in message
>> news:8fe47a92.0503021514.197ecbfe@posting.google.com...
>> > "Bill" wrote in message
>> > news:...
>> >> "michael price" wrote in message
>> >> news:5678a39d.0502282330.a5d5289@posting.google.com...
>> >> > "Bill" wrote in message
>> >> > news:...
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Assume you decrease the supply to 1/4 of what
>> >> >> it
>> >> >> currently is (and also place restrictions on the ingredients for
>> >> >> domestic
>> >> >> production) would that not cause fewer addicts (or fewer active ones
>> >> >> anyway)
>> >> >> simply because there is fewer drugs?
>> >> >
>> >> > Irrelevent since that's impossible to achieve.
>> >>
>> >> I argue it is. Assume you put a major push on it - 10 times the amount
>> >> of
>> >> todays resources. It might not happen, but I don't think you could argue
>> >> it
>> >> is impossible.
>> >
>> > You might want to check out:
>> > http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/agency/staffing.htm
>> >
>> > Adjusting for inflation, the budget of DEA has increased 4.3 times
>> > since 1980. Not really ten times as you propose, but one would expect
>> > that the desired effects should have been realized at least to a
>> > certan extent. You are probably aware that this was not the case.
>>
>> Actually, I don't know if your last statement is correct or not based on
>> population percentages.
>
> Noone knows that for sure, and various estimates of the number of
> addicts vary greatly. However, one good indicator is the street price
> of illegal drugs, which should be constantly going up if increasing
> the intensity of the drug war had any success. This is definitely not
> the case, as the government itself admits:
> http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/price_purity/fig1_38.pdf
>

That's not true. It is a supply and demand thing. The govt. has been focusing
on both. In fact, probably more on the demand side by putting people in
prision. It seems relatively flat for the last 10 years. Also demographics is
probably working against the drug dealer.

> On the other hand, *these* effects are unambiguously clear:
> http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/10.GIF
> http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/11.htm
> http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/24.GIF
> http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/22.GIF
>

The data is about 15 years old, and I find it difficult to read anything into
it anyway.

>> I was not focusing on the total budget but on border
>> control (and excluding MJ), and with 5,000 or so agents for the whole
>> country
>> I assume they are not having much impact at the border.
>
> You seriously think that any kind of comprehensive border control is
> possible in today's globalized world? Every year trillions of dollars
> worth of imported goods are crossing the US border, not to mention the
> population movements. Controlling any significant percentage of total
> international traffic is outright impossible. Unless you would like
> your country to pursue the most extreme form of isolationist economic
> policy similar to that of North Korea, of course.

Yes, I think a significant dent can be made - in conjunction with the
procedures used for antiterrorist policies. More control of people at the
border - higher fences, etc. More inspection and sealing of containers at the
source and detection devices if opened - with the shipper knowing he will be
sanctioned if drugs are found. More effort in tracing drugs found back to the
source or US distributors. More sophisticated drug detection devices. Perhaps
more spies/bribes in origin countries. Etc.

Bill




Correspondent:: brthrn@dangermedia.org
Date: 3 Mar 2005 15:48:39 -0800

--------
Where's the GODDAMN fun in that?



WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Correspondent:: ivan.yosifovich@gmail.com (Ivan M.)
Date: 3 Mar 2005 21:25:24 -0800

--------
"Bill" wrote in message
news:<3jNVd.9804$Z91.5807@newssvr31.news.prodigy.com>...
>
> > However, one good indicator is the street price
> > of illegal drugs, which should be constantly going up if increasing
> > the intensity of the drug war had any success. This is definitely not
> > the case, as the government itself admits:
> >
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/price_purity/fig1_38.pdf
> >
>
> That's not true. It is a supply and demand thing. The govt. has been
> focusing
> on both. In fact, probably more on the demand side by putting people in
> prision. It seems relatively flat for the last 10 years.

During which the DEA budget has increased by 70% in real terms. Go figure.

> Also demographics
> is probably working against the drug dealer.

How?

> > On the other hand, *these* effects are unambiguously clear:
> > http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/10.GIF
> > http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/11.htm
> > http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/24.GIF
> > http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/22.GIF
> >
>
> The data is about 15 years old, and I find it difficult to read anything
> into it anyway.

If you're an avid fan of the drug war, I'm sure you'll be able to
rationalize away its less than pleasant consequences.

> >> I was not focusing on the total budget but on border
> >> control (and excluding MJ), and with 5,000 or so agents for the whole
> >> country
> >> I assume they are not having much impact at the border.
> >
> > You seriously think that any kind of comprehensive border control is
> > possible in today's globalized world? Every year trillions of dollars
> > worth of imported goods are crossing the US border, not to mention the
> > population movements. Controlling any significant percentage of total
> > international traffic is outright impossible. Unless you would like
> > your country to pursue the most extreme form of isolationist economic
> > policy similar to that of North Korea, of course.
>
> Yes, I think a significant dent can be made - in conjunction with the
> procedures used for antiterrorist policies. More control of people at the
> border - higher fences, etc. More inspection and sealing of containers at
> the
> source and detection devices if opened - with the shipper knowing he will
> be sanctioned if drugs are found.

Are you aware how many billions of containers cross the US borders every
year? Thoroughly inspecting more than a tiny fraction of them is impossible
without employing a million-man army on that task, which would have the
additional effect of completely disrupting the whole economy. The most the
government can achieve is to face the smugglers with a very small
probability of draconian penalties -- which is what it does now, but there
are always people willing to risk life imprisonment in an attempt to get
rich.

Greatly intensifying the border controls would somewhat increase the
probability of being caught for the smugglers, but it would also increase
the reward for successful smuggling, because the street prices and profits
would be higher. And this is only the first order approximation of what
would happen, since the increased profit potential of drug trafficking would
result in increased corruption in law enforcement.

> More effort in tracing drugs found back to the
> source or US distributors. More sophisticated drug detection devices.
> Perhaps more spies/bribes in origin countries. Etc.

All under the auspices of an angelic benevolent police state, in which
corruption is a phenomenon unheard of. Do you think that *any* government
could ever wield such powers without becoming thoroughly corrupted?


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Fri, 04 Mar 2005 10:35:13 GMT

--------

"Ivan M." wrote in message
news:8fe47a92.0503032125.40439bfe@posting.google.com...
> "Bill" wrote in message
> news:<3jNVd.9804$Z91.5807@newssvr31.news.prodigy.com>...
>>
>> > However, one good indicator is the street price
>> > of illegal drugs, which should be constantly going up if increasing
>> > the intensity of the drug war had any success. This is definitely not
>> > the case, as the government itself admits:
>> >
> http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/price_purity/fig1_38.pdf
>> >
>>
>> That's not true. It is a supply and demand thing. The govt. has been
>> focusing
>> on both. In fact, probably more on the demand side by putting people in
>> prision. It seems relatively flat for the last 10 years.
>
> During which the DEA budget has increased by 70% in real terms. Go figure.
>

The point is the price of drugs is not a useful measure of DEA effectiveness.

>> Also demographics
>> is probably working against the drug dealer.
>
> How?
>

My impression is that 20 - 40 year olds are more prone to drug use then 50 -
70 year olds. (And the population is aging.) But it is just an impression.

>> > On the other hand, *these* effects are unambiguously clear:
>> > http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/10.GIF
>> > http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/11.htm
>> > http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/24.GIF
>> > http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/22.GIF
>> >
>>
>> The data is about 15 years old, and I find it difficult to read anything
>> into it anyway.
>
> If you're an avid fan of the drug war, I'm sure you'll be able to
> rationalize away its less than pleasant consequences.
>

I am not. And the data remains 15 years old.

>> >> I was not focusing on the total budget but on border
>> >> control (and excluding MJ), and with 5,000 or so agents for the whole
>> >> country
>> >> I assume they are not having much impact at the border.
>> >
>> > You seriously think that any kind of comprehensive border control is
>> > possible in today's globalized world? Every year trillions of dollars
>> > worth of imported goods are crossing the US border, not to mention the
>> > population movements. Controlling any significant percentage of total
>> > international traffic is outright impossible. Unless you would like
>> > your country to pursue the most extreme form of isolationist economic
>> > policy similar to that of North Korea, of course.
>>
>> Yes, I think a significant dent can be made - in conjunction with the
>> procedures used for antiterrorist policies. More control of people at the
>> border - higher fences, etc. More inspection and sealing of containers at
>> the
>> source and detection devices if opened - with the shipper knowing he will
>> be sanctioned if drugs are found.
>
> Are you aware how many billions of containers cross the US borders every
> year?

How many?

>Thoroughly inspecting more than a tiny fraction of them is impossible
> without employing a million-man army on that task, which would have the
> additional effect of completely disrupting the whole economy.

I did not propose this.

This is what I wrote.

"More inspection and sealing of containers at the source and detection devices
if opened - with the shipper knowing he will be sanctioned if drugs are
found."

And also more effort in developing drug detection devices. And no I do not
know whether or not that will succeed. And more effort and tracing back to the
source.

Also I said previously that this would have to wait until the end of the Iraq
war when more resources would be available.

>The most the
> government can achieve is to face the smugglers with a very small
> probability of draconian penalties -- which is what it does now, but there
> are always people willing to risk life imprisonment in an attempt to get
> rich.
>

The idea is to significantly increase the probability. Note that increased
effort in this general area is going on in the name of homeland security.



> Greatly intensifying the border controls would somewhat increase the
> probability of being caught for the smugglers, but it would also increase
> the reward for successful smuggling, because the street prices and profits
> would be higher. And this is only the first order approximation of what
> would happen, since the increased profit potential of drug trafficking would
> result in increased corruption in law enforcement.
>

Yes there would be some of that but since some of the procedures are random
that will help.

>> More effort in tracing drugs found back to the
>> source or US distributors. More sophisticated drug detection devices.
>> Perhaps more spies/bribes in origin countries. Etc.
>
> All under the auspices of an angelic benevolent police state, in which
> corruption is a phenomenon unheard of. Do you think that *any* government
> could ever wield such powers without becoming thoroughly corrupted?

What are these "such powers" that you talk about. I'm not really proposing
much more than is being done today. Only more of it. And what police state are
you talking about. I am also proposing less enforcement at the local level,
more effort on helping people, and less jail time - which is where this whole
thing started.

Bill




Correspondent:: ivan.yosifovich@gmail.com (Ivan M.)
Date: 5 Mar 2005 16:30:02 -0800

--------
"Bill" wrote in message news:...
>
> > > [The graph of illegal drug prices] seems relatively flat for the last 10
> > > years.
> >
> > During which the DEA budget has increased by 70% in real terms. Go figure.
>
> The point is the price of drugs is not a useful measure of DEA effectiveness.

Yes, it is. The only non-negligible components of the street price of
drugs are costs of avoiding and bribing law enforcement and the
monopoly profits of the gang that gets to control a particular area
(the cause of monopoly being economies of scale in bribing the law
enforcement, of course). If the interception of drug trade anywhere in
the trading chain is becoming more effective, the street price of
drugs must be increasing.

[...]
> > If you're an avid fan of the drug war, I'm sure you'll be able to
> > rationalize away its less than pleasant consequences.
> >
>
> I am not. And the data remains 15 years old.

The data are very much relevant, because they show the trends in the
period while the drug war was being greatly intensified. Also notice
the downward slope of the drug price curves in the same period.

> > Are you aware how many billions of containers cross the US borders every
> > year?
>
> How many?

I have no idea about the exact number, but you'll get the idea if you
just think how much imported stuff you consume each year -- and how
much more stuff gets imported in the course of production of the made
in US stuff -- and multiply by 300 million.

> > Thoroughly inspecting more than a tiny fraction of them is impossible
> > without employing a million-man army on that task, which would have the
> > additional effect of completely disrupting the whole economy.
>
> I did not propose this.
>
> This is what I wrote.
>
> "More inspection and sealing of containers at the source and detection
> devices
> if opened - with the shipper knowing he will be sanctioned if drugs are
> found."
>
> And also more effort in developing drug detection devices. And no I do not
> know whether or not that will succeed. And more effort and tracing back to
> the source.

You essentially propose more of what's being done right now. Greatly
intensifying these measures has so far turned out be a miserable utter
failure. I have no reason whatever to believe that success will
suddendly follow if they are just intensified beyond a certain point.

> Also I said previously that this would have to wait until the end of the Iraq
> war when more resources would be available.

Don't hold your breath waiting for that one. :-)

> >The most the
> > government can achieve is to face the smugglers with a very small
> > probability of draconian penalties -- which is what it does now, but there
> > are always people willing to risk life imprisonment in an attempt to get
> > rich.
>
> The idea is to significantly increase the probability. Note that increased
> effort in this general area is going on in the name of homeland security.

Assume for the moment that the border control really gets
significantly more effective. The result will be a great increase in
the street price of drugs, and hence a great increase of the potential
profits for smugglers. There will always be customers for drugs,
regardless of the price -- Hollywood stars will want cocaine even if
it's $5,000 a gram. The increased profit incentive will at least
partially offset the negative incentive of the greater probability of
getting caught. There is no reason to believe that the new equilibrium
quantity smuggled will be substantially smaller -- especially when you
factor in the greater opportunities and incentives for corruption.

> > Greatly intensifying the border controls would somewhat increase the
> > probability of being caught for the smugglers, but it would also increase
> > the reward for successful smuggling, because the street prices and profits
> > would be higher. And this is only the first order approximation of what
> > would happen, since the increased profit potential of drug trafficking would
> > result in increased corruption in law enforcement.
> >
>
> Yes there would be some of that but since some of the procedures are random
> that will help.

But one corrupted border control official (or a small group of them)
is enough to let in an enormous quantity of drugs. Remember, drugs
aren't a bulky cargo. And, what is even more important, the difference
in price on the different sides of the border is *enormous*, two
orders of magnitude -- if just 5% of the stuff you try to sneak in
gets through, you're still end up making a profit. This difference
would get even greater with tighter border control.

> >> More effort in tracing drugs found back to the
> >> source or US distributors. More sophisticated drug detection devices.
> >> Perhaps more spies/bribes in origin countries. Etc.
> >
> > All under the auspices of an angelic benevolent police state, in which
> > corruption is a phenomenon unheard of. Do you think that *any* government
> > could ever wield such powers without becoming thoroughly corrupted?
>
> What are these "such powers" that you talk about. I'm not really proposing
> much more than is being done today. Only more of it.

The powers to terrorize and repress people for victimless crimes. The
greater such government powers are, the more corruption there will be.

> And what police state are you talking about.

The one that you already have -- mainly as a result of the former
alcohol prohibition and the subsequent drug war. If the mere act of
growing a particular plant species in my basement or possessing a
pound of a certain chemical is going to get my house raided by a SWAT
team and ensure me a jail sentence comparable to the one for murder,
that's a police state -- whatever euphemisms you use to describe it.


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 06 Mar 2005 02:02:22 GMT

--------

"Ivan M." wrote in message
news:8fe47a92.0503051630.3f908597@posting.google.com...
> "Bill" wrote in message
> news:...
>>
>> > > [The graph of illegal drug prices] seems relatively flat for the last
>> > > 10
>> > > years.
>> >
>> > During which the DEA budget has increased by 70% in real terms. Go
>> > figure.
>>
>> The point is the price of drugs is not a useful measure of DEA
>> effectiveness.
>
> Yes, it is. The only non-negligible components of the street price of
> drugs are costs of avoiding and bribing law enforcement and the
> monopoly profits of the gang that gets to control a particular area
> (the cause of monopoly being economies of scale in bribing the law
> enforcement, of course). If the interception of drug trade anywhere in
> the trading chain is becoming more effective, the street price of
> drugs must be increasing.
>

You are not listening. Suppose they focus their efforts on users and lock them
up for longer periods - which is where this discussion started - then the
price of drugs will drop (supply and demand).

> [...]
>> > If you're an avid fan of the drug war, I'm sure you'll be able to
>> > rationalize away its less than pleasant consequences.
>> >
>>
>> I am not. And the data remains 15 years old.
>
> The data are very much relevant, because they show the trends in the
> period while the drug war was being greatly intensified. Also notice
> the downward slope of the drug price curves in the same period.
>
>> > Are you aware how many billions of containers cross the US borders every
>> > year?
>>
>> How many?
>
> I have no idea about the exact number, but you'll get the idea if you
> just think how much imported stuff you consume each year -- and how
> much more stuff gets imported in the course of production of the made
> in US stuff -- and multiply by 300 million.
>
>> > Thoroughly inspecting more than a tiny fraction of them is impossible
>> > without employing a million-man army on that task, which would have the
>> > additional effect of completely disrupting the whole economy.
>>
>> I did not propose this.
>>
>> This is what I wrote.
>>
>> "More inspection and sealing of containers at the source and detection
>> devices
>> if opened - with the shipper knowing he will be sanctioned if drugs are
>> found."
>>
>> And also more effort in developing drug detection devices. And no I do not
>> know whether or not that will succeed. And more effort and tracing back to
>> the source.
>
> You essentially propose more of what's being done right now. Greatly
> intensifying these measures has so far turned out be a miserable utter
> failure. I have no reason whatever to believe that success will
> suddendly follow if they are just intensified beyond a certain point.
>

Why not? If you have some degree of success now - i.e. some interceptions.
Would you not have more if you put in 10 or 20 times the effort?

>> Also I said previously that this would have to wait until the end of the
>> Iraq
>> war when more resources would be available.
>
> Don't hold your breath waiting for that one. :-)
>
>> >The most the
>> > government can achieve is to face the smugglers with a very small
>> > probability of draconian penalties -- which is what it does now, but
>> > there
>> > are always people willing to risk life imprisonment in an attempt to get
>> > rich.
>>
>> The idea is to significantly increase the probability. Note that increased
>> effort in this general area is going on in the name of homeland security.
>
> Assume for the moment that the border control really gets
> significantly more effective. The result will be a great increase in
> the street price of drugs, and hence a great increase of the potential
> profits for smugglers. There will always be customers for drugs,
> regardless of the price -- Hollywood stars will want cocaine even if
> it's $5,000 a gram. The increased profit incentive will at least
> partially offset the negative incentive of the greater probability of
> getting caught. There is no reason to believe that the new equilibrium
> quantity smuggled will be substantially smaller -- especially when you
> factor in the greater opportunities and incentives for corruption.
>

Of course it will be. The people who are not Hollywood stars will not able to
pay for it. Basically if there is less supply, there is less supply and there
must be less consumption.

>> > Greatly intensifying the border controls would somewhat increase the
>> > probability of being caught for the smugglers, but it would also increase
>> > the reward for successful smuggling, because the street prices and
>> > profits
>> > would be higher. And this is only the first order approximation of what
>> > would happen, since the increased profit potential of drug trafficking
>> > would
>> > result in increased corruption in law enforcement.
>> >
>>
>> Yes there would be some of that but since some of the procedures are random
>> that will help.
>
> But one corrupted border control official (or a small group of them)
> is enough to let in an enormous quantity of drugs. Remember, drugs
> aren't a bulky cargo. And, what is even more important, the difference
> in price on the different sides of the border is *enormous*, two
> orders of magnitude -- if just 5% of the stuff you try to sneak in
> gets through, you're still end up making a profit. This difference
> would get even greater with tighter border control.
>

Again, I'm not talking perfection here. And by frequently rotating customs
people you will never know who you will get.

>> >> More effort in tracing drugs found back to the
>> >> source or US distributors. More sophisticated drug detection devices.
>> >> Perhaps more spies/bribes in origin countries. Etc.
>> >
>> > All under the auspices of an angelic benevolent police state, in which
>> > corruption is a phenomenon unheard of. Do you think that *any* government
>> > could ever wield such powers without becoming thoroughly corrupted?
>>
>> What are these "such powers" that you talk about. I'm not really proposing
>> much more than is being done today. Only more of it.
>
> The powers to terrorize and repress people for victimless crimes. The
> greater such government powers are, the more corruption there will be.
>

I never said anything like that. I propose less control at the local level.
More control at the border, but no powers beyond what exist today.
>> And what police state are you talking about.
>
> The one that you already have -- mainly as a result of the former
> alcohol prohibition and the subsequent drug war. If the mere act of
> growing a particular plant species in my basement or possessing a
> pound of a certain chemical is going to get my house raided by a SWAT
> team and ensure me a jail sentence comparable to the one for murder,
> that's a police state -- whatever euphemisms you use to describe it.

