Are we even talking about this??

Wow. I usually don't post twice in one day (who has the time?), but I'm letting LB play with (meaning: tear apart) my magazines until I voice my opinion on this matter.

I just read an article on MSN about the possibility of legalizing drugs. The author weighs the pros and cons to such an idea and what it could mean for Americans.

Seriously??? Is this really being considered??? Who in their right mind would think legalizing drugs is a good idea?

The pros are what scare me the most. Just to catch you up, here's what they are (and my opinions on them):

1. *Savings on drug-related law enforcement.* Yup. We'd save alright, but with all the crazy people hyped up on methamphetamine, we'll need just as much law enforcement to keep them from stealing, killing, breaking and entering, etc.

2. *Increased productivity as fewer people were murdered, drug offenders were freed to find work, and those stripped of their criminal record found it easier to get jobs.* Okay, maybe I'm just a little cynical, but do we REALLY expect these people, who managed to get themselves thrown in the jail in the first place, to go out and find worthwhile jobs and turn their lives around overnight??

3. *Tax gains.* I suppose that would be the ONLY benefit.

4. *A new legal drug industry would create jobs, farm crops, retail outlets and a tiny notch up in gross domestic product as the black market money turned clean.* Sure, it would, but people would be stealing from their workplace and farms just to get a fix. Really, addicts would do anything to get their fix, and getting it for free is better than paying The Man, who has kept them down and forced them to live the life they now have. (Please pick up on my sarcasm)

Jeffrey Miron, a professor at Harvard University, even goes so far as to say this: 'As for legalizing all drugs, Harvard's Miron argues that the increase in drug abuse would likely be small. "Millions of people don't smoke cigarettes. The same is true of alcohol . . . because they know that too much of it is not good for you," he says. People who are prone to abuse drugs are probably already abusing them, he adds.'

Is he serious?? He really thinks drug abuse would not increase? What about the inevitable glamourization of drugs by the media. Does he think that won't affect kids at all? And what about all those college kids that just want to try it "just one time". I think he's completely forgetting about the young, impressionable population that are more likely to be sucked into drugs than anyone else.

Now I know the article was aiming toward marijuana, since legalizing all drugs is just outrageous. But still, I got the feeling that legalizing it would be okay, since it appears that everyone had tried it at least once. I haven't. My sister hasn't. I don't think my parents have. And I think it's a little presumputous to imply that we would understand. "Oh, that's okay if he does a shoddy job at work today- he was high all weekend."

No, it's not okay. I've seen people who were okay with just one joint, but I've seen people more who do it multiple times a day, bordering on addicted. So how can that be okay?

Plus, I don't want to be the responsible one who has to take care of these people when they lose their jobs, their houses, their families, and need my tax money to support them.

No, I'm tired of being the responsible one all the time. If it's legalized, then I can't see myself living here any more. I just can't support something like that.