LancasterOnline.com:News:Drug task force 'barely making' it

Drug task force 'barely making' it

District attorney seeking to reverse declining municipal funding for program, begun here in 1993.

Feb 02, 2009 10:04 EST

Lancaster

By JACK BRUBAKER, Staff Writer

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QUOTE (RonHarper @ Feb 14 2009, 10:46 AM)

Well there's clearly no simplistic answers in my mind.

I know that if someone is dealing drugs on my street corner, it doesn't matter to me if he's working for the drug task force or not! Either way, attracting and soliciting drugs is going down. The fact that it's a 'righteous' selling of drugs doesn't matter! Can you agree on that one GP?

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As a result of the 'war on drugs' and the criminalization of relative benign drugs such as pot, black market businessmen - yes they are businessmen - make decisions that effect the price and availability of drugs.

For instance, if you are going to risk jail time - shouldn't you get the most $'s for your the crime you are committing? Compare the bulkiness of pot and say cocaine. If you have so much room to smuggle drugs into the country, would you smuggle pot or the coke? Once you get the product here - that's the product you are going push! While every junkie has their 'favorite' high, they will opt to use whatever is available. Remember that the high cost of drugs is a result of the marketplace dynamics which drives the costs up. Because of the risk and the resulting limited supply the costs of drugs is elevated compared to what they would cost if they were delivering to the market without interference from government.

The high costs of drugs means junkies need more money. GP said early that a high, high percent of burglaries were from junkies looking to get money to get high on. Factor in the extra policing, the courts, the sheriff-deputies, the prison, the parole officers and we have ZERO idea of just what the costs of fighting this war.

I don't do illegal drugs. I like to get high on life! I also don't drink alcohol. In my mind there is ZERO difference between pot and alcohol except that booze is more dangerous! If you are going to outlaw one, that you should outlaw the other.

I have more to say but would be interested in hearing others opinions and thoughts.

rh

Legalizing pot would do one thing and one thing only - provide tax revenue to the government.

If you seriously think that any legalization effort would go forward without strict government controls you have your head in the clouds. So high taxes and close regulation means that not everyone wanting pot would be able to get it legally. We would still have underage users, straw purchasers and a continued black market , demanding enforcement. Others - presumably marijuana users - have posted about just how easy it is to grow the stuff. So do you really think that people will just stop growing their own free weed in favor of buying it from the state store? Come on! There would still be a massive drug enforcement effort simply to ensure the legalized use of marijuana, just like there is right now with alcohol. The major difference being that it is much harder to distill your own alcohol.

avgwhiteguy

This thread is about certain municipalities not paying there fair share of the costs of drug enforcement. Now if there is a better way of enforcing the drug law, I don't know it. So for the time being, till some better way of enforcing the drugs laws is found, shouldn't each municipality pay there fair share. I don't think this is asking too much.
I know one thing for sure and that is that most people that have an addiction problem, today, are addicted to both alcohol and drugs. In talking to most drug addicts, they say they started on weed. Now I am no doctor so I don't know if weed leads to other drugs or not. However common sense tells me that if most drug addicts started with weed and then proceeded to use other drugs that there might be a connection between weed and stronger drugs. Whether weed should be legalized or not I will leave up to the people that have more knowledge on the subject. However, RH, I think you will agree that weed can mess up a persons mind and cause lose of common sense and coordination. Therefore it would be wise to have some way to test these people if they are out driving a car besides a blood test. (Like a breathalyzer of some type). Otherwise it is going to cost the taxpayers a lot of money. Course you could always just let them drive around killing people with their vehicles.

groundpounder

QUOTE (avgwhiteguy @ Feb 14 2009, 01:30 PM)

Legalizing pot would do one thing and one thing only - provide tax revenue to the government.

I think that's pretty significant. After all, I'd rather the govenment get the bucks than the underworld - wouldn't you?

QUOTE (avgwhiteguy @ Feb 14 2009, 01:30 PM)

So high taxes and close regulation means that not everyone wanting pot would be able to get it legally.

As it should be right?

QUOTE (avgwhiteguy @ Feb 14 2009, 01:30 PM)

We would still have underage users, straw purchasers and a continued black market , demanding enforcement.

