[quote]NickViar wrote:
[quote]zecarlo wrote:
[quote]NickViar wrote:
What crime, other than possession, is associated with drug use? Any crime supposedly associated with drug use is due to them being illegal. It could also be related to the when X is outlawed, only outlaws will X phenomenon.[/quote]
Theft, for one. Crackheads need money so they have sticky fingers and they will steal anything even, in my case, a garbage can. Next question. [/quote]
The cost of drugs is greatly increased by the war on drugs. Those willing to steal are not deterred from drug use by laws. Not only that, a drug using thief can get his sentence reduced by snitching on those he purchased drugs from. The drug user also has a built-in excuse to society for his theft. He’s no longer a normal low-life, he’s now a victim of those nasty old drug dealers-they’re the problem, not him.
Let’s say I like to eat chocolate, but I know eating too much chocolate will make me too unhealthy to purchase more. What are the chances I’m going to eat so much I turn in to… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih8iuHKbcXk ?
Now, let’s say I do eat myself out of employability. Am I going to steal chocolate? Possibly, but I’m going to get myself killed or arrested pretty quickly. And since I’m stealing for no reason, my sentence is going to be harsh-I’m nothing but a low-life thief. But wait, the Lord of the Manor decides to outlaw chocolate. Now the Lord of the Manor can either hold me in jail forever, for the crime of possessing chocolate, or release me with a criminal record. This further decreases my employability and I am forced to continue stealing to support my habit. However, next time I’m caught stealing, I can snitch on the man who sold me the chocolate, as well as other chocolate users. The Lord of the Manor will then allow me to serve either no, or a very light sentence. I’m now a victim of my “addiction,” not a real criminal.
Before, there was a high risk-high reward relationship between my theft and chocolate use. Now, there is a low risk-high reward relationship between the two.
*I am aware that the man in the video would obviously not be worried about eating himself out of employability…but how many hims are there?[/quote]
I can’t believe I agree with Nic