Again, you are attributing to me the opposite of what I have said and then
holding me to account for it. I proposed both less focus on MJ across the
board and less focus on police enforcement at the local level and more focus
on help. The opposite of what you suggest I have said. I have also said prison
terms should be shorter - or non existent in many cases.

Don't automatically stereotype people.

Bill




Correspondent:: ivan.yosifovich@gmail.com (Ivan M.)
Date: 6 Mar 2005 15:08:27 -0800

--------
"Bill" wrote in message
news:...
> >> > > [The graph of illegal drug prices] seems relatively flat for the
> >> > > last 10 years.
> >> >
> >> > During which the DEA budget has increased by 70% in real terms. Go
> >> > figure.
> >>
> >> The point is the price of drugs is not a useful measure of DEA
> >> effectiveness.
> >
> > Yes, it is. The only non-negligible components of the street price of
> > drugs are costs of avoiding and bribing law enforcement and the
> > monopoly profits of the gang that gets to control a particular area
> > (the cause of monopoly being economies of scale in bribing the law
> > enforcement, of course). If the interception of drug trade anywhere in
> > the trading chain is becoming more effective, the street price of
> > drugs must be increasing.
> >
>
> You are not listening. Suppose they focus their efforts on users and lock
> them
> up for longer periods - which is where this discussion started - then the
> price of drugs will drop (supply and demand).

I'm not talking about what could happen if DEA was staffed by wise and
benevolent idealists. I'm talking about what the results of prohibition in
practice. Or you perhaps think that those benevolent idealists from DEA are
sincerely misguided and push wrong policies because they don't understand
your arguments?

> > You essentially propose more of what's being done right now. Greatly
> > intensifying these measures has so far turned out be a miserable utter
> > failure. I have no reason whatever to believe that success will
> > suddendly follow if they are just intensified beyond a certain point.
> >
>
> Why not? If you have some degree of success now - i.e. some interceptions.
> Would you not have more if you put in 10 or 20 times the effort?

Yes -- and it wouldn't change anything. You don't seem to understand one
essential characteristic of illegal drugs, and that is the vast difference
between their price in the countries of origin and their price once they
enter the US. Imagine if the US border had the magical property to turn sand
into gold when it's imported into the US, and that for some reason the US
government attempts to stop the importation of sand at all costs. It would
most certainly fail, because even if a tiny percentage of the sand someone
tries to smuggle in passes through, it is still a hugely profitable
operation. Drugs are similar -- they are dirt cheap to manufacture abroad
and precious once smuggled into the US. If the US market potential is
several hundred tons of cocaine each year, even if 90% of all shipments are
intercepted, it is still hugely profitable for the mafia to attempt
smuggling thousands of tons each year, because the profits from 10% that
gets through are far more than enough to compensate for the loss of other
90%. Of course, such a high rate of interception is impossible even if the
US turns into a new North Korea.

> > Assume for the moment that the border control really gets
> > significantly more effective. The result will be a great increase in
> > the street price of drugs, and hence a great increase of the potential
> > profits for smugglers. There will always be customers for drugs,
> > regardless of the price -- Hollywood stars will want cocaine even if
> > it's $5,000 a gram. The increased profit incentive will at least
> > partially offset the negative incentive of the greater probability of
> > getting caught. There is no reason to believe that the new equilibrium
> > quantity smuggled will be substantially smaller -- especially when you
> > factor in the greater opportunities and incentives for corruption.
>
> Of course it will be. The people who are not Hollywood stars will not able
> to pay for it. Basically if there is less supply, there is less supply and
> there must be less consumption.

But even if the price gets so high that only millionaires can afford it,
that situation cannot last long, because the possibility of mindboggling
profits will attract more smugglers and the price will soon drop again.

> > But one corrupted border control official (or a small group of them)
> > is enough to let in an enormous quantity of drugs. Remember, drugs
> > aren't a bulky cargo. And, what is even more important, the difference
> > in price on the different sides of the border is *enormous*, two
> > orders of magnitude -- if just 5% of the stuff you try to sneak in
> > gets through, you're still end up making a profit. This difference
> > would get even greater with tighter border control.
> >
>
> Again, I'm not talking perfection here. And by frequently rotating customs
> people you will never know who you will get.

There is absolutely no way to avoid corruption in a situation when even a
relatively junior official can earn a fortune by simply turning a blind eye.
Besides, who does the rotating? *His* incentive for corruption would be
sky-high. You would need an incorruptible angel from heaven to fill that
position.

> > The powers to terrorize and repress people for victimless crimes. The
> > greater such government powers are, the more corruption there will be.
> >
>
> I never said anything like that. I propose less control at the local
> level. More control at the border, but no powers beyond what exist today.

The powers that exist today are frightening already.

> >> And what police state are you talking about.
> >
> > The one that you already have -- mainly as a result of the former
> > alcohol prohibition and the subsequent drug war. If the mere act of
> > growing a particular plant species in my basement or possessing a
> > pound of a certain chemical is going to get my house raided by a SWAT
> > team and ensure me a jail sentence comparable to the one for murder,
> > that's a police state -- whatever euphemisms you use to describe it.
>
> Again, you are attributing to me the opposite of what I have said and then
> holding me to account for it. I proposed both less focus on MJ across the
> board and less focus on police enforcement at the local level and more
> focus
> on help. The opposite of what you suggest I have said. I have also said
> prison terms should be shorter - or non existent in many cases.
>
> Don't automatically stereotype people.

I'm not stereotyping you -- I believe that you sicerely think that your
schemes could work in practice. What I am rightfully stereotyping is what
governments do when they are given the power to meddle in any area of
people's affairs. You can be sure that this power will soon be stretched and
abused beyond the wildest imagination. Give the government power to censor
any kind of speech, and it's only a matter of time when the anti-government
speech will be criminalized. Give the government power to regulate
interstate commerce and it will proclaim that growing corn on your own field
to feed your own pigs constitutes interstate commerce (see Wickard v.
Filburn if you don't believe me on that one). And you believe that giving
the government power to repress people and confiscate their property with
the excuse that they possess a handful of some chemicals won't lead to a
police state? People in the positions of power aren't selfless
philanthropists struggling to work out an optimal policy for maximizing
common welfare. They are after maximizing their own power and wealth, and
the process by which they get to their positions generally selects for
opportunism and ruthlessness.


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 07 Mar 2005 00:26:11 GMT

--------

"Ivan M." wrote in message
news:8fe47a92.0503061508.1b208ee8@posting.google.com...
> "Bill" wrote in message
> news:...
>> >> > > [The graph of illegal drug prices] seems relatively flat for the
>> >> > > last 10 years.
>> >> >
>> >> > During which the DEA budget has increased by 70% in real terms. Go
>> >> > figure.
>> >>
>> >> The point is the price of drugs is not a useful measure of DEA
>> >> effectiveness.
>> >
>> > Yes, it is. The only non-negligible components of the street price of
>> > drugs are costs of avoiding and bribing law enforcement and the
>> > monopoly profits of the gang that gets to control a particular area
>> > (the cause of monopoly being economies of scale in bribing the law
>> > enforcement, of course). If the interception of drug trade anywhere in
>> > the trading chain is becoming more effective, the street price of
>> > drugs must be increasing.
>> >
>>
>> You are not listening. Suppose they focus their efforts on users and lock
>> them
>> up for longer periods - which is where this discussion started - then the
>> price of drugs will drop (supply and demand).
>
> I'm not talking about what could happen if DEA was staffed by wise and
> benevolent idealists. I'm talking about what the results of prohibition in
> practice. Or you perhaps think that those benevolent idealists from DEA are
> sincerely misguided and push wrong policies because they don't understand
> your arguments?
>

You again are not addressing the point. The price of drugs is not a got
measure of how effective drug control has been. The original topic was
prision. If we put more people in prision longer (which I oppose) I think drug
prices would drop because demand would drop.

>> > You essentially propose more of what's being done right now. Greatly
>> > intensifying these measures has so far turned out be a miserable utter
>> > failure. I have no reason whatever to believe that success will
>> > suddendly follow if they are just intensified beyond a certain point.
>> >
>>
>> Why not? If you have some degree of success now - i.e. some interceptions.
>> Would you not have more if you put in 10 or 20 times the effort?
>
> Yes -- and it wouldn't change anything. You don't seem to understand one
> essential characteristic of illegal drugs, and that is the vast difference
> between their price in the countries of origin and their price once they
> enter the US. Imagine if the US border had the magical property to turn sand
> into gold when it's imported into the US, and that for some reason the US
> government attempts to stop the importation of sand at all costs. It would
> most certainly fail, because even if a tiny percentage of the sand someone
> tries to smuggle in passes through, it is still a hugely profitable
> operation. Drugs are similar -- they are dirt cheap to manufacture abroad
> and precious once smuggled into the US. If the US market potential is
> several hundred tons of cocaine each year, even if 90% of all shipments are
> intercepted, it is still hugely profitable for the mafia to attempt
> smuggling thousands of tons each year, because the profits from 10% that
> gets through are far more than enough to compensate for the loss of other
> 90%. Of course, such a high rate of interception is impossible even if the
> US turns into a new North Korea.
>
>> > Assume for the moment that the border control really gets
>> > significantly more effective. The result will be a great increase in
>> > the street price of drugs, and hence a great increase of the potential
>> > profits for smugglers. There will always be customers for drugs,
>> > regardless of the price -- Hollywood stars will want cocaine even if
>> > it's $5,000 a gram. The increased profit incentive will at least
>> > partially offset the negative incentive of the greater probability of
>> > getting caught. There is no reason to believe that the new equilibrium
>> > quantity smuggled will be substantially smaller -- especially when you
>> > factor in the greater opportunities and incentives for corruption.
>>
>> Of course it will be. The people who are not Hollywood stars will not able
>> to pay for it. Basically if there is less supply, there is less supply and
>> there must be less consumption.
>
> But even if the price gets so high that only millionaires can afford it,
> that situation cannot last long, because the possibility of mindboggling
> profits will attract more smugglers and the price will soon drop again.
>

To some degree.

>> > But one corrupted border control official (or a small group of them)
>> > is enough to let in an enormous quantity of drugs. Remember, drugs
>> > aren't a bulky cargo. And, what is even more important, the difference
>> > in price on the different sides of the border is *enormous*, two
>> > orders of magnitude -- if just 5% of the stuff you try to sneak in
>> > gets through, you're still end up making a profit. This difference
>> > would get even greater with tighter border control.
>> >
>>
>> Again, I'm not talking perfection here. And by frequently rotating customs
>> people you will never know who you will get.
>
> There is absolutely no way to avoid corruption in a situation when even a
> relatively junior official can earn a fortune by simply turning a blind eye.
> Besides, who does the rotating? *His* incentive for corruption would be
> sky-high. You would need an incorruptible angel from heaven to fill that
> position.
>

If that is percived as a problem you could even have a random process. Or you
can rotate our the rotators.

>> > The powers to terrorize and repress people for victimless crimes. The
>> > greater such government powers are, the more corruption there will be.
>> >
>>
>> I never said anything like that. I propose less control at the local
>> level. More control at the border, but no powers beyond what exist today.
>
> The powers that exist today are frightening already.
>

You talked about greater powers and I never suggested that.

>> >> And what police state are you talking about.
>> >
>> > The one that you already have -- mainly as a result of the former
>> > alcohol prohibition and the subsequent drug war. If the mere act of
>> > growing a particular plant species in my basement or possessing a
>> > pound of a certain chemical is going to get my house raided by a SWAT
>> > team and ensure me a jail sentence comparable to the one for murder,
>> > that's a police state -- whatever euphemisms you use to describe it.
>>
>> Again, you are attributing to me the opposite of what I have said and then
>> holding me to account for it. I proposed both less focus on MJ across the
>> board and less focus on police enforcement at the local level and more
>> focus
>> on help. The opposite of what you suggest I have said. I have also said
>> prison terms should be shorter - or non existent in many cases.
>>
>> Don't automatically stereotype people.
>
> I'm not stereotyping you
> I believe that you sicerely think that your
> schemes could work in practice. What I am rightfully stereotyping is what
> governments do when they are given the power to meddle in any area of
> people's affairs. You can be sure that this power will soon be stretched and
> abused beyond the wildest imagination. Give the government power to censor
> any kind of speech, and it's only a matter of time when the anti-government
> speech will be criminalized. Give the government power to regulate
> interstate commerce and it will proclaim that growing corn on your own field
> to feed your own pigs constitutes interstate commerce (see Wickard v.
> Filburn if you don't believe me on that one). And you believe that giving
> the government power to repress people and confiscate their property with
> the excuse that they possess a handful of some chemicals won't lead to a
> police state? People in the positions of power aren't selfless
> philanthropists struggling to work out an optimal policy for maximizing
> common welfare. They are after maximizing their own power and wealth, and
> the process by which they get to their positions generally selects for
> opportunism and ruthlessness.

Again I am totally focused on the border and am simultainously proposing less
focus at the local level, less prision time, less focus on MJ, and more help
at the local level. On balance that sounds like less of a police state to me.

Bill




Correspondent:: ivan.yosifovich@gmail.com (Ivan M.)
Date: 8 Mar 2005 17:26:19 -0800

--------
"Bill" wrote in message
news:...
>
> > I'm not talking about what could happen if DEA was staffed by wise and
> > benevolent idealists. I'm talking about what the results of prohibition
> > in
> > practice. Or you perhaps think that those benevolent idealists from DEA
> > are
> > sincerely misguided and push wrong policies because they don't
> > understand your arguments?
> >
>
> You again are not addressing the point. The price of drugs is not a got
> measure of how effective drug control has been. The original topic was
> prision. If we put more people in prision longer (which I oppose) I think
> drug prices would drop because demand would drop.

Not really. Only a small fraction of the total numer of users can be jailed.
Remeber, the total US prison capacities are around two million, and the
number of drug users is in the tens of millions.

> > There is absolutely no way to avoid corruption in a situation when even
> > a relatively junior official can earn a fortune by simply turning a
> > blind eye.
> > Besides, who does the rotating? *His* incentive for corruption would be
> > sky-high. You would need an incorruptible angel from heaven to fill that
> > position.
>
> If that is percived as a problem you could even have a random process. Or
> you can rotate our the rotators.

In the end, someone must be in charge -- and the higher he is, the more
immense is the fortune he can acquire by corruption. It's a no-win
situation, however you put it.

> >> I never said anything like that. I propose less control at the local
> >> level. More control at the border, but no powers beyond what exist
> >> today.
> >
> > The powers that exist today are frightening already.
> >
>
> You talked about greater powers and I never suggested that.

It doesn't matter whether you suggested them. If the government has the
power to prosecute people for victimless crimes where a significant profit
motive exists, the black market will thrive regardless of the level of
repression -- which will be a a great excuse the government to constantly
increase its powers. That vicious cycle is unavoidable.

> > People in the positions of power aren't selfless
> > philanthropists struggling to work out an optimal policy for maximizing
> > common welfare. They are after maximizing their own power and wealth,
> > and
> > the process by which they get to their positions generally selects for
> > opportunism and ruthlessness.
>
> Again I am totally focused on the border and am simultainously proposing
> less
> focus at the local level, less prision time, less focus on MJ, and more
> help at the local level. On balance that sounds like less of a police
> state to me.

But the world doesn't work that way. You can't just think of a policy that
sounds good and has good results in theory and then expect that the
government will be capable of implemeting that policy just like you imagined
it. It won't. Each politician and bureaucrat in the government will aim to
implement (or to avoid implementing) his part of the policy in a way that
will maximize his own power and wealth, and the results will be completely
different from the original aims of the policy. Since the police state is
generally in the interest of government officials, you can bet that they
will use any available excuses to create it -- and the drug prohibition is a
great excuse. Similarly, if a powerful profit motive for corruption exists,
it is certain to be rampant. You essentially say, "I'm for the drug war, but
the government should behave more nicely than now." But as soon as the
government has the powers necessary to fight the drug war in the first
place, you can be sure it won't behave nicely.


Correspondent:: James A. Donald
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 09:53:52 -0800

--------
--
"Bill"
> > OK. I'm not following that. Assume you decrease the supply
> > to 1/4 of what it currently is (and also place restrictions
> > on the ingredients for domestic production) would that not
> > cause fewer addicts (or fewer active ones anyway) simply
> > because there is fewer drugs?

michael price
> Irrelevent since that's impossible to achieve. In any case
> it's not clear that it would reduce the number of addicts.
> It would depend on how much of the drugs go to addicts now
> and how much greater a proportion would go to them if supply
> was restricted and therefore price increased. It also depends
> on how much addicts can reduce the use and still remain
> addicts.

Having known some addicts, my impression is that what makes an
addict is in the soul, rather than body. If you take an addict
off drugs against his will, he is still an addict.

--digsig
James A. Donald
6YeGpsZR+nOTh/cGwvITnSR3TdzclVpR0+pr3YYQdkG
Fu67Iw4NlNW4whQ+nZ5ALYAqyEPDDDaaBOKjx+ks
4H4OMFIrGBatMj4DrJ3pwsJRaoEyhiNEpk4tVbm4z


--
http://www.jim.com


Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 14:16:54 -0500

--------


James A. Donald wrote:

>
> Having known some addicts, my impression is that what makes an
> addict is in the soul, rather than body. If you take an addict
> off drugs against his will, he is still an addict.

That is the basic premis of A.A. Once a lush, always a lush.

Bob Kolker



Correspondent:: Dan Clore
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 01:01:31 -0800

--------
Bill wrote:
> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
> news:oYqdnas3QuCMhb_fRVn-hw@rcn.net...

>>>Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be fewer
>>>addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that make sense to
>>>you?
>>
>>There may not be fewer addicts, but there would not be more either.
>
> That clearly can not be true. It would say that if 10 times as many drugs were
> crossing over then the existing population of addicts would use 10 times as
> much.

You ignore the different choices people tend to make
depending upon the cost of drugs. When the supply is low and
the price high, people tend to use the strongest, most
addictive form. So while people might be taking several
times as much in total amount, this could result in less
addiction. For example, injecting heroin (most addictive)
versus smoking opium (less addictive) versus drinking
codeine syrup (least addictive).

--
Dan Clore

My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587154838/thedanclorenecro/
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
-- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 14:59:43 GMT

--------

"Dan Clore" wrote in message
news:38ipbfF5m96ofU1@individual.net...
> Bill wrote:
>> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
>> news:oYqdnas3QuCMhb_fRVn-hw@rcn.net...
>
>>>>Also, if we reverse your argument it would say that there would be fewer
>>>>addicts if simply opened the boarder to all drugs. Does that make sense to
>>>>you?
>>>
>>>There may not be fewer addicts, but there would not be more either.
>>
>> That clearly can not be true. It would say that if 10 times as many drugs
>> were crossing over then the existing population of addicts would use 10
>> times as much.
>
> You ignore the different choices people tend to make depending upon the cost
> of drugs. When the supply is low and the price high, people tend to use the
> strongest, most addictive form. So while people might be taking several
> times as much in total amount, this could result in less addiction. For
> example, injecting heroin (most addictive) versus smoking opium (less
> addictive) versus drinking codeine syrup (least addictive).
>

There may be some of that. But as I said before, I would put most focus on
interdicting harder drugs and give things like MJ a pass. And, hopefully, that
would encourage people to move in that direction.

Bill

> --
> Dan Clore
>
> My collected fiction, _The Unspeakable and Others_:
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587154838/thedanclorenecro/
> Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
> http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9879/
> News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
>
> Strange pleasures are known to him who flaunts the
> immarcescible purple of poetry before the color-blind.
> -- Clark Ashton Smith, "Epigrams and Apothegms"
>




Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 08:18:35 -0500

--------


Bill wrote:
>
> I disagree. You would also need to do things like control ammonia and place
> such cold medications behind pharmacy counters. It is clear that if you
> ristrict the supply of hard drugs there will be less addicts. On the local
> level, I would put more emphasis on support rather than law enforcement.

