Rocker and Sage

The Quintessential Optimist and the Quintessential Cynic - Working Together to Build a Better America.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Legalizing Freedom

Anyone who knows me knows knows that I don't think that drugs should be illegal.I'm also not saying that I want to take them,because I don't. My premise is that what you do with your body is your own business,and not the state's or your neighbor's.That being said let us proceed. The primary reason for imprisonment in the United States is for the violation of drug laws.Therefore, the easiest, and quickest way to empty out the prisons of America,and elimininate the burden that we all have to pay to maintain them is to make all drugs legal.If this were to be done the price of drugs would plunge so far that you would'nt have to steal to buy a "dime" of weed any more than you have to rob to buy a six pack of beer.
Speaking of prisons, I have some close friends that work in some of the prisons in the state of NJ, which is where I live. They have shared some of their "war stories" with me. It seems that prisons are very violent places.
I would not want to be in one either as a guard,or an inmate. When I did a little research I quickly discovered that this is a national problem. As I pondered the situation,it suddenly dawned on me what should be done about it.Legalize all drugs,let all of those who are in prison smoke as much pot as they want,in fact,encourage them by providing the stuff for them! All day, hell, twenty years, but do the time calmly. What do we care? Let them grow it in their cells. They might even get a degree in horticulture!
What would a prison full of potheads be like? As many studies have shown,
when a guy is about to rob a bank, shoot somebody, or steal a car the drug of choice is always alcohol(a "legal" drug)not marijuana. One puff of weed and all of the plans literally go up in smoke! In another life, I used to play music for a living. Many of my associates were stoners. It came with the territory. Unfortunately, I must report that most of them were the better for it.The biggest problem was to get them back inside after our breaks to play the next set. All they wanted to do was socialize! Inmates will be sitting around gabbing,and zoning-moving slowly,and talking slowly. Many will want to just sleep. The downside? The only thing that I can think of is that prisoners would eat more and gain weight.So what! The food bill would be going up on far fewer inmates. As far as the problems with violence are concerned,people that smoke pot are not violent. My friends would be very happy to come to work every day to be with nice,slow inmates afflicted with logorrhea. Now I know that some of you are thinking that people will be committing crimes just to go to jail for free weed. I doubt it seriously, except in the case of some hard core prisoners who have already been in so long that they are capable of nothing other than institutionalized living. In this case,the libertarian way of thinking is not only the most morally responsible, it is also the most economically, and socially sound approach to solving this most vexing problem. So, the answer is to decriminalize drugs to make plenty of room for the few who think that a nice way to spend what remains of their three score and ten is found in a six by eight concrete condo.You think I'm joking? irresponsible? insane? I don't think so! Legalize ALL drugs,not just some of them, and we will quickly empty our overcrowded,and violent prisons making them safer,and saner for both inmates and guards. The revolution will not be televised.