

Drug dealers are nice people - joejohnson
http://www.vice.com/read/harry-s-freedom-foxhole-drug-dealers-are-nice-people

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learc83
From the polls I've seen, we've passed the point were the majority believe, at
least marijuana, should be legalized. However, it's going to take a while to
overcome the legislative inertia.

The war on drugs should be a lesson to everyone in limited government. This is
a great example of what happens when we massage the constitution, so that
"interstate commerce" includes me growing weed in my basement.

~~~
joejohnson
Also, cocaine is a lot further from being decriminalized. However, it is still
ridiculous someone could face up to 40 years in prison for non-violent crimes.
The number one reason for incarceration in the US is drug-related offenses.

From wikipedia
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_Sta...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States)):

    
    
      - 1 in 100 adult Americans is in prison (the other 99% are effectively paying for that)
    
      - only 7.9% of inmates are for violent crimes

~~~
learc83
Yes, I'm for legalizing all drugs.

Our incarceration rates are insane. My local sheriffs office is building a
brand new 115 million dollar jail to house 1500 inmates.

Our county only has about 130,000 people. Are there really 1,500 people out of
130,000 that are so dangerous they need to stay locked up to protect everyone
else.

~~~
2muchcoffeeman
I fail to see why people bring this up as an argument to legalize drugs. This
is really only an argument to change the penalty so you don't go to jail.

~~~
joejohnson
Even if drug offenses held a less-serious punishment, there would still be an
immensely wasteful amount of money spent trying to find and apprehend drug
criminals. This whole underground market is thriving; instead of collecting
tax revenue, we are using taxpayer money to enact an impossible ban.

------
alberich
So, this guy buys up cocaine from some (probably highly violent) drug
producers from some poor country, but as he didn't kill anyone himself he is a
nice guy?

Discussing drug legalization is one thing, but many people die every year by
the hands of the same guys that deliver the drugs to those nice guys...

Come on... He earned good legal money as a player and had business with those
ruthless drug producers, even if it through some mediators.

If you fuel violence with your money, you are not a nice guy, even if there is
not any actual blood in your hands.

~~~
learc83
He's not the one fueling violence. Our government's policies are fueling the
violence, so by that definition none of us are "nice guys."

~~~
alberich
Well, this kind of relative thinking brings us to another question that has
not much to do with this topic.

Should laws be followed or not? Is it morally valid to do ilegal stuff because
one believes that the law is wrong?

I'm adept of respecting law and trying to change it through our
representatives.

Now if you fight the government, the government will fight back, and innocent
people get killed in the process (by both sides).

So the question "are we all bad guys?" depends very much on what you believe
that is morally correct.

I appologise for being so absolutist, when moral is the topic nothing is
universal.

ps. and I know, I'm sorry, my english skills suck :)

~~~
learc83
> Is it morally valid to do ilegal stuff because one believes that the law is
> wrong?

I say yes with absolute conviction. If the law is immoral, it is immoral to
follow it.

This is an extreme example, but it supports my position--It was illegal to
harbor Jews during the Nazi's reign. If, in Germany in 1939, you turned in
your neighbor for harboring Jews, you were most definitely acting immorally,
and your lawbreaking neighbor was acting morally.