We should get rid of those regulation too. Only children would be
restricted from buying these potentially dangerous substance.

Bob Kolker


Correspondent:: Big Dog <>
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 20:15:56 -0600

--------
On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 22:06:51 -0800, Dan Clore
wrote:

>Bill wrote:
>> wrote in message news:nqa221tuo4fmqq7ih670ejqbghradeeoto@4ax.com...
>>>On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>
>> What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
>> push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>> drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts. This is not from a
>> moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill themselves
>> and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>
>Won't work worth a damn. You might lower the supply, but
>that would raise the price and hence both increase the
>associated crime by addicts who need a fix, and increase the
>incentive to go into the business. Also, focusing on
>stopping drugs at the border would only shift use to drugs
>that don't need to be imported, such as methamphetamines,
>made from OTC cold medicines. By decreasing the choices
>among drugs, you increase the likelihood of people choosing
>more harmful drugs.

I find myself in agreement with Dan here. You really have to trust
the people themselves, and decriminalize drugs. Short of extremely
expensive and drastic measures, the market will remain, and there will
be people who will serve that market.

>You're right that people destroy their lives and even kill
>themselves with drugs, but the law enforcement approach
>maximizes the harm done, rather than minimizing it.

Thanks,
Big Dog




Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 07:01:59 GMT

--------
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>

Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
proud of you.

By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.

>
>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people
>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>

People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
they so desire.


--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: nenslo
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 00:48:34 -0800

--------

> >This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people
> >really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
> >
>
> People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
> they so desire.

And if "killing themselves" involves them robbing YOU, burglarizing
dozens of homes in their neighborhood, going nuts and, as happened in
this city, beating to death a burglary victim in front of his six year
old son and then beating the child with a golf club and leaving him for
dead, or in another case flipping out and stabbing his own father
(associate pastor of a local church) to death on his own doorstep for
not giving him more money to "kill himself" with.... then what. I bet
it can't be adequately addressed in just a sentence or two.


Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 08:20:23 -0500

--------


nenslo wrote:

> And if "killing themselves" involves them robbing YOU, burglarizing
> dozens of homes in their neighborhood, going nuts and, as happened in
> this city, beating to death a burglary victim in front of his six year
> old son and then beating the child with a golf club and leaving him for
> dead

What if these substances are so cheap no one has to rob to get the money
to buy them. When was the last time a wino robbed someone to purchase a
can of Sterno or some cheap rot-gut.

Bob Kolker


Correspondent:: Courageous
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 07:43:11 -0800

--------

>> People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
>> they so desire.

>And if "killing themselves" involves them robbing YOU,...

Robbery is a crime, with a well established punishment.

C//



Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 11:05:10 -0500

--------


Courageous wrote:
>
> Robbery is a crime, with a well established punishment.

If drugs can be manufactured cheap enough we can -give- them to addicts
so they will o.d., die and cease to bother us.

Bob Kolker



Correspondent:: Courageous
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 08:42:36 -0800

--------

>> Robbery is a crime, with a well established punishment.
>
>If drugs can be manufactured cheap enough we can -give- them to addicts
>so they will o.d., die and cease to bother us.

The cost of manufacturing either cocaine or heroin, in a source
country, is typically 20X-50X less expensive than its street cost
here. What this means practically is that a hardcore heroin junky
would be able to support their habit through panhandling alone.
It would literally be a less expensive habit than alcoholism.

C//



Correspondent:: "Dr. Zarkov"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 13:40:08 -0500

--------
Courageous wrote:

>>>Robbery is a crime, with a well established punishment.
>>
>>If drugs can be manufactured cheap enough we can -give- them to addicts
>>so they will o.d., die and cease to bother us.
>
>
> The cost of manufacturing either cocaine or heroin, in a source
> country, is typically 20X-50X less expensive than its street cost
> here. What this means practically is that a hardcore heroin junky
> would be able to support their habit through panhandling alone.
> It would literally be a less expensive habit than alcoholism.


Right, although before drugs were made illegal beginning with the
Harrison Act of 1914, the vast majority of users--including the
addicts--were normal, respectable, working people.


Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 22:13:37 GMT

--------
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 13:40:08 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
wrote:

>Courageous wrote:
>
>>>>Robbery is a crime, with a well established punishment.
>>>
>>>If drugs can be manufactured cheap enough we can -give- them to addicts
>>>so they will o.d., die and cease to bother us.
>>
>> The cost of manufacturing either cocaine or heroin, in a source
>> country, is typically 20X-50X less expensive than its street cost
>> here. What this means practically is that a hardcore heroin junky
>> would be able to support their habit through panhandling alone.
>> It would literally be a less expensive habit than alcoholism.
>
>Right, although before drugs were made illegal beginning with the
>Harrison Act of 1914, the vast majority of users--including the
>addicts--were normal, respectable, working people.

Actually, 100 years ago, the majority of US opiate addicts -- and
there were 1/4 million of them -- were middle aged women. Nobody
thought of them as criminals.

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: "Dr. Zarkov"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 21:56:59 -0500

--------
royls@telus.net wrote:

> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 13:40:08 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
> wrote:
>
>
>>Courageous wrote:
>>
>>
>>>>>Robbery is a crime, with a well established punishment.
>>>>
>>>>If drugs can be manufactured cheap enough we can -give- them to addicts
>>>>so they will o.d., die and cease to bother us.
>>>
>>>The cost of manufacturing either cocaine or heroin, in a source
>>>country, is typically 20X-50X less expensive than its street cost
>>>here. What this means practically is that a hardcore heroin junky
>>>would be able to support their habit through panhandling alone.
>>>It would literally be a less expensive habit than alcoholism.
>>
>>Right, although before drugs were made illegal beginning with the
>>Harrison Act of 1914, the vast majority of users--including the
>>addicts--were normal, respectable, working people.
>
>
> Actually, 100 years ago, the majority of US opiate addicts -- and
> there were 1/4 million of them -- were middle aged women. Nobody
> thought of them as criminals.


Estimates of the number of "addicts" in the 19th century tend to
classify all regular users as addicts. But most drug users were not
addicts any more than most alcohol users were alcoholics.

"The estimate of 250,000 opiate addicts in 1900 seems to come from Yale
psychiatrist David Musto, which was based on contemporaneous reports,
which were often impressionistic and contradictory, and extrapolations
by other researchers, which depend on questionable assumptions. Drug
policy scholar Arnold Trebach warns that "estimates of addiction rates
then and now varied so widely that no responsible scholar could rely on
them, except in very general terms."(Arnold S Trebach, James A Inciardi.
_Legalize It? Debating American Drug Policy_. Washington, DC: American
University Press, 1993).

Furthermore, the "addicts" to which Jones refers were not the social
menaces that people tend to imagine when they hear the term. She notes
that "the bulk of them were genteel, middle-class women." (Jill Jonnes,
_Hep-Cats, Narcs, and Pipe Dreams: A History of America's Romance with
Illegal Drugs_, New York: Scribner, 1996.)"

(_Saying Yes_, Jacob Sullum, Tarcher/Putnam, New York, 2003)


Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:04:27 GMT

--------
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 21:56:59 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
wrote:

>royls@telus.net wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 13:40:08 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
>> wrote:
>>
>>>Courageous wrote:
>>>
>>>>>>Robbery is a crime, with a well established punishment.
>>>>>
>>>>>If drugs can be manufactured cheap enough we can -give- them to addicts
>>>>>so they will o.d., die and cease to bother us.
>>>>
>>>>The cost of manufacturing either cocaine or heroin, in a source
>>>>country, is typically 20X-50X less expensive than its street cost
>>>>here. What this means practically is that a hardcore heroin junky
>>>>would be able to support their habit through panhandling alone.
>>>>It would literally be a less expensive habit than alcoholism.
>>>
>>>Right, although before drugs were made illegal beginning with the
>>>Harrison Act of 1914, the vast majority of users--including the
>>>addicts--were normal, respectable, working people.
>>
>> Actually, 100 years ago, the majority of US opiate addicts -- and
>> there were 1/4 million of them -- were middle aged women. Nobody
>> thought of them as criminals.
>
>Estimates of the number of "addicts" in the 19th century tend to
>classify all regular users as addicts.

Which almost all regular users probably were.

>But most drug users were not
>addicts any more than most alcohol users were alcoholics.

Wrong. There was very little recreational or therapuetic use of
opiates by non-addicts. You can have a drink and not be an alcoholic,
but how many people can regularly take opiates on a casual basis?

>"The estimate of 250,000 opiate addicts in 1900 seems to come from Yale
>psychiatrist David Musto, which was based on contemporaneous reports,
>which were often impressionistic and contradictory, and extrapolations
>by other researchers, which depend on questionable assumptions. Drug
>policy scholar Arnold Trebach warns that "estimates of addiction rates
>then and now varied so widely that no responsible scholar could rely on
>them, except in very general terms."(Arnold S Trebach, James A Inciardi.
>_Legalize It? Debating American Drug Policy_. Washington, DC: American
>University Press, 1993).

So in general terms, what difference does it make to disucssions of
drug policy if there were 250K addicts, or 350K, or only 150K? The
fact is, there was obviously a very large number of them, just based
on the amount of opiates being sold through non-medical retail
outlets, and they were just as obviously not a source of significant
social problems.

>Furthermore, the "addicts" to which Jones refers were not the social
>menaces that people tend to imagine when they hear the term.

?? That is very much the point. Opiate addicts are only a social
menace now because they have been made into criminals for trying to
relieve the symtoms of their illness.

>She notes
>that "the bulk of them were genteel, middle-class women." (Jill Jonnes,
>_Hep-Cats, Narcs, and Pipe Dreams: A History of America's Romance with
>Illegal Drugs_, New York: Scribner, 1996.)"

Exactly as I said.

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 28 Feb 2005 14:37:52 -0800

--------

royls@telus.net wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 21:56:59 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
> wrote:
>
> >royls@telus.net wrote:
> >
> >> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 13:40:08 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>>Courageous wrote:
> >>>
> >>>>>>Robbery is a crime, with a well established punishment.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>If drugs can be manufactured cheap enough we can -give- them to
addicts
> >>>>>so they will o.d., die and cease to bother us.
> >>>>
> >>>>The cost of manufacturing either cocaine or heroin, in a source
> >>>>country, is typically 20X-50X less expensive than its street cost
> >>>>here. What this means practically is that a hardcore heroin junky
> >>>>would be able to support their habit through panhandling alone.
> >>>>It would literally be a less expensive habit than alcoholism.
> >>>
> >>>Right, although before drugs were made illegal beginning with the
> >>>Harrison Act of 1914, the vast majority of users--including the
> >>>addicts--were normal, respectable, working people.
> >>
> >> Actually, 100 years ago, the majority of US opiate addicts -- and
> >> there were 1/4 million of them -- were middle aged women. Nobody
> >> thought of them as criminals.
> >
> >Estimates of the number of "addicts" in the 19th century tend to
> >classify all regular users as addicts.
>
> Which almost all regular users probably were.
>
> >But most drug users were not
> >addicts any more than most alcohol users were alcoholics.
>
> Wrong. There was very little recreational or therapuetic use of
> opiates by non-addicts. You can have a drink and not be an
alcoholic,
> but how many people can regularly take opiates on a casual basis?
>

Lots of them actually. Some of the biggest drug users I knew in
college cleaned up after they went out and got a job. Opiates aren't
some magical fairy dust which has more addictive properties than
alcohol or (especially) cigarettes. Go to a Narcotics or Alcoholics
Anonymous meeting. They can kick the drugs and alcohol for years but
find cigarettes to be the hardest thing of all to kick. Probably
because nicotine, unlike opiates or alcohol, doesn't distort perception
to where a person becomes a raving lunatic. It's not hard to figure
out that if you're getting arrested after every drinking binge that
drives you into insane behavior that maybe quitting alcohol is the
solution.

> >"The estimate of 250,000 opiate addicts in 1900 seems to come from
Yale
> >psychiatrist David Musto, which was based on contemporaneous
reports,
> >which were often impressionistic and contradictory, and
extrapolations
> >by other researchers, which depend on questionable assumptions.
Drug
> >policy scholar Arnold Trebach warns that "estimates of addiction
rates
> >then and now varied so widely that no responsible scholar could rely
on
> >them, except in very general terms."(Arnold S Trebach, James A
Inciardi.
> >_Legalize It? Debating American Drug Policy_. Washington, DC:
American
> >University Press, 1993).
>
> So in general terms, what difference does it make to disucssions of
> drug policy if there were 250K addicts, or 350K, or only 150K? The
> fact is, there was obviously a very large number of them, just based
> on the amount of opiates being sold through non-medical retail
> outlets, and they were just as obviously not a source of significant
> social problems.
>
> >Furthermore, the "addicts" to which Jones refers were not the social

> >menaces that people tend to imagine when they hear the term.
>
> ?? That is very much the point. Opiate addicts are only a social
> menace now because they have been made into criminals for trying to
> relieve the symtoms of their illness.
>

It's no "illness." When will you people realize that the 12 Step crap
has been *refuted* constantly? Drug addiction *is not* a disease.
Drug addiction *is not* a progressive disease that only gets worse over
time (in fact, most who experiment with drugs eventually quit on their
own). Drug addiction *does not* cause people to become default "social
menaces" unless the society makes them that way (most pot users are
everyday people).

Many European countries have legalized drugs. And they not only have
less crime related to drugs (because in black markets there's no way to
settle disputes without violence) but they have less rates of addicts.
Just like gun control, those who are enemies of liberty are *wrong* by
the numbers.



Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 09:53:27 GMT

--------
On 28 Feb 2005 14:37:52 -0800, "Rump Ranger"
wrote:

>royls@telus.net wrote:
>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 21:56:59 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
>> wrote:
>>
>> >royls@telus.net wrote:
>> >
>> >> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 13:40:08 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
>> >> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>>Courageous wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>>>>>Robbery is a crime, with a well established punishment.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>If drugs can be manufactured cheap enough we can -give- them to
>addicts
>> >>>>>so they will o.d., die and cease to bother us.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>The cost of manufacturing either cocaine or heroin, in a source
>> >>>>country, is typically 20X-50X less expensive than its street cost
>> >>>>here. What this means practically is that a hardcore heroin junky
>> >>>>would be able to support their habit through panhandling alone.
>> >>>>It would literally be a less expensive habit than alcoholism.
>> >>>
>> >>>Right, although before drugs were made illegal beginning with the
>> >>>Harrison Act of 1914, the vast majority of users--including the
>> >>>addicts--were normal, respectable, working people.
>> >>
>> >> Actually, 100 years ago, the majority of US opiate addicts -- and
>> >> there were 1/4 million of them -- were middle aged women. Nobody
>> >> thought of them as criminals.
>> >
>> >Estimates of the number of "addicts" in the 19th century tend to
>> >classify all regular users as addicts.
>>
>> Which almost all regular users probably were.
>>
>> >But most drug users were not
>> >addicts any more than most alcohol users were alcoholics.
>>
>> Wrong. There was very little recreational or therapuetic use of
>> opiates by non-addicts. You can have a drink and not be an
>alcoholic,
>> but how many people can regularly take opiates on a casual basis?
>
>Lots of them actually.

But most will become addicted.

>Some of the biggest drug users I knew in
>college cleaned up after they went out and got a job.

Doesn't mean they were not addicted. And the biggest college drug
users are typically using a lot of different drugs, so they don't get
hooked on any one.

>Opiates aren't
>some magical fairy dust which has more addictive properties than
>alcohol or (especially) cigarettes.

Nicotine is more addictive than opiates, but few people can smoke
tobacco regularly on a casual basis, either.

>> >Furthermore, the "addicts" to which Jones refers were not the social
>
>> >menaces that people tend to imagine when they hear the term.
>>
>> ?? That is very much the point. Opiate addicts are only a social
>> menace now because they have been made into criminals for trying to
>> relieve the symtoms of their illness.
>>
>
>It's no "illness."

Of course it is, and recognized as such in the PDR.

>When will you people realize that the 12 Step crap
>has been *refuted* constantly? Drug addiction *is not* a disease.

Yes, it is.

>Drug addiction *is not* a progressive disease that only gets worse over
>time (in fact, most who experiment with drugs eventually quit on their
>own).

With some drugs it is, with others it isn't.

>Drug addiction *does not* cause people to become default "social
>menaces" unless the society makes them that way (most pot users are
>everyday people).

Pot is not addictive.

>Many European countries have legalized drugs. And they not only have
>less crime related to drugs (because in black markets there's no way to
>settle disputes without violence) but they have less rates of addicts.

Not surprising.

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: Bama Brian
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 16:25:07 GMT

--------
royls@telus.net wrote:
> On 28 Feb 2005 14:37:52 -0800, "Rump Ranger"
> wrote:
>
>
>>royls@telus.net wrote:
>>
>>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 21:56:59 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>royls@telus.net wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 13:40:08 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
>>>>>wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>Courageous wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>Robbery is a crime, with a well established punishment.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>If drugs can be manufactured cheap enough we can -give- them to
>>
>>addicts
>>
>>>>>>>>so they will o.d., die and cease to bother us.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>The cost of manufacturing either cocaine or heroin, in a source
>>>>>>>country, is typically 20X-50X less expensive than its street cost
>>>>>>>here. What this means practically is that a hardcore heroin junky
>>>>>>>would be able to support their habit through panhandling alone.
>>>>>>>It would literally be a less expensive habit than alcoholism.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Right, although before drugs were made illegal beginning with the
>>>>>>Harrison Act of 1914, the vast majority of users--including the
>>>>>>addicts--were normal, respectable, working people.
>>>>>
>>>>>Actually, 100 years ago, the majority of US opiate addicts -- and
>>>>>there were 1/4 million of them -- were middle aged women. Nobody
>>>>>thought of them as criminals.
>>>>
>>>>Estimates of the number of "addicts" in the 19th century tend to
>>>>classify all regular users as addicts.
>>>
>>>Which almost all regular users probably were.
>>>
>>>
>>>>But most drug users were not
>>>>addicts any more than most alcohol users were alcoholics.
>>>
>>>Wrong. There was very little recreational or therapuetic use of
>>>opiates by non-addicts. You can have a drink and not be an
>>
>>alcoholic,
>>
>>>but how many people can regularly take opiates on a casual basis?
>>
>>Lots of them actually.
>
>
> But most will become addicted.
>
>
>>Some of the biggest drug users I knew in
>>college cleaned up after they went out and got a job.
>
>
> Doesn't mean they were not addicted. And the biggest college drug
> users are typically using a lot of different drugs, so they don't get
> hooked on any one.
>
>
>>Opiates aren't
>>some magical fairy dust which has more addictive properties than
>>alcohol or (especially) cigarettes.
>
>
> Nicotine is more addictive than opiates, but few people can smoke
> tobacco regularly on a casual basis, either.

You'd be surprised at the number of people who can. I could not. I was
well and truly hooked and it took a number of therapies before I could
quit. But my wife was able to only smoke every now and again, with the
most she ever smoked being three cigarettes in a day.
>
>>>>Furthermore, the "addicts" to which Jones refers were not the social
>>
>>>>menaces that people tend to imagine when they hear the term.
>>>
>>>?? That is very much the point. Opiate addicts are only a social
>>>menace now because they have been made into criminals for trying to
>>>relieve the symtoms of their illness.
>>>
>>
>>It's no "illness."
>
>
> Of course it is, and recognized as such in the PDR.
>
>
>>When will you people realize that the 12 Step crap
>>has been *refuted* constantly? Drug addiction *is not* a disease.
>
>
> Yes, it is.

