No Subject

[Guest guest]

In a private email from apple I mentioned calling into a radio talk show

about the legalization of drugs and made some of the following points, as

well as giving the url of aadeprogrammin.com and rational.org/recovery

Apple,

As to your not having given much thought to legalizing drugs:

Having been a libertarian who believes that government has no business

whatsoever controlling the private activities of consenting adults, I firmly

believe that legalization is the the only method to cure the madness of drug

related crime, prison overpopulation, guns, etc.

Just as 12 step actually makes the world a worse place for everyone, and

especially the users who think they are going to get help, so does the war on

drugs and the illegality of possession and use, which tempts the kids into

trying for themselves because they instinctively know that its all just

another big bs lie a la santaclause. If they have to scream so loud, then

there must be something good about it too. Yes, that first drink/toke/snort

might lead to abuse, but, for the biggest number of people it won't.

Prohibition also raises the prices artifically, which is the source of the

crime to get the money to do the drugs. No one robs a bank to buy a bottle of

cheap wine. America is full of human wreckage from drugs and alcohol, but at

least in Amsterdam, they know that if it becomes a problem, that it will be

solved only by the person who has the problem. Amsterdam does not have a

major crime problem, because any junkie can buy a fix as easy and as cheaply

as a bottle of md20-20.

The problem we have is not with drugs. The problem is the crime and violence

which is caused by the high price of drugs which is caused by the

prohibition. Cocaine and crack are not readily available in Amsterdam

because the " mafia " /drug cartels can't make any money there. Therefore, they

don't waste their stash where they can't make an exhorbitant profit.

Our war on drugs is a 2 prong farce. One prong is the attempt to keep the

drugs out and to imprison the dealers. The second is to gain control of the

population thru " God of your understanding " control. The legalization of

drugs is merely the flip side of your movement. The 2 are irrevocably

intertwined.

Think about my story, and you'll see. Gambling is legal. It was fun, it was

expensive but affordable, then it scared me and I was going to quit, but

instead I bought into the powerlessness of my newly discovered

" compulsive/addictive " personality, and suddenly I was unable to quit. I

continued to be a consumer. With drugs, we need to keep lots of people using

in order to keep the million jobs created by the war on drugs. A whole lot of

the jobs are in the treatment industry which is where so many AAers go in

order to get paid to be good 12 steppers. What would the dea, fbi, swat

teams, etc do for a living if people actually quit, or there were no

" criminals aka dealers " to chase? What could all those tax dollars be used

for if they could be put to productive use?

Regardless of whether it was drugs or alcohol or gambling or sex anything

else, The VAST VAST majority quit or at least tone it down when they

realize they have been destructive--unless they stumble into the pit of

powerlessness. Legalized drugs such as alcohol does not cause a major problem

for most people, and neither would legalizing cocaine or heroin or any other.

I partied with hundreds of others in my youth who eventually got jobs and

families and responsibilities. They have a beer with friends, They smoke a

joint now and then on special occasions. Or they're totally straight and

sober. The few who found powerlessness are the ones who spiraled into " human

wreckage " .

I think a society should say--and mean it-- that driving under the influence,

violence, robbery or any other mayhem will not be tolerated. Instead we spout

war on drugs, and fill the prisons with mandatory sentencing for the dealers,

and let the drunk drivers off again and again and again, (except to

mandate--will miracles never cease-- 12 step meetings!) We spend our police

manpower chasing dealers instead of theives and violent offenders. The

criminals walk because there is no room in the prison as it is full of

" dealers " who only deal because it is so lucrative to receive the exhorbitant

mark-ups from the criminal who robbed the little old lady to get his next

fix. This is known as as vicious cycle. It has to stop somewhere, and taking

the exhorbitant profit out of it is the only way.

Insanity is insanity, and all of it is very much tied together.

______________________

apple-- is the above response appropriate for the newsgroup, or would it be a

distracting side bar. I'll post it if you don't object. (yes, I know i can

post anything I want--but, I won't be rude if it's inappropriate)