So the millions of Americans who could legally purchase pot would stop buying it illegally.The availability of pot would diminish other drugs, booze and cigarettes (you are aware that the booze and cig industries have long battled against such legalization because studies demonstrate that their products would NOT be purchased as much?)Just like we do with booze - underage kids are protected because the dealers of pot are now licensed and regulated just like booze. Much easier to target and focus resources.

QUOTE (avgwhiteguy @ Feb 14 2009, 01:30 PM)

Come on! There would still be a massive drug enforcement effort simply to ensure the legalized use of marijuana, just like there is right now with alcohol. The major difference being that it is much harder to distill your own alcohol.

Aren't you allowed to brew your own now? I thought it was just the selling of it that's regulated? I am not a drinker so I really don't know much about that end.

Since 3/4 million people have been arrested and some jailed for pot, all of that money will NOT be spent on courts and jails and could be directed to the hard stuff. The millions and millions in Pennsylvania could raise from the tax on pot could then be used for paying for drug addiction treatment just like with booze.

As I said - either outlaw booze and pot or legalize both. Booze is far worse of a drug and will kill you while pot is relatively benign.

rh

PS thank you very much for your intelligent response!

RonHarper

QUOTE (groundpounder @ Feb 14 2009, 02:51 PM)

I know one thing for sure and that is that most people that have an addiction problem, today, are addicted to both alcohol and drugs. In talking to most drug addicts, they say they started on weed. Now I am no doctor so I don't know if weed leads to other drugs or not. However common sense tells me that if most drug addicts started with weed and then proceeded to use other drugs that there might be a connection between weed and stronger drugs.

These laws came about when alchohol prohibition created a huge rise in crime and as in all the governments "wars" failed. (war on poverty, war on crime, etc.etc.) They had to make something else illegal and create so called criminals. As Harry Browne once said, the politicians who dream up these laws call marijuana a 'gateway' drug that leads to harder drugs. These same politicians also admit they smoked it in their youth. So by their own definition they are a bunch of crackheads and we should not listen to them. lol If the government is so concerned about punishing folks to stop their behavior then why is prison one of the easiest places around to get drugs?
From Harry's book....
The crusade against victimless crimes reaches the apex of absurdity in the War on Drugs. It is the quintessential example that government doesn’t work. Government has failed completely to stop people from taking drugs. It can’t stop drugs from coming into the country. It can’t even stop drugs from getting into its own prisons. And yet the politicians keep telling us that the next freedom taken from us will be the price that finally pays off in getting drugs off the streets and away from our children. It ought to be obvious by now that this War will never be won. Government can’t stop the supply, it can’t reduce the demand, and its strong-arm tactics don’t work. We have paid for this fruitless crusade in billions of tax dollars, the corruption of police forces, the loss of civil liberties, soaring crime rates, and gang warfare. The War has served only to undermine our protections against reckless law enforcement-and to make life easier for violent criminals.

Truth is a casualty in the War on Drugs. Because they’re in a losing battle, the Drug Warriors grow progressively more hysterical in trying to justify their activities. It has become impossible to discuss calmly any issue concerning drugs.

Lost in the hysteria are a few simple facts: No one has ever been known to die from smoking marijuana No scientific study has indicated that smoking marijuana leads inevitably to heavier drugs More people use mind-altering stimulants, sedatives, tranquilizers, or analgesics than use cocaine or crack Fewer people die from illegal drugs than die from accidental poisoning by legal drugs and medicines.Much of the misery coming from illegal drugs occurs because they are illegal. People sometimes die or become sick from poorly formulated illegal drugs or from overdoses of them, because the law prevents reputable companies from providing a safe product in standard doses.

blah blah

Like I said, Ron & Blah, I am no doctor. All I know is what the numerous people that use hard drugs are telling me, they started out with pot. All well and good if you want to get things changed. However until that time comes, shouldn't all the municipalites pay to support the DTF. Your twp does, why shouldn't the others? They say they don't get the coverage. Well, the DTF goes were the drug dealers and the complaints take them.

groundpounder

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