Actually, it isn't. It's a learned dependency. It's like overeating.
Many people continue to overeat because they're after that warm, fuzzy
feeling of being full - but eating more stretches the stomach, so it
takes more food to create that "full" feeling.
>
>
>>Drug addiction *is not* a progressive disease that only gets worse over
>>time (in fact, most who experiment with drugs eventually quit on their
>>own).
>
>
> With some drugs it is, with others it isn't.
>
>
>>Drug addiction *does not* cause people to become default "social
>>menaces" unless the society makes them that way (most pot users are
>>everyday people).
>
>
> Pot is not addictive.

It's addictive in the same way that cocaine and nicotine are.
>
>
>>Many European countries have legalized drugs. And they not only have
>>less crime related to drugs (because in black markets there's no way to
>>settle disputes without violence) but they have less rates of addicts.
>
>
> Not surprising.
>
> -- Roy L


--
Cheers,
Bama Brian
Libertarian


Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:50:38 GMT

--------
On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 16:25:07 GMT, Bama Brian
wrote:

>royls@telus.net wrote:
>> On 28 Feb 2005 14:37:52 -0800, "Rump Ranger"
>> wrote:
>>
>>>Opiates aren't
>>>some magical fairy dust which has more addictive properties than
>>>alcohol or (especially) cigarettes.
>>
>> Nicotine is more addictive than opiates, but few people can smoke
>> tobacco regularly on a casual basis, either.
>
>You'd be surprised at the number of people who can. I could not. I was
>well and truly hooked and it took a number of therapies before I could
>quit. But my wife was able to only smoke every now and again, with the
>most she ever smoked being three cigarettes in a day.

So she was not using _regularly_.

>>>When will you people realize that the 12 Step crap
>>>has been *refuted* constantly? Drug addiction *is not* a disease.
>>
>> Yes, it is.
>
>Actually, it isn't.

The PDR can inform your ignorance on this point.

>It's a learned dependency.

No, it is not. It is a chemical dependency.

>It's like overeating.

In some ways.

>Many people continue to overeat because they're after that warm, fuzzy
>feeling of being full - but eating more stretches the stomach, so it
>takes more food to create that "full" feeling.

You don't understand overeating, either. It's about blood sugar and
nutrient cravings, not stomach fullness.

>>>Drug addiction *does not* cause people to become default "social
>>>menaces" unless the society makes them that way (most pot users are
>>>everyday people).
>>
>> Pot is not addictive.
>
>It's addictive in the same way that cocaine and nicotine are.

That is flat false, as every scientifically credible study of the
pharmacological effects of those drugs agrees.

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: Bama Brian
Date: Wed, 02 Mar 2005 17:52:45 GMT

--------
royls@telus.net wrote:
> On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 16:25:07 GMT, Bama Brian
> wrote:
>
>
>>royls@telus.net wrote:
>>
>>>On 28 Feb 2005 14:37:52 -0800, "Rump Ranger"
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Opiates aren't
>>>>some magical fairy dust which has more addictive properties than
>>>>alcohol or (especially) cigarettes.
>>>
>>>Nicotine is more addictive than opiates, but few people can smoke
>>>tobacco regularly on a casual basis, either.
>>
>>You'd be surprised at the number of people who can. I could not. I was
>>well and truly hooked and it took a number of therapies before I could
>>quit. But my wife was able to only smoke every now and again, with the
>>most she ever smoked being three cigarettes in a day.
>
>
> So she was not using _regularly_.

]She smoked every day. Did that qualify as regularly?
>
>
>>>>When will you people realize that the 12 Step crap
>>>>has been *refuted* constantly? Drug addiction *is not* a disease.
>>>
>>>Yes, it is.
>>
>>Actually, it isn't.
>
>
> The PDR can inform your ignorance on this point.
>
>
>>It's a learned dependency.
>
>
> No, it is not. It is a chemical dependency.

It's never a chemical dependency, in the sense that it is necessary for
the body to survive.

Nor do casual users become addicted.

>
>
>>It's like overeating.
>
>
> In some ways.
>
>
>>Many people continue to overeat because they're after that warm, fuzzy
>>feeling of being full - but eating more stretches the stomach, so it
>>takes more food to create that "full" feeling.
>
>
> You don't understand overeating, either. It's about blood sugar and
> nutrient cravings, not stomach fullness.

It's far more frequently about emotional needs than it is about blood
sugar and nutrient cravings.

>
>>>>Drug addiction *does not* cause people to become default "social
>>>>menaces" unless the society makes them that way (most pot users are
>>>>everyday people).
>>>
>>>Pot is not addictive.
>>
>>It's addictive in the same way that cocaine and nicotine are.
>
>
> That is flat false, as every scientifically credible study of the
> pharmacological effects of those drugs agrees.

It is the emotional needs of the individual that create the cravings for
the drug - no matter what it is. Later on, used habitually, more and
more drugs are required to create the same level of the drug's euphoria.
It is the greater quantity of drugs that knock the body chemistry out
of kilter and create the physical addiction.

But it is the emotional needs of the individual that create the initial
desire for the drug. An excellent example can be seen in the movie,
"Ray". Ray Charles started using drugs because of his emotional pain.
In later life, he stopped using drugs - but kept on using alcohol.

No drug is addictive, except to those who have an emotional need for it.

--
Cheers,
Bama Brian
Libertarian


Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Wed, 02 Mar 2005 23:57:06 GMT

--------
On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 17:52:45 GMT, Bama Brian
wrote:

>royls@telus.net wrote:
>> On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 16:25:07 GMT, Bama Brian
>> wrote:
>>
>>>royls@telus.net wrote:
>>>
>>>>On 28 Feb 2005 14:37:52 -0800, "Rump Ranger"
>>>>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>Opiates aren't
>>>>>some magical fairy dust which has more addictive properties than
>>>>>alcohol or (especially) cigarettes.
>>>>
>>>>Nicotine is more addictive than opiates, but few people can smoke
>>>>tobacco regularly on a casual basis, either.
>>>
>>>You'd be surprised at the number of people who can. I could not. I was
>>>well and truly hooked and it took a number of therapies before I could
>>>quit. But my wife was able to only smoke every now and again, with the
>>>most she ever smoked being three cigarettes in a day.
>>
>> So she was not using _regularly_.
>
>]She smoked every day. Did that qualify as regularly?

?? I thought you said, "now and again."

>>>>>When will you people realize that the 12 Step crap
>>>>>has been *refuted* constantly? Drug addiction *is not* a disease.
>>>>
>>>>Yes, it is.
>>>
>>>Actually, it isn't.
>>
>> The PDR can inform your ignorance on this point.
>>
>>>It's a learned dependency.
>>
>> No, it is not. It is a chemical dependency.
>
>It's never a chemical dependency, in the sense that it is necessary for
>the body to survive.

It is necessary for the body not to feel sick.

>Nor do casual users become addicted.

Garbage.

>>>Many people continue to overeat because they're after that warm, fuzzy
>>>feeling of being full - but eating more stretches the stomach, so it
>>>takes more food to create that "full" feeling.
>>
>> You don't understand overeating, either. It's about blood sugar and
>> nutrient cravings, not stomach fullness.
>
>It's far more frequently about emotional needs than it is about blood
>sugar and nutrient cravings.

More garbage lacking any scientific support.

>>>>>Drug addiction *does not* cause people to become default "social
>>>>>menaces" unless the society makes them that way (most pot users are
>>>>>everyday people).
>>>>
>>>>Pot is not addictive.
>>>
>>>It's addictive in the same way that cocaine and nicotine are.
>>
>> That is flat false, as every scientifically credible study of the
>> pharmacological effects of those drugs agrees.
>
>It is the emotional needs of the individual that create the cravings for
>the drug - no matter what it is.

More garbage. If that were the case, people would get "addicted" to
peanut butter, ice cream, pizza, KFC, etc. just as easily as to crack.

IOW, your claim is just false and stupid.

>Later on, used habitually, more and
>more drugs are required to create the same level of the drug's euphoria.

That is one symptom of addiction.

> It is the greater quantity of drugs that knock the body chemistry out
>of kilter and create the physical addiction.

Flat wrong. You clearly know nothing whatever about addiction.

>But it is the emotional needs of the individual that create the initial
>desire for the drug.

More garbage. The first hit can happen for any number of reasons,
even by accident.

>An excellent example can be seen in the movie,
>"Ray". Ray Charles started using drugs because of his emotional pain.
>In later life, he stopped using drugs - but kept on using alcohol.

Oh, I see: you know all about addiction because it was in a movie you
watched.

Geez.

>No drug is addictive, except to those who have an emotional need for it.

Flat wrong.

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 7 Mar 2005 16:55:32 -0800

--------

royls@telus.net wrote:
> On 28 Feb 2005 14:37:52 -0800, "Rump Ranger"
> wrote:
>
> >royls@telus.net wrote:
> >> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 21:56:59 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> >royls@telus.net wrote:
> >> >
> >> >> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 13:40:08 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"

> >> >> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >>>Courageous wrote:
> >> >>>
> >> >>>>>>Robbery is a crime, with a well established punishment.
> >> >>>>>
> >> >>>>>If drugs can be manufactured cheap enough we can -give- them
to
> >addicts
> >> >>>>>so they will o.d., die and cease to bother us.
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>>The cost of manufacturing either cocaine or heroin, in a
source
> >> >>>>country, is typically 20X-50X less expensive than its street
cost
> >> >>>>here. What this means practically is that a hardcore heroin
junky
> >> >>>>would be able to support their habit through panhandling
alone.
> >> >>>>It would literally be a less expensive habit than alcoholism.
> >> >>>
> >> >>>Right, although before drugs were made illegal beginning with
the
> >> >>>Harrison Act of 1914, the vast majority of users--including the
> >> >>>addicts--were normal, respectable, working people.
> >> >>
> >> >> Actually, 100 years ago, the majority of US opiate addicts --
and
> >> >> there were 1/4 million of them -- were middle aged women.
Nobody
> >> >> thought of them as criminals.
> >> >
> >> >Estimates of the number of "addicts" in the 19th century tend to
> >> >classify all regular users as addicts.
> >>
> >> Which almost all regular users probably were.
> >>
> >> >But most drug users were not
> >> >addicts any more than most alcohol users were alcoholics.
> >>
> >> Wrong. There was very little recreational or therapuetic use of
> >> opiates by non-addicts. You can have a drink and not be an
> >alcoholic,
> >> but how many people can regularly take opiates on a casual basis?
> >
> >Lots of them actually.
>
> But most will become addicted.
>

Where is your evidence for this? Lots of people experiment with drugs
and never do them a second time. Others do it for a few years and get
cleaned up. You're simply spreading a myth.

> >Some of the biggest drug users I knew in
> >college cleaned up after they went out and got a job.
>
> Doesn't mean they were not addicted. And the biggest college drug
> users are typically using a lot of different drugs, so they don't get
> hooked on any one.
>

Bullshit. Most of them used only three drugs outside of alcohol:
cocaine, LSD, and marijuana. Most gave it up when they needed to get a
job.

> >Opiates aren't
> >some magical fairy dust which has more addictive properties than
> >alcohol or (especially) cigarettes.
>
> Nicotine is more addictive than opiates, but few people can smoke
> tobacco regularly on a casual basis, either.
>

More nonsense. Lots of people only smoke when they drink or in other
social situations.

> >> >Furthermore, the "addicts" to which Jones refers were not the
social
> >
> >> >menaces that people tend to imagine when they hear the term.
> >>
> >> ?? That is very much the point. Opiate addicts are only a social
> >> menace now because they have been made into criminals for trying
to
> >> relieve the symtoms of their illness.
> >>
> >
> >It's no "illness."
>
> Of course it is, and recognized as such in the PDR.
>

No it hasn't.

> >When will you people realize that the 12 Step crap
> >has been *refuted* constantly? Drug addiction *is not* a disease.
>
> Yes, it is.
>

No, it isn't. *Nobody* in the scientific community says addicition is
anything other than a behavioral problem. 12 Step groups *are not*
scientific.

> >Drug addiction *is not* a progressive disease that only gets worse
over
> >time (in fact, most who experiment with drugs eventually quit on
their
> >own).
>
> With some drugs it is, with others it isn't.
>

Where's your evidence? I didn't think you'd show any either.

> >Drug addiction *does not* cause people to become default "social
> >menaces" unless the society makes them that way (most pot users are
> >everyday people).
>
> Pot is not addictive.
>

Some people are addicted to pot. Try again.

> >Many European countries have legalized drugs. And they not only
have
> >less crime related to drugs (because in black markets there's no way
to
> >settle disputes without violence) but they have less rates of
addicts.
>
> Not surprising.
>

So what do we do? Maybe Europeans got the right idea.



Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Tue, 08 Mar 2005 22:04:06 GMT

--------
On 7 Mar 2005 16:55:32 -0800, "Rump Ranger"
wrote:

>royls@telus.net wrote:
>> On 28 Feb 2005 14:37:52 -0800, "Rump Ranger"
>> wrote:
>>
>> >royls@telus.net wrote:
>> >> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 21:56:59 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
>> >> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >But most drug users were not
>> >> >addicts any more than most alcohol users were alcoholics.
>> >>
>> >> Wrong. There was very little recreational or therapuetic use of
>> >> opiates by non-addicts. You can have a drink and not be an
>> >alcoholic,
>> >> but how many people can regularly take opiates on a casual basis?
>> >
>> >Lots of them actually.
>>
>> But most will become addicted.
>
>Where is your evidence for this? Lots of people experiment with drugs
>and never do them a second time.

?? Yes. And what would experimenting with "drugs" once or twice have
to do with _regular_ use of _opiates_?

>Others do it for a few years and get
>cleaned up. You're simply spreading a myth.

You're simply talking about some other topic.

>> >Some of the biggest drug users I knew in
>> >college cleaned up after they went out and got a job.
>>
>> Doesn't mean they were not addicted. And the biggest college drug
>> users are typically using a lot of different drugs, so they don't get
>> hooked on any one.
>
>Bullshit. Most of them used only three drugs outside of alcohol:
>cocaine, LSD, and marijuana.

Wrong. Many used Ex, Dex, 'Ludes, and even Ritalin.

>Most gave it up when they needed to get a job.

Except mj, dude... ;)

>> >Opiates aren't
>> >some magical fairy dust which has more addictive properties than
>> >alcohol or (especially) cigarettes.
>>
>> Nicotine is more addictive than opiates, but few people can smoke
>> tobacco regularly on a casual basis, either.
>
>More nonsense. Lots of people only smoke when they drink or in other
>social situations.

No, they don't. Almost all people who smoke regularly are addicted.

>> >> >Furthermore, the "addicts" to which Jones refers were not the
>social
>> >
>> >> >menaces that people tend to imagine when they hear the term.
>> >>
>> >> ?? That is very much the point. Opiate addicts are only a social
>> >> menace now because they have been made into criminals for trying
>to
>> >> relieve the symtoms of their illness.
>> >
>> >It's no "illness."
>>
>> Of course it is, and recognized as such in the PDR.
>
>No it hasn't.

?? Learn to read, fool.

>> >When will you people realize that the 12 Step crap
>> >has been *refuted* constantly? Drug addiction *is not* a disease.
>>
>> Yes, it is.
>
>No, it isn't. *Nobody* in the scientific community says addicition is
>anything other than a behavioral problem.

?? Utter idiocy. Google "addiction disease" and start reading, fool.

>12 Step groups *are not* scientific.

Whether addiction is a disease or not has _nothing_ to do with
"12-step" groups, fool.

>> >Drug addiction *is not* a progressive disease that only gets worse
>over
>> >time (in fact, most who experiment with drugs eventually quit on
>their
>> >own).
>>
>> With some drugs it is, with others it isn't.
>
>Where's your evidence? I didn't think you'd show any either.

Read it and weep, fool:

http://www.physiciansnews.com/commentary/298wp.html

>> >Drug addiction *does not* cause people to become default "social
>> >menaces" unless the society makes them that way (most pot users are
>> >everyday people).
>>
>> Pot is not addictive.
>
>Some people are addicted to pot. Try again.

Only in the same sense that some are addicted to Net porn.

>> >Many European countries have legalized drugs. And they not only
>have
>> >less crime related to drugs (because in black markets there's no way
>to
>> >settle disputes without violence) but they have less rates of
>addicts.
>>
>> Not surprising.
>
>So what do we do? Maybe Europeans got the right idea.

Or at least a better one than prohibition.

-- ROy L


Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 9 Mar 2005 13:59:10 -0800

--------

royls@telus.net wrote:
> On 7 Mar 2005 16:55:32 -0800, "Rump Ranger"
> wrote:
>
> >royls@telus.net wrote:
> >> On 28 Feb 2005 14:37:52 -0800, "Rump Ranger"

> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> >royls@telus.net wrote:
> >> >> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 21:56:59 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"

> >> >> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> >But most drug users were not
> >> >> >addicts any more than most alcohol users were alcoholics.
> >> >>
> >> >> Wrong. There was very little recreational or therapuetic use
of
> >> >> opiates by non-addicts. You can have a drink and not be an
> >> >alcoholic,
> >> >> but how many people can regularly take opiates on a casual
basis?
> >> >
> >> >Lots of them actually.
> >>
> >> But most will become addicted.
> >
> >Where is your evidence for this? Lots of people experiment with
drugs
> >and never do them a second time.
>
> ?? Yes. And what would experimenting with "drugs" once or twice
have
> to do with _regular_ use of _opiates_?
>

Dumbass, maybe you should learn to read. You said "most will become
addicted." Cite evidence or STFU.

> >Others do it for a few years and get
> >cleaned up. You're simply spreading a myth.
>
> You're simply talking about some other topic.
>

Why are you dodging? You imply opiates have some sort of magical
quality that turns people into addicts. It's probably some other
reason. Like, I don't know, maybe the fact that they find something in
drug use they can't get elsewhere in their lives?

> >> >Some of the biggest drug users I knew in
> >> >college cleaned up after they went out and got a job.
> >>
> >> Doesn't mean they were not addicted. And the biggest college drug
> >> users are typically using a lot of different drugs, so they don't
get
> >> hooked on any one.
> >
> >Bullshit. Most of them used only three drugs outside of alcohol:
> >cocaine, LSD, and marijuana.
>
> Wrong. Many used Ex, Dex, 'Ludes, and even Ritalin.
>

You're still full of *shit.* The biggest illegal drugs on campuses are
coke and marijuana. Ex comes close but that's relatively new. And
many college drug users have one they use more than others. Nothing
comes close to alcohol though.

> >Most gave it up when they needed to get a job.
>
> Except mj, dude... ;)
>
> >> >Opiates aren't
> >> >some magical fairy dust which has more addictive properties than
> >> >alcohol or (especially) cigarettes.
> >>
> >> Nicotine is more addictive than opiates, but few people can smoke
> >> tobacco regularly on a casual basis, either.
> >
> >More nonsense. Lots of people only smoke when they drink or in
other
> >social situations.
>
> No, they don't. Almost all people who smoke regularly are addicted.
>

More bullshit. My wife is a social smoker. She'll have one or two
after a few gin and tonics. She won't smoke when she's sober. Many of
her friends and a few of mine are exactly like that.

IOW, you're pulling "facts" out of your ass.

> >> >> >Furthermore, the "addicts" to which Jones refers were not the
> >social
> >> >
> >> >> >menaces that people tend to imagine when they hear the term.
> >> >>
> >> >> ?? That is very much the point. Opiate addicts are only a
social
> >> >> menace now because they have been made into criminals for
trying
> >to
> >> >> relieve the symtoms of their illness.
> >> >
> >> >It's no "illness."
> >>
> >> Of course it is, and recognized as such in the PDR.
> >
> >No it hasn't.
>
> ?? Learn to read, fool.
>

Yes, please do so.

> >> >When will you people realize that the 12 Step crap
> >> >has been *refuted* constantly? Drug addiction *is not* a
disease.
> >>
> >> Yes, it is.
> >
> >No, it isn't. *Nobody* in the scientific community says addicition
is
> >anything other than a behavioral problem.
>
> ?? Utter idiocy. Google "addiction disease" and start reading,
fool.
>

Which is all 12 Step propaganda. That's *not* science. Never will be.
It's cult religion.

> >12 Step groups *are not* scientific.
>
> Whether addiction is a disease or not has _nothing_ to do with
> "12-step" groups, fool.
>

Liar. 12 Step groups are the only groups which still insist it is even
though the medical community has pretty much refuted the whole disease
model. It's a *choice.* Drug addicts will often go to great lengths,
*while sober*, to make sure they get a supply of their drug of choice.
They can make a choice to not take drugs and those who quit have done
so. A person with sickle cell anemia has no choice in the matter.

> >> >Drug addiction *is not* a progressive disease that only gets
worse
> >over
> >> >time (in fact, most who experiment with drugs eventually quit on
> >their
> >> >own).
> >>
> >> With some drugs it is, with others it isn't.
> >
> >Where's your evidence? I didn't think you'd show any either.
>
> Read it and weep, fool:
>
> http://www.physiciansnews.com/commentary/298wp.html
>

Oh gee, an *opinion* piece in a non peer reviewed journal (a local
paper for Pennslyvania which deals with all sorts of non scientific
issues). It's known more for news on laws and economics in healthcare
rather than hard science. I'm an analytical chemist by trade (went to
grad school for it) and any serious scientist knows if it's not peer
reviewed, it isn't really scientific evidence. Editorials are even
less credible. Callback when you get *real* science backed by peer
review.

> >> >Drug addiction *does not* cause people to become default "social
> >> >menaces" unless the society makes them that way (most pot users
are
> >> >everyday people).
> >>
> >> Pot is not addictive.
> >
> >Some people are addicted to pot. Try again.
>
> Only in the same sense that some are addicted to Net porn.
>

And some people are addicted to net porn. That's why addiction *is
not* a disease, dumbass. It's a behavioral choice. Habit. Habits are
hard to kick yes, but they're not "diseases" like cancer or diabetes
are. You can choose to not drink. Try telling a cancer patient to
stop choosing cancer and if they got the strength left they'll smack
the shit out of your silly ass.

> >> >Many European countries have legalized drugs. And they not only
> >have
> >> >less crime related to drugs (because in black markets there's no
way
> >to
> >> >settle disputes without violence) but they have less rates of
> >addicts.
> >>
> >> Not surprising.
> >
> >So what do we do? Maybe Europeans got the right idea.
>
> Or at least a better one than prohibition.
>

Exactly. And they also know that the disease model is AA garbage.



Correspondent:: Bama Brian
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 16:15:20 GMT

--------
royls@telus.net wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 21:56:59 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
> wrote:
>
>
>>royls@telus.net wrote:
>>
>>
>>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 13:40:08 -0500, "Dr. Zarkov"
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Courageous wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>Robbery is a crime, with a well established punishment.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>If drugs can be manufactured cheap enough we can -give- them to addicts
>>>>>>so they will o.d., die and cease to bother us.
>>>>>
>>>>>The cost of manufacturing either cocaine or heroin, in a source
>>>>>country, is typically 20X-50X less expensive than its street cost
>>>>>here. What this means practically is that a hardcore heroin junky
>>>>>would be able to support their habit through panhandling alone.
>>>>>It would literally be a less expensive habit than alcoholism.
>>>>
>>>>Right, although before drugs were made illegal beginning with the
>>>>Harrison Act of 1914, the vast majority of users--including the
>>>>addicts--were normal, respectable, working people.
>>>
>>>Actually, 100 years ago, the majority of US opiate addicts -- and
>>>there were 1/4 million of them -- were middle aged women. Nobody
>>>thought of them as criminals.
>>
>>Estimates of the number of "addicts" in the 19th century tend to
>>classify all regular users as addicts.
>
>
> Which almost all regular users probably were.
>
>
>>But most drug users were not
>>addicts any more than most alcohol users were alcoholics.
>
>
> Wrong. There was very little recreational or therapuetic use of
> opiates by non-addicts. You can have a drink and not be an alcoholic,
> but how many people can regularly take opiates on a casual basis?

Most of them. There ARE addictive personalities who get addicted to
coffee, cigarettes, Coca-Cola, chocolate, beer, wine, whiskey,
prescription drugs and the like.

But everyone who tries these things does NOT become addicted. Cocaine
used to be the darling drug of the Hollywood set; some became addicted,
but most did not.
>
>
>>"The estimate of 250,000 opiate addicts in 1900 seems to come from Yale
>>psychiatrist David Musto, which was based on contemporaneous reports,
>>which were often impressionistic and contradictory, and extrapolations
>>by other researchers, which depend on questionable assumptions. Drug
>>policy scholar Arnold Trebach warns that "estimates of addiction rates
>>then and now varied so widely that no responsible scholar could rely on
>>them, except in very general terms."(Arnold S Trebach, James A Inciardi.
>>_Legalize It? Debating American Drug Policy_. Washington, DC: American
>>University Press, 1993).
>
>
> So in general terms, what difference does it make to disucssions of
> drug policy if there were 250K addicts, or 350K, or only 150K? The
> fact is, there was obviously a very large number of them, just based
> on the amount of opiates being sold through non-medical retail
> outlets, and they were just as obviously not a source of significant
> social problems.

The War On (Some) Drugs has not lessened the number of users of drugs,
nor has it resulted in any drop in the amount of drugs being imported or
grown locally.

But there are those who would have power over us who trumpet daily about
the evils of drugs.

>
>>Furthermore, the "addicts" to which Jones refers were not the social
>>menaces that people tend to imagine when they hear the term.
>
>
> ?? That is very much the point. Opiate addicts are only a social
> menace now because they have been made into criminals for trying to
> relieve the symtoms of their illness.

Correct. Drug addiction is a social/medical problem, as is alcoholism
or nicotine addiction. It should never have been made into a criminal
problem.
>
>
>>She notes
>>that "the bulk of them were genteel, middle-class women." (Jill Jonnes,
>>_Hep-Cats, Narcs, and Pipe Dreams: A History of America's Romance with
>>Illegal Drugs_, New York: Scribner, 1996.)"
>
>
> Exactly as I said.
>
> -- Roy L


--
Cheers,
Bama Brian
Libertarian


Correspondent:: "Quirk"
Date: 1 Mar 2005 08:26:28 -0800

--------
[talk.politics.libertarian removed, google is limited to five groups]

Bama Brian wrote:
> Correct. Drug addiction is a social/medical problem, as is
alcoholism
> or nicotine addiction. It should never have been made into a
criminal
> problem.

And call me pedantic, but I'd like to once again make the point that
making it into a criminal problem gives the ruling class a usefull tool
of oppression, while treating it as a social/medical problem only gives
them a expensive responsibility.

The point I am trying to make is not that criminalizing drug users is
bad, which is obvious, but that drug laws are enforced to keep the
underclass down.

This is proven by the disproportionate enforcement of the laws against
the poor.

Regards.



Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 20:14:26 -0500

--------


Courageous wrote:

>
> The cost of manufacturing either cocaine or heroin, in a source
> country, is typically 20X-50X less expensive than its street cost
> here. What this means practically is that a hardcore heroin junky
> would be able to support their habit through panhandling alone.
> It would literally be a less expensive habit than alcoholism.

I agree. Give dope to the dopers. Maybe they will O.D. and do us all a
favor.

Bob Kolker


Correspondent:: Courageous
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 17:22:27 -0800

--------

>> The cost of manufacturing either cocaine or heroin, in a source
>> country, is typically 20X-50X less expensive than its street cost
>> here. What this means practically is that a hardcore heroin junky
>> would be able to support their habit through panhandling alone.
>> It would literally be a less expensive habit than alcoholism.

>I agree. Give dope to the dopers. Maybe they will O.D. and do us all a
>favor.

Yes. It is unfortunate, but true, that some people will elect to
serve as warnings for others.

C//



Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 28 Feb 2005 14:09:38 -0800

--------

Courageous wrote:
> >> Robbery is a crime, with a well established punishment.
> >
> >If drugs can be manufactured cheap enough we can -give- them to
addicts
> >so they will o.d., die and cease to bother us.
>
> The cost of manufacturing either cocaine or heroin, in a source
> country, is typically 20X-50X less expensive than its street cost
> here. What this means practically is that a hardcore heroin junky
> would be able to support their habit through panhandling alone.
> It would literally be a less expensive habit than alcoholism.
>

In some places in the US, it is less expensive than alcohol. And far
more easier for kids to get their hands on too because drug dealers
don't card minors.



Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 19:03:58 GMT

--------
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 00:48:34 -0800, nenslo wrote:
>
>> >This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people
>> >really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>> >
>>
>> People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
>> they so desire.
>
>And if "killing themselves" involves them robbing YOU
>

"Killing themselves" involves "killing themselves". Everything else is
silly extrapolation from your part.



--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 28 Feb 2005 14:07:57 -0800

--------

nenslo wrote:
> > >This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that
people
> > >really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
> > >
> >
> > People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
> > they so desire.
>
> And if "killing themselves" involves them robbing YOU,

They only do that because it's *illegal*, dipshit. You don't exactly
see people killing each other over obtaining alcohol these days, do
you? But they did in the 1920's. And Prohibition failed *that* time
as well.



Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 17:12:25 -0500

--------


Rump Ranger wrote:

>
> They only do that because it's *illegal*, dipshit. You don't exactly
> see people killing each other over obtaining alcohol these days, do
> you? But they did in the 1920's. And Prohibition failed *that* time
> as well.

Those were gang-wars over the opportunity to sell illegal booze brewed
in Canada and to run speak-easies. It wasn't the consumers of rot-gut
that were doing the killing, it was the gangsters who wanted to control
sales.

This is what happens whenever prohibition is tried. We now have drug
prohibition and we have corruption, murder and all sorts of violence
conneected with it.

The sooner we either legalize or decriminalize drug consumption and
sales, the better.

Bob Kolker

>


Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 28 Feb 2005 14:41:00 -0800

--------

robert j. kolker wrote:
> Rump Ranger wrote:
>
> >
> > They only do that because it's *illegal*, dipshit. You don't
exactly
> > see people killing each other over obtaining alcohol these days, do
> > you? But they did in the 1920's. And Prohibition failed *that*
time
> > as well.
>
> Those were gang-wars over the opportunity to sell illegal booze
brewed
> in Canada and to run speak-easies. It wasn't the consumers of rot-gut

> that were doing the killing, it was the gangsters who wanted to
control
> sales.

Much like what's going on in narcotics today. It's usually the drug
dealers who are doing the killing.

>
> This is what happens whenever prohibition is tried. We now have drug
> prohibition and we have corruption, murder and all sorts of violence
> conneected with it.
>

Exactly.

> The sooner we either legalize or decriminalize drug consumption and
> sales, the better.
>

The sooner we reduce the size and unnecessary complexity of our
government, the better as well.



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:13:11 GMT

--------

"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>
>
> Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
> proud of you.
>
> By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
> the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
> in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>

What is your basis for that claim?

>>
>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people
>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>
>
> People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
> they so desire.
>
>

It is a concept similar to public health.

Bill

> --
> "A society that robs an individual of the product of his
> effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
> gang rule." -- Ayn Rand




Correspondent:: "Dr. Zarkov"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 13:35:39 -0500

--------
Bill wrote:

> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
> news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
>
>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>
>>
>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
>>proud of you.
>>
>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>>
>
>
> What is your basis for that claim?


Basic economics--black market economics in this case.


>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people
>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>>
>>
>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
>>they so desire.
>>
>>
>
>
> It is a concept similar to public health.
> Bill


That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the essential point.


>>--
>>"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
>>effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
>>gang rule." -- Ayn Rand
>
>
>


Correspondent:: Wraith
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 12:25:08 -0700

--------
Dr. Zarkov wrote:

>>> People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
>>> they so desire.

Yes, this is true. However, they should be taught that suicide results
in eternal torture at an amperage above most other hell sentences. Also,
other people should not stand idle while someone else is killing
themselves if they are sufficiently within the in group. If the suicider
is not sufficiently within the in group, surrounding people are licensed
and have every right to begin the makings of a barbecue.

//


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:19:06 GMT

--------

"Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
news:ML6dnccgAI6cjr_fRVn-ow@rcn.net...
> Bill wrote:
>
>> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>> news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
>>
>>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a
>>>>big
>>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>>
>>>
>>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
>>>proud of you.
>>>
>>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
>>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>>>
>>
>>
>> What is your basis for that claim?
>
>
> Basic economics--black market economics in this case.


That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of an item but it costs
more how do you know that the net of of the amout of product times cost will
be greater.
>
>
>>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people
>>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>>>
>>>
>>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
>>>they so desire.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> It is a concept similar to public health.
>> Bill
>
>
> That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the essential point.
>
>

Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means people are
blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts their freedom.

Bill

>>>--
>>>"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
>>>effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
>>>gang rule." -- Ayn Rand
>>
>>



Correspondent:: "Dr. Zarkov"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 22:09:43 -0500

--------
Bill wrote:
> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote...
>Bill wrote:
>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote ...
>>>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a
>>>>>big
>>>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>>>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
>>>>proud of you.
>>>>
>>>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>>>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
>>>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>What is your basis for that claim?
>>
>>
>>Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
>
>
>
> That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of an item but it costs
> more how do you know that the net of of the amout of product times cost will
> be greater.


The point being addressed was availability to the end user. If there is
a demand and great profit to be made, the market finds a way to meet
it--if not thru imports, by some alternative (eg, a similar product that
can be produced domestically).


>>>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people
>>>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
>>>>they so desire.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>It is a concept similar to public health.
>>>Bill
>>
>>
>>That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the essential point.
>>

>
> Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means people are
> blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts their freedom.

Sure. But drugs are not a disease that a person passes to others. And
again, from the public health perspective, probably 99% of the harm
comes from the illegality, not the drugs themselves. All the spread of
HIV, hepatitis virus, etc. associated with current IV drug use does, for
example.


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 05:06:13 GMT

--------

"Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
news:GuednaPkH53gFr_fRVn-vg@rcn.net...
> Bill wrote:
>> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote...
>>Bill wrote:
>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote ...
>>>>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a
>>>>>>big
>>>>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops.
>>>>>>Less
>>>>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
>>>>>proud of you.
>>>>>
>>>>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>>>>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
>>>>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>What is your basis for that claim?
>>>
>>>
>>>Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
>>
>>
>>
>> That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of an item but it
>> costs more how do you know that the net of of the amout of product times
>> cost will be greater.
>
>
> The point being addressed was availability to the end user. If there is a
> demand and great profit to be made, the market finds a way to meet it--if
> not thru imports, by some alternative (eg, a similar product that can be
> produced domestically).
>
>

That does not at all imply the amount available would be the same. I asked you
to justify your claim that the amount available would be the same. In other
posts I suggested ways in which domestic production could be curbed and also
suggested that marijuana be allowed more of a free ride - pushing users in
that direction.

>>>>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people
>>>>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
>>>>>they so desire.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>It is a concept similar to public health.
>>>>Bill
>>>
>>>
>>>That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the essential point.
>>>
>
>>
>> Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means people are
>> blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts their freedom.
>
> Sure. But drugs are not a disease that a person passes to others. And
> again, from the public health perspective, probably 99% of the harm comes
> from the illegality, not the drugs themselves. All the spread of HIV,
> hepatitis virus, etc. associated with current IV drug use does, for example.

I'm suggesting that less emphasis be placed on criminality at the local level
and more on help. The point on public health is that in some cases the rights
of individuals must yield to the rights of society. In this case, it is
infectious. Users tend to attract other users - some of whom turn into addicts
and end up doing harm to themselves and society. But note, I am not beating up
on the individual but rather imposing more border controls - which a nation
has a right to do.

Bill




Correspondent:: "Dr. Zarkov"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 13:09:55 -0500

--------
Bill wrote:
> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote...
>>Bill wrote:
>>>"Dr. Zarkov" wrote...
>>>Bill wrote:
>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote ...
>>>>>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>
...
>>>>>>
>>>>>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>>>>>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
>>>>>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>What is your basis for that claim?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of an item but it
>>>costs more how do you know that the net of of the amout of product times
>>>cost will be greater.
>>
>>
>>The point being addressed was availability to the end user. If there is a
>>demand and great profit to be made, the market finds a way to meet it--if
>>not thru imports, by some alternative (eg, a similar product that can be
>>produced domestically).
>>
>
> That does not at all imply the amount available would be the same. I asked you
> to justify your claim that the amount available would be the same. In other
> posts I suggested ways in which domestic production could be curbed and also
> suggested that marijuana be allowed more of a free ride - pushing users in
> that direction.


I didn't say it would be exactly the same, but the difference (if any)
would be negligible in terms of the effect. The basis for thinking that
is our experience with drug and alcohol Prohibition over the past
century. It has been the constant claim of the prohibitionists that we
can reduce the supply of certain drugs to levels so low that they cease
to be a problem. Despite more and more draconian measures--including
constant infringements on everyone's privacy rights, absurd prison
sentencing, constant propaganda, and massive funding, it has never worked.

>>>>>
>>>>>It is a concept similar to public health.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the essential point.
>>>>
>>
>>>Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means people are
>>>blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts their freedom.
>>
>>Sure. But drugs are not a disease that a person passes to others. And
>>again, from the public health perspective, probably 99% of the harm comes
>>from the illegality, not the drugs themselves. All the spread of HIV,
>>hepatitis virus, etc. associated with current IV drug use does, for example.
>
>
> I'm suggesting that less emphasis be placed on criminality at the local level
> and more on help. The point on public health is that in some cases the rights
> of individuals must yield to the rights of society. In this case, it is
> infectious. Users tend to attract other users - some of whom turn into addicts
> and end up doing harm to themselves and society. But note, I am not beating up
> on the individual but rather imposing more border controls - which a nation
> has a right to do.


Look, that "users attract other users" (even if it were true) is not the
same as the spread of an infectious disease. There is the obvious
difference that people have a choice about starting to use drugs. And
use is not a disease or even a problem any more than alcohol use is a
disease or even a problem. You know, the alcohol prohibitionists made
the same arguments as yours in 1919.


Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 28 Feb 2005 15:01:12 -0800

--------
Bill wrote:
> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
> news:GuednaPkH53gFr_fRVn-vg@rcn.net...
> > Bill wrote:
> >> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote...
> >>Bill wrote:
> >>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote ...
> >>>>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford
it, make a
> >>>>>>big
> >>>>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using
troops.
> >>>>>>Less
> >>>>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson
would be
> >>>>>proud of you.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more
enforcement at
> >>>>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent
increase
> >>>>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>What is your basis for that claim?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of an item
but it
> >> costs more how do you know that the net of of the amout of product
times
> >> cost will be greater.
> >
> >
> > The point being addressed was availability to the end user. If
there is a
> > demand and great profit to be made, the market finds a way to meet
it--if
> > not thru imports, by some alternative (eg, a similar product that
can be
> > produced domestically).
> >
> >
>
> That does not at all imply the amount available would be the same. I
asked you
> to justify your claim that the amount available would be the same. In
other
> posts I suggested ways in which domestic production could be curbed
and also
> suggested that marijuana be allowed more of a free ride - pushing
users in
> that direction.
>
> >>>>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that
people
> >>>>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this
stuff.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves
if
> >>>>>they so desire.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>It is a concept similar to public health.
> >>>>Bill
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the essential
point.
> >>>
> >
> >>
> >> Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means
people are
> >> blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts their
freedom.
> >
> > Sure. But drugs are not a disease that a person passes to others.
And
> > again, from the public health perspective, probably 99% of the harm
comes
> > from the illegality, not the drugs themselves. All the spread of
HIV,
> > hepatitis virus, etc. associated with current IV drug use does, for
example.
>
> I'm suggesting that less emphasis be placed on criminality at the
local level
> and more on help. The point on public health is that in some cases
the rights
> of individuals must yield to the rights of society. In this case, it
is
> infectious.

Total garbage. People use drugs because the drugs give them something
they otherwise feel they can't get. Have you ever actually seen some
of the hardcore drug addicts? I've met quite a few when I lived on
Chicago's south side (in an all black neighborhood) and most feel it's
the bottom. Does it help the problem to lock up non-violent addicts in
a violent and anti-social system (the American Gulag)?

Most got that way because they're trying to dull pain. A lot of them
were abused as children or feel they have little to no way to get
themselves out of perpetual poverty (which, with the US's socialism
towards the rich and undercutting most avenues to success to those not
born to lucky parents, is for the most part true). The War on *Some*
Drugs is simply a racist enterprise. It devestates black and Latino
communities far out of proportion from what they represent of those who
use drugs.



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 14:45:33 GMT

--------

"Rump Ranger" wrote in message
news:1109629196.452121.296750@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Bill wrote:
>> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
>> news:GuednaPkH53gFr_fRVn-vg@rcn.net...
>> > Bill wrote:
>> >> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote...
>> >>Bill wrote:
>> >>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote ...
>> >>>>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford
> it, make a
>> >>>>>>big
>> >>>>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using
> troops.
>> >>>>>>Less
>> >>>>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson
> would be
>> >>>>>proud of you.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more
> enforcement at
>> >>>>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent
> increase
>> >>>>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>What is your basis for that claim?
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of an item
> but it
>> >> costs more how do you know that the net of of the amout of product
> times
>> >> cost will be greater.
>> >
>> >
>> > The point being addressed was availability to the end user. If
> there is a
>> > demand and great profit to be made, the market finds a way to meet
> it--if
>> > not thru imports, by some alternative (eg, a similar product that
> can be
>> > produced domestically).
>> >
>> >
>>
>> That does not at all imply the amount available would be the same. I
> asked you
>> to justify your claim that the amount available would be the same. In
> other
>> posts I suggested ways in which domestic production could be curbed
> and also
>> suggested that marijuana be allowed more of a free ride - pushing
> users in
>> that direction.
>>
>> >>>>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that
> people
>> >>>>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this
> stuff.
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves
> if
>> >>>>>they so desire.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>It is a concept similar to public health.
>> >>>>Bill
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the essential
> point.
>> >>>
>> >
>> >>
>> >> Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means
> people are
>> >> blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts their
> freedom.
>> >
>> > Sure. But drugs are not a disease that a person passes to others.
> And
>> > again, from the public health perspective, probably 99% of the harm
> comes
>> > from the illegality, not the drugs themselves. All the spread of
> HIV,
>> > hepatitis virus, etc. associated with current IV drug use does, for
> example.
>>
>> I'm suggesting that less emphasis be placed on criminality at the
> local level
>> and more on help. The point on public health is that in some cases
> the rights
>> of individuals must yield to the rights of society. In this case, it
> is
>> infectious.
>
> Total garbage. People use drugs because the drugs give them something
> they otherwise feel they can't get. Have you ever actually seen some
> of the hardcore drug addicts? I've met quite a few when I lived on
> Chicago's south side (in an all black neighborhood) and most feel it's
> the bottom. Does it help the problem to lock up non-violent addicts in
> a violent and anti-social system (the American Gulag)?
>
> Most got that way because they're trying to dull pain. A lot of them
> were abused as children or feel they have little to no way to get
> themselves out of perpetual poverty (which, with the US's socialism
> towards the rich and undercutting most avenues to success to those not
> born to lucky parents, is for the most part true). The War on *Some*
> Drugs is simply a racist enterprise. It devestates black and Latino
> communities far out of proportion from what they represent of those who
> use drugs.
>

Your comments, while interesting, don't seem to address the points I was
making in the previous paragraph.

Bill




Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 28 Feb 2005 14:12:30 -0800

--------

Bill wrote:
> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
> news:ML6dnccgAI6cjr_fRVn-ow@rcn.net...
> > Bill wrote:
> >
> >> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message

> >> news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
> >>
> >>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
> >>>
> >>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it,
make a
> >>>>big
> >>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using
troops. Less
> >>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would
be
> >>>proud of you.
> >>>
> >>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement
at
> >>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent
increase
> >>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> What is your basis for that claim?
> >
> >
> > Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
>
>
> That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of an item but
it costs
> more how do you know that the net of of the amout of product times
cost will
> be greater.
> >
> >
> >>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that
people
> >>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this
stuff.
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
> >>>they so desire.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> It is a concept similar to public health.
> >> Bill
> >
> >
> > That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the essential
point.
> >
> >
>
> Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means people
are
> blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts their
freedom.
>

One problem with your "reasoning" sparky: drug addiction *is not* a
disease no matter what the 12 Steppers might want to believe it to be.



Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 17:21:30 -0500

--------


Rump Ranger wrote:

>
> One problem with your "reasoning" sparky: drug addiction *is not* a
> disease no matter what the 12 Steppers might want to believe it to be.

Drug addiction is a bad habbit.

Bob Kolker

>


Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 28 Feb 2005 14:43:03 -0800

--------

robert j. kolker wrote:
> Rump Ranger wrote:
>
> >
> > One problem with your "reasoning" sparky: drug addiction *is not* a
> > disease no matter what the 12 Steppers might want to believe it to
be.
>
> Drug addiction is a bad habbit.
>

Exactly. It's a choice and is based on behavioral choices. 12 Step
dogma says otherwise and most "addictions counselers" spread it even
though their garbage has been refuted many times.



Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:20:08 -0500

--------


Rump Ranger wrote:

>
>
> Exactly. It's a choice and is based on behavioral choices. 12 Step
> dogma says otherwise and most "addictions counselers" spread it even
> though their garbage has been refuted many times.

Spelling habit as habbit is a bad habbit not indulged in by hobbits.
Sorry for the misspelling.

Bob Kolker

>


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 14:33:10 GMT

--------

"Rump Ranger" wrote in message
news:1109628750.027091.28990@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>
> Bill wrote:
>> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
>> news:ML6dnccgAI6cjr_fRVn-ow@rcn.net...
>> > Bill wrote:
>> >
>> >> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>
>> >> news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
>> >>
>> >>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it,
> make a
>> >>>>big
>> >>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using
> troops. Less
>> >>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>> >>>>
>> >>>
>> >>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would
> be
>> >>>proud of you.
>> >>>
>> >>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement
> at
>> >>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent
> increase
>> >>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>> >>>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> What is your basis for that claim?
>> >
>> >
>> > Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
>>
>>
>> That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of an item but
> it costs
>> more how do you know that the net of of the amout of product times
> cost will
>> be greater.
>> >
>> >
>> >>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that
> people
>> >>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this
> stuff.
>> >>>>
>> >>>
>> >>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
>> >>>they so desire.
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> It is a concept similar to public health.
>> >> Bill
>> >
>> >
>> > That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the essential
> point.
>> >
>> >
>>
>> Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means people
> are
>> blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts their
> freedom.
>>
>
> One problem with your "reasoning" sparky: drug addiction *is not* a
> disease no matter what the 12 Steppers might want to believe it to be.
>

I never said it was.

Bill




Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 7 Mar 2005 17:02:35 -0800

--------

Bill wrote:
> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
> news:1109628750.027091.28990@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> >
> > Bill wrote:
> >> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
> >> news:ML6dnccgAI6cjr_fRVn-ow@rcn.net...
> >> > Bill wrote:
> >> >
> >> >> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
message
> >
> >> >> news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
> >> >>
> >> >>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
> >> >>>
> >> >>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford
it,
> > make a
> >> >>>>big
> >> >>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using
> > troops. Less
> >> >>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>
> >> >>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson
would
> > be
> >> >>>proud of you.
> >> >>>
> >> >>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more
enforcement
> > at
> >> >>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent
> > increase
> >> >>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
> >> >>>
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> What is your basis for that claim?
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
> >>
> >>
> >> That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of an item
but
> > it costs
> >> more how do you know that the net of of the amout of product times
> > cost will
> >> be greater.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather
that
> > people
> >> >>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this
> > stuff.
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>
> >> >>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves
if
> >> >>>they so desire.
> >> >>>
> >> >>>
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> It is a concept similar to public health.
> >> >> Bill
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the
essential
> > point.
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
> >> Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means
people
> > are
> >> blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts their
> > freedom.
> >>
> >
> > One problem with your "reasoning" sparky: drug addiction *is not* a
> > disease no matter what the 12 Steppers might want to believe it to
be.
> >
>
> I never said it was.
>

So what's your garbage about "public health" and "diseases" all about
then?



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Tue, 08 Mar 2005 01:07:45 GMT

--------

"Rump Ranger" wrote in message
news:1110243396.425162.30710@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> Bill wrote:
>> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
>> news:1109628750.027091.28990@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>> >
>> > Bill wrote:
>> >> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
>> >> news:ML6dnccgAI6cjr_fRVn-ow@rcn.net...
>> >> > Bill wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> >> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
> message
>> >
>> >> >> news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
>> >> >>
>> >> >>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford
> it,
>> > make a
>> >> >>>>big
>> >> >>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using
>> > troops. Less
>> >> >>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>> >> >>>>
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson
> would
>> > be
>> >> >>>proud of you.
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more
> enforcement
>> > at
>> >> >>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent
>> > increase
>> >> >>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >> >> What is your basis for that claim?
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of an item
> but
>> > it costs
>> >> more how do you know that the net of of the amout of product times
>> > cost will
>> >> be greater.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather
> that
>> > people
>> >> >>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this
>> > stuff.
>> >> >>>>
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves
> if
>> >> >>>they so desire.
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >> >> It is a concept similar to public health.
>> >> >> Bill
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the
> essential
>> > point.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >> Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means
> people
>> > are
>> >> blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts their
>> > freedom.
>> >>
>> >
>> > One problem with your "reasoning" sparky: drug addiction *is not* a
>> > disease no matter what the 12 Steppers might want to believe it to
> be.
>> >
>>
>> I never said it was.
>>
>
> So what's your garbage about "public health" and "diseases" all about
> then?
>

I think you misread. There was no garbage.

Bill




Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 7 Mar 2005 23:38:23 -0800

--------

Bill wrote:
> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
> news:1110243396.425162.30710@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> >
> > Bill wrote:
> >> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
> >> news:1109628750.027091.28990@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> >> >
> >> > Bill wrote:
> >> >> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
> >> >> news:ML6dnccgAI6cjr_fRVn-ow@rcn.net...
> >> >> > Bill wrote:
> >> >> >
> >> >> >> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
> > message
> >> >
> >> >> >> news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could
afford
> > it,
> >> > make a
> >> >> >>>>big
> >> >> >>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps
using
> >> > troops. Less
> >> >> >>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
> >> >> >>>>
> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson
> > would
> >> > be
> >> >> >>>proud of you.
> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more
> > enforcement
> >> > at
> >> >> >>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a
subsequent
> >> > increase
> >> >> >>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> What is your basis for that claim?
> >> >> >
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of an
item
> > but
> >> > it costs
> >> >> more how do you know that the net of of the amout of product
times
> >> > cost will
> >> >> be greater.
> >> >> >
> >> >> >
> >> >> >>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather
> > that
> >> > people
> >> >> >>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this
> >> > stuff.
> >> >> >>>>
> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill
themselves
> > if
> >> >> >>>they so desire.
> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> It is a concept similar to public health.
> >> >> >> Bill
> >> >> >
> >> >> >
> >> >> > That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the
> > essential
> >> > point.
> >> >> >
> >> >> >
> >> >>
> >> >> Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means
> > people
> >> > are
> >> >> blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts their
> >> > freedom.
> >> >>
> >> >
> >> > One problem with your "reasoning" sparky: drug addiction *is
not* a
> >> > disease no matter what the 12 Steppers might want to believe it
to
> > be.
> >> >
> >>
> >> I never said it was.
> >>
> >
> > So what's your garbage about "public health" and "diseases" all
about
> > then?
> >
>
> I think you misread. There was no garbage.
>

In your incorrect opinion.



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Tue, 08 Mar 2005 08:28:56 GMT

--------

"Rump Ranger" wrote in message
news:1110267503.729244.77670@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>
> Bill wrote:
>> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
>> news:1110243396.425162.30710@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>> >
>> > Bill wrote:
>> >> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
>> >> news:1109628750.027091.28990@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>> >> >
>> >> > Bill wrote:
>> >> >> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
>> >> >> news:ML6dnccgAI6cjr_fRVn-ow@rcn.net...
>> >> >> > Bill wrote:
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in
>> > message
>> >> >
>> >> >> >> news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could
> afford
>> > it,
>> >> > make a
>> >> >> >>>>big
>> >> >> >>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps
> using
>> >> > troops. Less
>> >> >> >>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>> >> >> >>>>
>> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson
>> > would
>> >> > be
>> >> >> >>>proud of you.
>> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more
>> > enforcement
>> >> > at
>> >> >> >>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a
> subsequent
>> >> > increase
>> >> >> >>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> What is your basis for that claim?
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
>> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >> >> That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of an
> item
>> > but
>> >> > it costs
>> >> >> more how do you know that the net of of the amout of product
> times
>> >> > cost will
>> >> >> be greater.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather
>> > that
>> >> > people
>> >> >> >>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this
>> >> > stuff.
>> >> >> >>>>
>> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill
> themselves
>> > if
>> >> >> >>>they so desire.
>> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> It is a concept similar to public health.
>> >> >> >> Bill
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the
>> > essential
>> >> > point.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means
>> > people
>> >> > are
>> >> >> blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts their
>> >> > freedom.
>> >> >>
>> >> >
>> >> > One problem with your "reasoning" sparky: drug addiction *is
> not* a
>> >> > disease no matter what the 12 Steppers might want to believe it
> to
>> > be.
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >> I never said it was.
>> >>
>> >
>> > So what's your garbage about "public health" and "diseases" all
> about
>> > then?
>> >
>>
>> I think you misread. There was no garbage.
>>
>
> In your incorrect opinion.
>

Since you have no idea what this is about, as you said, how can you reach such
a conclusion?

Bill




Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 9 Mar 2005 13:31:26 -0800

--------

Bill wrote:
> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
> news:1110267503.729244.77670@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> >
> > Bill wrote:
> >> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
> >> news:1110243396.425162.30710@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> >> >
> >> > Bill wrote:
> >> >> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
> >> >> news:1109628750.027091.28990@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Bill wrote:
> >> >> >> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
> >> >> >> news:ML6dnccgAI6cjr_fRVn-ow@rcn.net...
> >> >> >> > Bill wrote:
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote
in
> >> > message
> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill"
wrote:
> >> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> >>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could
> > afford
> >> > it,
> >> >> > make a
> >> >> >> >>>>big
> >> >> >> >>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps
> > using
> >> >> > troops. Less
> >> >> >> >>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
> >> >> >> >>>>
> >> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> >>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat
Robertson
> >> > would
> >> >> > be
> >> >> >> >>>proud of you.
> >> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> >>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more
> >> > enforcement
> >> >> > at
> >> >> >> >>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a
> > subsequent
> >> >> > increase
> >> >> >> >>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
> >> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> What is your basis for that claim?
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of an
> > item
> >> > but
> >> >> > it costs
> >> >> >> more how do you know that the net of of the amout of product
> > times
> >> >> > cost will
> >> >> >> be greater.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but
rather
> >> > that
> >> >> > people
> >> >> >> >>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with
this
> >> >> > stuff.
> >> >> >> >>>>
> >> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> >>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill
> > themselves
> >> > if
> >> >> >> >>>they so desire.
> >> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> It is a concept similar to public health.
> >> >> >> >> Bill
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the
> >> > essential
> >> >> > point.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means
> >> > people
> >> >> > are
> >> >> >> blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts
their
> >> >> > freedom.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >
> >> >> > One problem with your "reasoning" sparky: drug addiction *is
> > not* a
> >> >> > disease no matter what the 12 Steppers might want to believe
it
> > to
> >> > be.
> >> >> >
> >> >>
> >> >> I never said it was.
> >> >>
> >> >
> >> > So what's your garbage about "public health" and "diseases" all
> > about
> >> > then?
> >> >
> >>
> >> I think you misread. There was no garbage.
> >>
> >
> > In your incorrect opinion.
> >
>
> Since you have no idea what this is about, as you said, how can you
reach such
> a conclusion?
>

I know what it implied and it was still bullshit.



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Wed, 09 Mar 2005 22:36:39 GMT

--------

"Rump Ranger" wrote in message
news:1110403886.640767.142410@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>
> Bill wrote:
>> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
>> news:1110267503.729244.77670@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>> >
>> > Bill wrote:
>> >> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
>> >> news:1110243396.425162.30710@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>> >> >
>> >> > Bill wrote:
>> >> >> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
>> >> >> news:1109628750.027091.28990@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Bill wrote:
>> >> >> >> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
>> >> >> >> news:ML6dnccgAI6cjr_fRVn-ow@rcn.net...
>> >> >> >> > Bill wrote:
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> "Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote
> in
>> >> > message
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
>> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill"
> wrote:
>> >> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >> >>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could
>> > afford
>> >> > it,
>> >> >> > make a
>> >> >> >> >>>>big
>> >> >> >> >>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps
>> > using
>> >> >> > troops. Less
>> >> >> >> >>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>> >> >> >> >>>>
>> >> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >> >>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat
> Robertson
>> >> > would
>> >> >> > be
>> >> >> >> >>>proud of you.
>> >> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >> >>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more
>> >> > enforcement
>> >> >> > at
>> >> >> >> >>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a
>> > subsequent
>> >> >> > increase
>> >> >> >> >>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>> >> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >> What is your basis for that claim?
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of an
>> > item
>> >> > but
>> >> >> > it costs
>> >> >> >> more how do you know that the net of of the amout of product
>> > times
>> >> >> > cost will
>> >> >> >> be greater.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but
> rather
>> >> > that
>> >> >> > people
>> >> >> >> >>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with
> this
>> >> >> > stuff.
>> >> >> >> >>>>
>> >> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >> >>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill
>> > themselves
>> >> > if
>> >> >> >> >>>they so desire.
>> >> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >> It is a concept similar to public health.
>> >> >> >> >> Bill
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the
>> >> > essential
>> >> >> > point.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means
>> >> > people
>> >> >> > are
>> >> >> >> blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts
> their
>> >> >> > freedom.
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > One problem with your "reasoning" sparky: drug addiction *is
>> > not* a
>> >> >> > disease no matter what the 12 Steppers might want to believe
> it
>> > to
>> >> > be.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >>
>> >> >> I never said it was.
>> >> >>
>> >> >
>> >> > So what's your garbage about "public health" and "diseases" all
>> > about
>> >> > then?
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >> I think you misread. There was no garbage.
>> >>
>> >
>> > In your incorrect opinion.
>> >
>>
>> Since you have no idea what this is about, as you said, how can you
> reach such
>> a conclusion?
>>
>
> I know what it implied and it was still bullshit.
>

OK. Here is a test of your honesty. What was implied? It had nothing directly
to do with health. And why then did you ask what it was about?

Bill




Correspondent:: "Rump Ranger"
Date: 10 Mar 2005 10:32:24 -0800

--------

Bill wrote:
> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
> news:1110403886.640767.142410@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> >
> > Bill wrote:
> >> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
> >> news:1110267503.729244.77670@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> >> >
> >> > Bill wrote:
> >> >> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
> >> >> news:1110243396.425162.30710@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Bill wrote:
> >> >> >> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
> >> >> >> news:1109628750.027091.28990@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > Bill wrote:
> >> >> >> >> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
> >> >> >> >> news:ML6dnccgAI6cjr_fRVn-ow@rcn.net...
> >> >> >> >> > Bill wrote:
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> >> "Socialism is a Mental Disease"
wrote
> > in
> >> >> > message
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> >> news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
> >> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> >>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill"
> > wrote:
> >> >> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> >> >>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could
> >> > afford
> >> >> > it,
> >> >> >> > make a
> >> >> >> >> >>>>big
> >> >> >> >> >>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border -
perhaps
> >> > using
> >> >> >> > troops. Less
> >> >> >> >> >>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less
addicts.
> >> >> >> >> >>>>
> >> >> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> >> >>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat
> > Robertson
> >> >> > would
> >> >> >> > be
> >> >> >> >> >>>proud of you.
> >> >> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> >> >>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more
> >> >> > enforcement
> >> >> >> > at
> >> >> >> >> >>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a
> >> > subsequent
> >> >> >> > increase
> >> >> >> >> >>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the
drugs.
> >> >> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> >> What is your basis for that claim?
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> > Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of
an
> >> > item
> >> >> > but
> >> >> >> > it costs
> >> >> >> >> more how do you know that the net of of the amout of
product
> >> > times
> >> >> >> > cost will
> >> >> >> >> be greater.
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> >>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but
> > rather
> >> >> > that
> >> >> >> > people
> >> >> >> >> >>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives
with
> > this
> >> >> >> > stuff.
> >> >> >> >> >>>>
> >> >> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> >> >>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill
> >> > themselves
> >> >> > if
> >> >> >> >> >>>they so desire.
> >> >> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> >> It is a concept similar to public health.
> >> >> >> >> >> Bill
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> > That vague generality proves nothing and just evades
the
> >> >> > essential
> >> >> >> > point.
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >> Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It
means
> >> >> > people
> >> >> >> > are
> >> >> >> >> blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts
> > their
> >> >> >> > freedom.
> >> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >> > One problem with your "reasoning" sparky: drug addiction
*is
> >> > not* a
> >> >> >> > disease no matter what the 12 Steppers might want to
believe
> > it
> >> > to
> >> >> > be.
> >> >> >> >
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> I never said it was.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >
> >> >> > So what's your garbage about "public health" and "diseases"
all
> >> > about
> >> >> > then?
> >> >> >
> >> >>
> >> >> I think you misread. There was no garbage.
> >> >>
> >> >
> >> > In your incorrect opinion.
> >> >
> >>
> >> Since you have no idea what this is about, as you said, how can
you
> > reach such
> >> a conclusion?
> >>
> >
> > I know what it implied and it was still bullshit.
> >
>
> OK. Here is a test of your honesty.

You're one to talk.

>What was implied? It had nothing directly
> to do with health.

Liar. Quoted directly above:

"Socialism is a mental disease" wrote:

"People own their bodies. They should be able to kill
themselves if they so desire."

You respond:

"It is a concept similar to public health."

Dr Zharkov responds:

"That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the essential
point."

Then you say:

"Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means
people are blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts
their freedom."

Here's the original post:

http://tinyurl.com/5v3qa

And here's the thread in it's entirety:

http://tinyurl.com/64ge3

It's right there in the backthread and is easily obtained in Google but
I provided URLs for anyone still reading this who gives a shit to
verify. IOW, you're a fucking liar.

> And why then did you ask what it was about?
>

Because you oh so *dishonestly* said that you didn't say what you
clearly did say. The backthread is right here in this post with all
attributions. My question was *rhetorical*, dumbass. You're a proven
lying sack of shit without the sack. It's just that simple.

Now FOAD.



Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 18:55:22 GMT

--------

"Rump Ranger" wrote in message
news:1110479544.459431.291150@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>
> Bill wrote:
>> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
>> news:1110403886.640767.142410@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>> >
>> > Bill wrote:
>> >> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
>> >> news:1110267503.729244.77670@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>> >> >
>> >> > Bill wrote:
>> >> >> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
>> >> >> news:1110243396.425162.30710@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Bill wrote:
>> >> >> >> "Rump Ranger" wrote in message
>> >> >> >> news:1109628750.027091.28990@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > Bill wrote:
>> >> >> >> >> "Dr. Zarkov" wrote in message
>> >> >> >> >> news:ML6dnccgAI6cjr_fRVn-ow@rcn.net...
>> >> >> >> >> > Bill wrote:
>> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> >> "Socialism is a Mental Disease"
> wrote
>> > in
>> >> >> > message
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> >> news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
>> >> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >> >>>On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill"
>> > wrote:
>> >> >> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >> >> >>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could
>> >> > afford
>> >> >> > it,
>> >> >> >> > make a
>> >> >> >> >> >>>>big
>> >> >> >> >> >>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border -
> perhaps
>> >> > using
>> >> >> >> > troops. Less
>> >> >> >> >> >>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less
> addicts.
>> >> >> >> >> >>>>
>> >> >> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >> >> >>>Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat
>> > Robertson
>> >> >> > would
>> >> >> >> > be
>> >> >> >> >> >>>proud of you.
>> >> >> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >> >> >>>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more
>> >> >> > enforcement
>> >> >> >> > at
>> >> >> >> >> >>>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a
>> >> > subsequent
>> >> >> >> > increase
>> >> >> >> >> >>>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the
> drugs.
>> >> >> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >> >> What is your basis for that claim?
>> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> > Basic economics--black market economics in this case.
>> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >> That seems to be a vague generallity. If you have less of
> an
>> >> > item
>> >> >> > but
>> >> >> >> > it costs
>> >> >> >> >> more how do you know that the net of of the amout of
> product
>> >> > times
>> >> >> >> > cost will
>> >> >> >> >> be greater.
>> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> >>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but
>> > rather
>> >> >> > that
>> >> >> >> > people
>> >> >> >> >> >>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives
> with
>> > this
>> >> >> >> > stuff.
>> >> >> >> >> >>>>
>> >> >> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >> >> >>>People own their bodies. They should be able to kill
>> >> > themselves
>> >> >> > if
>> >> >> >> >> >>>they so desire.
>> >> >> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >> >> >>>
>> >> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >> >> It is a concept similar to public health.
>> >> >> >> >> >> Bill
>> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> > That vague generality proves nothing and just evades
> the
>> >> >> > essential
>> >> >> >> > point.
>> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >> Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It
> means
>> >> >> > people
>> >> >> >> > are
>> >> >> >> >> blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts
>> > their
>> >> >> >> > freedom.
>> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > One problem with your "reasoning" sparky: drug addiction
> *is
>> >> > not* a
>> >> >> >> > disease no matter what the 12 Steppers might want to
> believe
>> > it
>> >> > to
>> >> >> > be.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> I never said it was.
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > So what's your garbage about "public health" and "diseases"
> all
>> >> > about
>> >> >> > then?
>> >> >> >
>> >> >>
>> >> >> I think you misread. There was no garbage.
>> >> >>
>> >> >
>> >> > In your incorrect opinion.
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >> Since you have no idea what this is about, as you said, how can
> you
>> > reach such
>> >> a conclusion?
>> >>
>> >
>> > I know what it implied and it was still bullshit.
>> >
>>
>> OK. Here is a test of your honesty.
>
> You're one to talk.
>
>>What was implied? It had nothing directly
>> to do with health.
>
> Liar. Quoted directly above:
>
> "Socialism is a mental disease" wrote:
>
> "People own their bodies. They should be able to kill
> themselves if they so desire."
>
> You respond:
>
> "It is a concept similar to public health."
>
> Dr Zharkov responds:
>
> "That vague generality proves nothing and just evades the essential
> point."
>
> Then you say:
>
> "Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means
> people are blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts
> their freedom."
>
> Here's the original post:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/5v3qa
>
> And here's the thread in it's entirety:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/64ge3
>
> It's right there in the backthread and is easily obtained in Google but
> I provided URLs for anyone still reading this who gives a shit to
> verify. IOW, you're a fucking liar.
>
>> And why then did you ask what it was about?
>>
>
> Because you oh so *dishonestly* said that you didn't say what you
> clearly did say. The backthread is right here in this post with all
> attributions. My question was *rhetorical*, dumbass. You're a proven
> lying sack of shit without the sack. It's just that simple.
>
> Now FOAD.
>

You need to pay more attention. I said it was a concept *similar* to public
health.

And I did indeed say the following:

"Are you familiar with the concept of public health? It means
people are blocked from passing disease to others even if it impacts
their freedom."

But as I said above this this has nothing directly to do with what I mean.
Only an anology - which you do not understand. Which is why you asked. And now
you have only the ability to disparage with name calling. Not reasoned debate.

Bill




Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 19:03:13 GMT

--------
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:13:11 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>
>>
>> Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
>> proud of you.
>>
>> By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>> the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
>> in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>>
>
>What is your basis for that claim?
>

ECON101: simple supply and demand analysis.

>>>
>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people
>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>>
>>
>> People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
>> they so desire.
>>
>>
>
>It is a concept similar to public health.
>

There's no public health, only individual health.


--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:36:16 GMT

--------

"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
news:ne64219ldemh3j05k1e4h60shnorgsthru@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:13:11 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>
>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a
>>>>big
>>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
>>> proud of you.
>>>
>>> By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>>> the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
>>> in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>>>
>>
>>What is your basis for that claim?
>>
>
> ECON101: simple supply and demand analysis.
>

Does that teach you that if the supply of something drops, then price times
amount sold necessarily goes up?

But the main point was what do you mean when you say

"you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
the border, "

obviously there would be less available.

>>>>
>>>>This is not from a moral or crime point of view but rather that people
>>>>really do kill themselves and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>>>
>>>
>>> People own their bodies. They should be able to kill themselves if
>>> they so desire.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>It is a concept similar to public health.
>>
>
> There's no public health, only individual health.
>
>

You disagree with the concept of public health. For example, restricting the
work Typhoid Mary could do and finially confining here to an island for life?
People are not allowed to use the water supply for any purpose.

Bill

> --
> "A society that robs an individual of the product of his
> effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
> gang rule." -- Ayn Rand




Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 05:09:49 GMT

--------
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:36:16 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>news:ne64219ldemh3j05k1e4h60shnorgsthru@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:13:11 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a
>>>>>big
>>>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>>>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
>>>> proud of you.
>>>>
>>>> By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>>>> the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
>>>> in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>>>>
>>>
>>>What is your basis for that claim?
>>>
>>
>> ECON101: simple supply and demand analysis.
>>
>
>Does that teach you that if the supply of something drops, then price times
>amount sold necessarily goes up?
>

Demand for drugs is incredibly inelastic. Prices would increase
dramatically. More violence would ensue.

>
>You disagree with the concept of public health. For example, restricting the
>work Typhoid Mary could do and finially confining here to an island for life?
>People are not allowed to use the water supply for any purpose.
>

I was talking about people's own bodies not water supply. Will you
please stick to the point?


--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 05:28:49 GMT

--------

"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
news:rp9521hojlprbk8mceqh1kfito1rdoldqr@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:36:16 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>news:ne64219ldemh3j05k1e4h60shnorgsthru@4ax.com...
>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:13:11 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>
>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a
>>>>>>big
>>>>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops.
>>>>>>Less
>>>>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
>>>>> proud of you.
>>>>>
>>>>> By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>>>>> the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
>>>>> in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>What is your basis for that claim?
>>>>
>>>
>>> ECON101: simple supply and demand analysis.
>>>
>>
>>Does that teach you that if the supply of something drops, then price times
>>amount sold necessarily goes up?
>>
>
> Demand for drugs is incredibly inelastic. Prices would increase
> dramatically. More violence would ensue.
>

That may well all be true but you still have not answered this which you
conviently deleted from the post you were responding to.

"But the main point was what do you mean when you say

"you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
the border, "

obviously there would be less available."

>>
>>You disagree with the concept of public health. For example, restricting the
>>work Typhoid Mary could do and finially confining here to an island for
>>life?
>>People are not allowed to use the water supply for any purpose.
>>
>
> I was talking about people's own bodies not water supply. Will you
> please stick to the point?
>
>

Again you are distorting things. The above was in respose to your statement
that:

"There's no public health, only individual health."


In short, you make a statement on public health. I respond to it. You leave
out your original statement. Accuse me of being off topic. Why?


> --
> "A society that robs an individual of the product of his
> effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
> gang rule." -- Ayn Rand




Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 05:31:42 GMT

--------
On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 05:28:49 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>news:rp9521hojlprbk8mceqh1kfito1rdoldqr@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:36:16 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>news:ne64219ldemh3j05k1e4h60shnorgsthru@4ax.com...
>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:13:11 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>>news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a
>>>>>>>big
>>>>>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops.
>>>>>>>Less
>>>>>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
>>>>>> proud of you.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>>>>>> the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
>>>>>> in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>What is your basis for that claim?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ECON101: simple supply and demand analysis.
>>>>
>>>
>>>Does that teach you that if the supply of something drops, then price times
>>>amount sold necessarily goes up?
>>>
>>
>> Demand for drugs is incredibly inelastic. Prices would increase
>> dramatically. More violence would ensue.
>>
>
>That may well all be true but you still have not answered this which you
>conviently deleted from the post you were responding to.
>
>"But the main point was what do you mean when you say
>
>"you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>the border, "
>
>obviously there would be less available."
>

I didn't say that.

>>>
>>>You disagree with the concept of public health. For example, restricting the
>>>work Typhoid Mary could do and finially confining here to an island for
>>>life?
>>>People are not allowed to use the water supply for any purpose.
>>>
>>
>> I was talking about people's own bodies not water supply. Will you
>> please stick to the point?
>>
>>
>
>Again you are distorting things. The above was in respose to your statement
>that:
>
>"There's no public health, only individual health."
>

Indeed!

>
>In short, you make a statement on public health.
>

I made no such statement.



--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 05:45:19 GMT

--------

"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
news:a4b521lci8ak35bpnvr5g6bfnupf3rt01k@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 05:28:49 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>news:rp9521hojlprbk8mceqh1kfito1rdoldqr@4ax.com...
>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:36:16 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>
>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>news:ne64219ldemh3j05k1e4h60shnorgsthru@4ax.com...
>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:13:11 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>>>news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
>>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make
>>>>>>>>a
>>>>>>>>big
>>>>>>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops.
>>>>>>>>Less
>>>>>>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
>>>>>>> proud of you.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>>>>>>> the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
>>>>>>> in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>What is your basis for that claim?
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ECON101: simple supply and demand analysis.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Does that teach you that if the supply of something drops, then price
>>>>times
>>>>amount sold necessarily goes up?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Demand for drugs is incredibly inelastic. Prices would increase
>>> dramatically. More violence would ensue.
>>>
>>
>>That may well all be true but you still have not answered this which you
>>conviently deleted from the post you were responding to.
>>
>>"But the main point was what do you mean when you say
>>
>>"you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>>the border, "
>>
>>obviously there would be less available."
>>
>
> I didn't say that.
>

Absolutely you did. At 2:01 AM 2/27 (on my system) you wrote:

"Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
proud of you.

By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs."


>>>>
>>>>You disagree with the concept of public health. For example, restricting
>>>>the
>>>>work Typhoid Mary could do and finially confining here to an island for
>>>>life?
>>>>People are not allowed to use the water supply for any purpose.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I was talking about people's own bodies not water supply. Will you
>>> please stick to the point?
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Again you are distorting things. The above was in respose to your statement
>>that:
>>
>>"There's no public health, only individual health."
>>
>
> Indeed!
>
>>
>>In short, you make a statement on public health.
>>
>
> I made no such statement.
>
>
>

Now you are really just lying. Anyone here can go back through this thread and
see if you said:

>"There's no public health, only individual health."


You seem to not be able to remember what you said from one moment to the next.
Have another hamburger.

Bill

> --
> "A society that robs an individual of the product of his
> effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
> gang rule." -- Ayn Rand




Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 16:03:31 GMT

--------
On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 05:45:19 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>news:a4b521lci8ak35bpnvr5g6bfnupf3rt01k@4ax.com...
>> On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 05:28:49 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>news:rp9521hojlprbk8mceqh1kfito1rdoldqr@4ax.com...
>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:36:16 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>>news:ne64219ldemh3j05k1e4h60shnorgsthru@4ax.com...
>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:13:11 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>"Socialism is a Mental Disease" wrote in message
>>>>>>>news:i2s221dkfn4bo65j92uenl0r33f1p3msis@4ax.com...
>>>>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make
>>>>>>>>>a
>>>>>>>>>big
>>>>>>>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops.
>>>>>>>>>Less
>>>>>>>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
>>>>>>>> proud of you.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>>>>>>>> the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
>>>>>>>> in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>What is your basis for that claim?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ECON101: simple supply and demand analysis.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Does that teach you that if the supply of something drops, then price
>>>>>times
>>>>>amount sold necessarily goes up?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Demand for drugs is incredibly inelastic. Prices would increase
>>>> dramatically. More violence would ensue.
>>>>
>>>
>>>That may well all be true but you still have not answered this which you
>>>conviently deleted from the post you were responding to.
>>>
>>>"But the main point was what do you mean when you say
>>>
>>>"you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>>>the border, "
>>>
>>>obviously there would be less available."
>>>
>>
>> I didn't say that.
>>
>
>Absolutely you did. At 2:01 AM 2/27 (on my system) you wrote:
>
>"Now you are thinking like a true conservative. Pat Robertson would be
>proud of you.
>
>By the way, you wouldn't reduce availability with more enforcement at
>the border, you would simply increase cost, with a subsequent increase
>in criminality to obtain resources to pay for the drugs."
>

You are right, I didn't explain myself properly. You wouldn't reduce
availability of drugs inside the US. You would decrease availability
of drugs that cross the border but would increase drugs "Made in
America".


>
>>>>>
>>>>>You disagree with the concept of public health. For example, restricting
>>>>>the
>>>>>work Typhoid Mary could do and finially confining here to an island for
>>>>>life?
>>>>>People are not allowed to use the water supply for any purpose.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I was talking about people's own bodies not water supply. Will you
>>>> please stick to the point?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>Again you are distorting things. The above was in respose to your statement
>>>that:
>>>
>>>"There's no public health, only individual health."
>>>
>>
>> Indeed!
>>
>>>
>>>In short, you make a statement on public health.
>>>
>>
>> I made no such statement.
>>
>>
>>
>
>Now you are really just lying. Anyone here can go back through this thread and
>see if you said:
>
>>"There's no public health, only individual health."
>

That was no statement about "public health". At the end of the day,
only individual have health (or lack of it).



--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 11:16:28 -0500

--------


Socialism is a Mental Disease wrote:
>
> That was no statement about "public health". At the end of the day,
> only individual have health (or lack of it).

That is true. But there are hygenic conditions that affect the health of
large portions of the public. Like human waste getting into the water
sources of a community. That is an open invitation to cholera and
typhoid fever.

Futhermore -contagious diseases- have a scope beyond an individual. An
individual with smallpox is a walking epidemic. That is why we have
quarentine laws.

Bob Kolker


Correspondent:: Socialism is a Mental Disease
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 16:17:09 GMT

--------
On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 11:16:28 -0500, "robert j. kolker"
wrote:
>
>Socialism is a Mental Disease wrote:
>>
>> That was no statement about "public health". At the end of the day,
>> only individual have health (or lack of it).
>
>That is true. But there are hygenic conditions that affect the health of
>large portions of the public. Like human waste getting into the water
>sources of a community. That is an open invitation to cholera and
>typhoid fever.
>
>Futhermore -contagious diseases- have a scope beyond an individual. An
>individual with smallpox is a walking epidemic. That is why we have
>quarentine laws.
>

The retard has just said that drugs are infectious...


--
"A society that robs an individual of the product of his
effort... is... a mob held together by institutionalized
gang rule." -- Ayn Rand


Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 11:38:08 -0500

--------


Socialism is a Mental Disease wrote:

>
> The retard has just said that drugs are infectious...

That is highly unlikely. Using unsterilized needles is what is
infectious. Howver, some of the more popular drugs can compromise the
immune system.

The main problem with drugs (even if they were legal) is operating
dangerous machinery in public while under their influence. That -is- a
social problem and one that the government may properly address.

If I set at home stoned and mellow that is my business. If I drive
around stoned and mellow that is your business if you are on the road
at the same time I am.

Bob Kolker


Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:26:20 GMT

--------
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:

>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.

Wrong.

>This is not from a
>moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill themselves
>and destroy their lives with this stuff.

And with booze, and tobacco, and sugar, and...

What really destroys people's lives is being made into criminals on
account of their medical conditions.

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:47:30 GMT

--------

wrote in message news:422190b6.18016444@news.telus.net...
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>
> Wrong.
>

What is your basis for this claim? In the extreme, for example, if there were
no drugs on the street there would be no addicts at all. Also, if there were,
say, 20 times more drugs available I would think there would be more consumers
of them. Does that not make sense?

>>This is not from a
>>moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill
>>themselves
>>and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>
> And with booze, and tobacco, and sugar, and...
>

Yes but from a practical point of view there is probably not much that can be
done except increase the price. Also, I have a sense that the
impact/individual is greater.

> What really destroys people's lives is being made into criminals on
> account of their medical conditions.
>

That's true too. I would favor putting more resouces into helping people on
the local level rather than putting them in jail.

Bill

> -- Roy L




Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 22:08:00 GMT

--------
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:47:30 GMT, "Bill" wrote:

> wrote in message news:422190b6.18016444@news.telus.net...
>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>
>> Wrong.
>
>What is your basis for this claim?

Knowledge of the facts. Part of what drives recruitment of new
addicts is the amount of profit to be made from them. Less drugs may
just mean higher prices, more profits, and thus more recruitment of
new addicts.

>In the extreme, for example, if there were
>no drugs on the street there would be no addicts at all.

Also wrong. An addict does not become not an addict through not
having drugs.

>Also, if there were,
>say, 20 times more drugs available I would think there would be more consumers
>of them. Does that not make sense?

There is some truth in this, but less than you think. Drug demand is
quite inelastic.

>>>This is not from a
>>>moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill
>>>themselves
>>>and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>
>> And with booze, and tobacco, and sugar, and...
>
>Yes but from a practical point of view there is probably not much that can be
>done except increase the price. Also, I have a sense that the
>impact/individual is greater.

On a purely pharmacological basis, the impact is certainly greater for
alcohol and tobacco than for marijuana.

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:49:02 GMT

--------

wrote in message news:422244a3.19856524@news.telus.net...
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:47:30 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>> wrote in message news:422190b6.18016444@news.telus.net...
>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a
>>>>big
>>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>
>>> Wrong.
>>
>>What is your basis for this claim?
>
> Knowledge of the facts. Part of what drives recruitment of new
> addicts is the amount of profit to be made from them. Less drugs may
> just mean higher prices, more profits, and thus more recruitment of
> new addicts.
>

But if you can't get the supply that does not work out.

>>In the extreme, for example, if there were
>>no drugs on the street there would be no addicts at all.
>
> Also wrong. An addict does not become not an addict through not
> having drugs.
>

OK we can call those people something else if you wish. A non-user.

>>Also, if there were,
>>say, 20 times more drugs available I would think there would be more
>>consumers
>>of them. Does that not make sense?
>
> There is some truth in this, but less than you think. Drug demand is
> quite inelastic.
>

I'm not sure of that. If there were quite a bit of supply around users would
be tempted to get more and sell or give more to friends - who would continue
the chain.

>>>>This is not from a
>>>>moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill
>>>>themselves
>>>>and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>>
>>> And with booze, and tobacco, and sugar, and...
>>
>>Yes but from a practical point of view there is probably not much that can
>>be
>>done except increase the price. Also, I have a sense that the
>>impact/individual is greater.
>
> On a purely pharmacological basis, the impact is certainly greater for
> alcohol and tobacco than for marijuana.
>

I have said elsewhere I would cut back on enforcement for marijuana, but I
suspect it has the same impact as tobacco because it is the smoke by products
that have the main impact.

Bill
> -- Roy L




Correspondent:: royls@telus.net
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 18:53:59 GMT

--------
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:49:02 GMT, "Bill" wrote:

> wrote in message news:422244a3.19856524@news.telus.net...
>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:47:30 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>>> wrote in message news:422190b6.18016444@news.telus.net...
>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a
>>>>>big
>>>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>>>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>>
>>>> Wrong.
>>>
>>>What is your basis for this claim?
>>
>> Knowledge of the facts. Part of what drives recruitment of new
>> addicts is the amount of profit to be made from them. Less drugs may
>> just mean higher prices, more profits, and thus more recruitment of
>> new addicts.
>
>But if you can't get the supply that does not work out.

Zero tolerance is unscientific nonsense.

>>>Also, if there were,
>>>say, 20 times more drugs available I would think there would be more
>>>consumers
>>>of them. Does that not make sense?
>>
>> There is some truth in this, but less than you think. Drug demand is
>> quite inelastic.
>
>I'm not sure of that. If there were quite a bit of supply around users would
>be tempted to get more and sell or give more to friends - who would continue
>the chain.

If the stuff was abundant, there'd be no point in tryihg to get others
hooked. How many people try to get others hooked on booze or tobacco?

>>>>>This is not from a
>>>>>moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill
>>>>>themselves
>>>>>and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>>>
>>>> And with booze, and tobacco, and sugar, and...
>>>
>>>Yes but from a practical point of view there is probably not much that can
>>>be
>>>done except increase the price. Also, I have a sense that the
>>>impact/individual is greater.
>>
>> On a purely pharmacological basis, the impact is certainly greater for
>> alcohol and tobacco than for marijuana.
>
>I have said elsewhere I would cut back on enforcement for marijuana, but I
>suspect it has the same impact as tobacco because it is the smoke by products
>that have the main impact.

Not true. Nicotine is a very powerful and addictive drug, unlike THC.
And people tend to smoke far less marijuana than tobacco.

-- Roy L


Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:38:49 GMT

--------

wrote in message news:422368fc.3570915@news.telus.net...
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:49:02 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>> wrote in message news:422244a3.19856524@news.telus.net...
>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:47:30 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>> wrote in message
>>>>news:422190b6.18016444@news.telus.net...
>>>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a
>>>>>>big
>>>>>>push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops.
>>>>>>Less
>>>>>>drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts.
>>>>>
>>>>> Wrong.
>>>>
>>>>What is your basis for this claim?
>>>
>>> Knowledge of the facts. Part of what drives recruitment of new
>>> addicts is the amount of profit to be made from them. Less drugs may
>>> just mean higher prices, more profits, and thus more recruitment of
>>> new addicts.
>>
>>But if you can't get the supply that does not work out.
>
> Zero tolerance is unscientific nonsense.
>
>>>>Also, if there were,
>>>>say, 20 times more drugs available I would think there would be more
>>>>consumers
>>>>of them. Does that not make sense?
>>>
>>> There is some truth in this, but less than you think. Drug demand is
>>> quite inelastic.
>>
>>I'm not sure of that. If there were quite a bit of supply around users would
>>be tempted to get more and sell or give more to friends - who would continue
>>the chain.
>
> If the stuff was abundant, there'd be no point in tryihg to get others
> hooked. How many people try to get others hooked on booze or tobacco?
>

It is not a goal to get people hooked. It is that if drugs were more available
they would be able to get more people hooked - mostly for social reasons.
>>>>>>This is not from a
>>>>>>moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill
>>>>>>themselves
>>>>>>and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>>>>>
>>>>> And with booze, and tobacco, and sugar, and...
>>>>
>>>>Yes but from a practical point of view there is probably not much that can
>>>>be
>>>>done except increase the price. Also, I have a sense that the
>>>>impact/individual is greater.
>>>
>>> On a purely pharmacological basis, the impact is certainly greater for
>>> alcohol and tobacco than for marijuana.
>>
>>I have said elsewhere I would cut back on enforcement for marijuana, but I
>>suspect it has the same impact as tobacco because it is the smoke by
>>products
>>that have the main impact.
>
> Not true. Nicotine is a very powerful and addictive drug, unlike THC.
> And people tend to smoke far less marijuana than tobacco.
>

That was not my point. I was suggesting that per puff they are probably about
equal in cancer causing effects becuse this mostly comes from combustion
byproducts.

Bill
> -- Roy L




Correspondent:: Curly Surmudgeon
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 12:17:07 -0800

--------
On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:38:49 +0000, Bill wrote:
---------------snip-------------
>> Not true. Nicotine is a very powerful and addictive drug, unlike THC.
>> And people tend to smoke far less marijuana than tobacco.
>>
>
> That was not my point. I was suggesting that per puff they are probably about
> equal in cancer causing effects becuse this mostlyWe hold these truths
> to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
> endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
> these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. comes from
> combustion byproducts.

I think you're drifting from the thread. Smoking pot is an individual
right, a liberty guaranteed by the Declaration of Liberty.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

-- Regards, Curly
------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.curlysurmudgeon.com http://mp3.dubyaspeak.com/internets.mp3
------------------------------------------------------------------------



Correspondent:: "robert j. kolker"
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 08:17:18 -0500

--------


Bill wrote:
>
> What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
> push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
> drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts. This is not from a
> moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill themselves
> and destroy their lives with this stuff.

If people want to kill themselves, then let them. As long as they do not
take others along. Suicide is as much a right as self defense.

Bob Kolker


Correspondent:: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey)
Date: 27 Feb 2005 09:20:31 -0500

--------
robert j. kolker wrote:
>Bill wrote:
>>
>> What I would do is, once we are out of Iraq and could afford it, make a big
>> push on intercepting hard drugs at the border - perhaps using troops. Less
>> drugs on the streets automatically implies less addicts. This is not from a
>> moral or crime point of view but rather that people really do kill themselves
>> and destroy their lives with this stuff.
>
>If people want to kill themselves, then let them. As long as they do not
>take others along. Suicide is as much a right as self defense.

Intercepting drugs at the border is why people in this area, who used to
smoke imported marijuana, are now using locally-manufactured methamphetamines.
This is not an improvement.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."


Correspondent:: Big Dog <>
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 20:13:49 -0600

--------
On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:

>
> wrote in message news:nqa221tuo4fmqq7ih670ejqbghradeeoto@4ax.com...
>> On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>>
>>>A Prison State, If Not a Police State
>>>
>>>by Paul Craig Roberts
>>>
>>>The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
>>>state.
>>>
>> Not necessarily a problem. The US crime rate is also falling, while
>> countries with fewer people in jail are seeing a rising crime rate.
>>
>Part of that is demographics - older people are less likely to comit crimes
>and as the population ages the rate of a particular crime per 100,000 people
>would drop.

Partly. Though would that explain the rising crime rate in the UK? I
had thought that they were getting older too?

[deleted]

Thanks,
Big Dog




Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Wed, 02 Mar 2005 03:05:36 GMT

--------

wrote in message news:098a219eajbefsj8726kit42l9d9d3j9lv@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>>
>> wrote in message
>>news:nqa221tuo4fmqq7ih670ejqbghradeeoto@4ax.com...
>>> On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>>>
>>>>A Prison State, If Not a Police State
>>>>
>>>>by Paul Craig Roberts
>>>>
>>>>The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
>>>>state.
>>>>
>>> Not necessarily a problem. The US crime rate is also falling, while
>>> countries with fewer people in jail are seeing a rising crime rate.
>>>
>>Part of that is demographics - older people are less likely to comit crimes
>>and as the population ages the rate of a particular crime per 100,000 people
>>would drop.
>
> Partly. Though would that explain the rising crime rate in the UK? I
> had thought that they were getting older too?
>
> [deleted]
>
> Thanks,
> Big Dog
>
>

I don't really know about the UK, but I suspect you are right - they are
ageing also. But I think their crime rate is still well below the US. As for
reasons their crime rate might be rising there are many possibilities one of
which is a convergence of cultures - i.e. whatever makes the crime rate higher
in the US is being exported.

Bill




Correspondent:: Big Dog <>
Date: Sat, 05 Mar 2005 19:33:46 -0600

--------
On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 03:05:36 GMT, "Bill" wrote:

>
> wrote in message news:098a219eajbefsj8726kit42l9d9d3j9lv@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> wrote in message
>>>news:nqa221tuo4fmqq7ih670ejqbghradeeoto@4ax.com...
>>>> On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>A Prison State, If Not a Police State
>>>>>
>>>>>by Paul Craig Roberts
>>>>>
>>>>>The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
>>>>>state.
>>>>>
>>>> Not necessarily a problem. The US crime rate is also falling, while
>>>> countries with fewer people in jail are seeing a rising crime rate.
>>>>
>>>Part of that is demographics - older people are less likely to comit crimes
>>>and as the population ages the rate of a particular crime per 100,000 people
>>>would drop.
>>
>> Partly. Though would that explain the rising crime rate in the UK? I
>> had thought that they were getting older too?
>>
>> [deleted]
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Big Dog
>>
>>
>
>I don't really know about the UK, but I suspect you are right - they are
>ageing also. But I think their crime rate is still well below the US.


You would be incorrect. The crime rate in the UK, Australia, Sweden
and most other industrialized nations is higher than the US. Despite
its high murder rate, the US ranks 21st in crime rate. Since the
murder rate consists primarily of drug dealers "interacting" with one
another, it will affect most people only if they deal drugs or use a
lot of them.

>As for
>reasons their crime rate might be rising there are many possibilities one of
>which is a convergence of cultures - i.e. whatever makes the crime rate higher
>in the US is being exported.
>
A June 2000 CBS News report proclaimed Great Britain `one of the most
violent urban societies in the Western world.` Declared Dan Rather:
`This summer, thousands of Americans will travel to Britain expecting
a civilized island free from crime and ugliness. . . (But now) the
U.K. has a crime problem . . . worse than ours.`" (David Kopel, Paul
Gallant, and Joanne Eisen, "Britain: From Bad to Worse," America`s
First Freedom, 3/01, p. 26.) Street crime increased 47% between 1999
and 2000 (John Steele, "Crime on streets of London doubles," London
Daily Telegraph, Feb. 29, 2000.) See also
www.2ndlawlib.org/journals/okslip.html,
www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment071800c.html, and
www.nraila.org/research/19990716-BillofRightsCivilRights-030.html.

Thanks,
Big Dog




Correspondent:: Tim Bronson
Date: Sat, 5 Mar 2005 20:49:53 -0500

--------
Big Dog <> wrote in message:
news:<63nk21h2roasrc8ktti2fd8g1rv8ii7tqd@4ax.com>
> You would be incorrect. The crime rate in the UK, Australia, Sweden
> and most other industrialized nations is higher than the US. Despite
> its high murder rate, the US ranks 21st in crime rate. Since the
> murder rate consists primarily of drug dealers "interacting" with one
> another, it will affect most people only if they deal drugs or use a
> lot of them.
>
Any official report that I've seen on the relative crime rates has
cautioned against comparisons because the methods of measurement and what
defines a specific crime could be different.


Correspondent:: Big Dog <>
Date: Sun, 06 Mar 2005 09:46:44 -0600

--------
On Sat, 5 Mar 2005 20:49:53 -0500, Tim Bronson
wrote:

> Big Dog <> wrote in message:
>news:<63nk21h2roasrc8ktti2fd8g1rv8ii7tqd@4ax.com>
>> You would be incorrect. The crime rate in the UK, Australia, Sweden
>> and most other industrialized nations is higher than the US. Despite
>> its high murder rate, the US ranks 21st in crime rate. Since the
>> murder rate consists primarily of drug dealers "interacting" with one
>> another, it will affect most people only if they deal drugs or use a
>> lot of them.
>>
>Any official report that I've seen on the relative crime rates has
>cautioned against comparisons because the methods of measurement and what
>defines a specific crime could be different.

You are certainly correct, in that caution is required. Comparisons
can still be made.

Thanks,
Big Dog




Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 06 Mar 2005 02:20:54 GMT

--------

wrote in message news:63nk21h2roasrc8ktti2fd8g1rv8ii7tqd@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 03:05:36 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
>>
>> wrote in message
>>news:098a219eajbefsj8726kit42l9d9d3j9lv@4ax.com...
>>> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:23:00 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> wrote in message
>>>>news:nqa221tuo4fmqq7ih670ejqbghradeeoto@4ax.com...
>>>>> On 24 Feb 2005 09:14:08 -0800, "Quirk" wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>A Prison State, If Not a Police State
>>>>>>
>>>>>>by Paul Craig Roberts
>>>>>>
>>>>>>The US has a unique distinction: It is the world's greatest prison
>>>>>>state.
>>>>>>
>>>>> Not necessarily a problem. The US crime rate is also falling, while
>>>>> countries with fewer people in jail are seeing a rising crime rate.
>>>>>
>>>>Part of that is demographics - older people are less likely to comit
>>>>crimes
>>>>and as the population ages the rate of a particular crime per 100,000
>>>>people
>>>>would drop.
>>>
>>> Partly. Though would that explain the rising crime rate in the UK? I
>>> had thought that they were getting older too?
>>>
>>> [deleted]
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Big Dog
>>>
>>>
>>
>>I don't really know about the UK, but I suspect you are right - they are
>>ageing also. But I think their crime rate is still well below the US.
>
>
> You would be incorrect. The crime rate in the UK, Australia, Sweden
> and most other industrialized nations is higher than the US. Despite
> its high murder rate, the US ranks 21st in crime rate. Since the
> murder rate consists primarily of drug dealers "interacting" with one
> another, it will affect most people only if they deal drugs or use a
> lot of them.
>
>>As for
>>reasons their crime rate might be rising there are many possibilities one of
>>which is a convergence of cultures - i.e. whatever makes the crime rate
>>higher
>>in the US is being exported.
>>
> A June 2000 CBS News report proclaimed Great Britain `one of the most
> violent urban societies in the Western world.` Declared Dan Rather:
> `This summer, thousands of Americans will travel to Britain expecting
> a civilized island free from crime and ugliness. . . (But now) the
> U.K. has a crime problem . . . worse than ours.`" (David Kopel, Paul
> Gallant, and Joanne Eisen, "Britain: From Bad to Worse," America`s
> First Freedom, 3/01, p. 26.) Street crime increased 47% between 1999
> and 2000 (John Steele, "Crime on streets of London doubles," London
> Daily Telegraph, Feb. 29, 2000.) See also
> www.2ndlawlib.org/journals/okslip.html,
> www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment071800c.html, and
> www.nraila.org/research/19990716-BillofRightsCivilRights-030.html.
>
> Thanks,
> Big Dog
>
>

OK. I suspect you are right. One of the reasons I think the US is doing well,
as I mentioned in my original post, is the adoption of the techniques Braton
developed in NYC.

Bill




Correspondent:: Big Dog <>
Date: Sun, 06 Mar 2005 09:45:51 -0600

--------
On Sun, 06 Mar 2005 02:20:54 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
> wrote in message news:63nk21h2roasrc8ktti2fd8g1rv8ii7tqd@4ax.com...
>> On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 03:05:36 GMT, "Bill" wrote:

[deleted]
>
>OK. I suspect you are right. One of the reasons I think the US is doing well,
>as I mentioned in my original post, is the adoption of the techniques Braton
>developed in NYC.

Who is Barton?

Thanks,
Big Dog




Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Sun, 06 Mar 2005 22:06:54 GMT

--------

wrote in message news:899m211mnmivqphjsnd9ai3vmaf9ukk4bt@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 06 Mar 2005 02:20:54 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>> wrote in message
>>news:63nk21h2roasrc8ktti2fd8g1rv8ii7tqd@4ax.com...
>>> On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 03:05:36 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
> [deleted]
>>
>>OK. I suspect you are right. One of the reasons I think the US is doing
>>well,
>>as I mentioned in my original post, is the adoption of the techniques Braton
>>developed in NYC.
>
> Who is Barton?
>
> Thanks,
> Big Dog
>
>

Braton is former Police Chief in NYC under Rudy now in LA. He developed
theories for crime reduction such as pinpointing hotspots and patterns with
computers, holding Captions more accountable, and focusing on small issues
such as squeegee men. It seemed to work very well and has been adopted
elsewhere.

Bill




Correspondent:: "Bill"
Date: Mon, 07 Mar 2005 08:05:54 GMT

--------

wrote in message news:899m211mnmivqphjsnd9ai3vmaf9ukk4bt@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 06 Mar 2005 02:20:54 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>>
>> wrote in message
>>news:63nk21h2roasrc8ktti2fd8g1rv8ii7tqd@4ax.com...
>>> On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 03:05:36 GMT, "Bill" wrote:
>
> [deleted]
>>
>>OK. I suspect you are right. One of the reasons I think the US is doing
>>well,
>>as I mentioned in my original post, is the adoption of the techniques Braton
>>developed in NYC.
>
> Who is Barton?
>
> Thanks,
> Big Dog
>
>

http://www.policetalk.com/bratton.html

Bill