OpenGov - Open Government Brainstorm

I'm solidly for the legal use and taxation of all drugs by anyone over 18. YET I VOTED AGAINST THIS IDEA. Why? Because there is no legal mechanism for a Federal initiative, which is what this is. It will have to be done one state at a time. Each state selling only to residents of at least six months.

The entire war on drugs was lost long ago. Now its simply another war on the poor and the non-white.

I believe there is federal legislation outlawing marijuana and other drugs. This law would have to be repealed to allow the states to adopt the laws the people determine are appropriate related to drugs. Congress can repeal current laws.

I agree the war on drugs was lost a long time ago. Current laws only make criminals rich, corrupts politicians and law enforcement, entices people especially the poor into dealing drugs to make money which often destroys their lives, drives people to commit crimes, forces government to spend an enormous amount of tax dollars on enforcement with little real affect, puts many people who are otherwise productive citizens in jail leaving children without a parent and a family without an income earner. These things cannot be good for our country.

Personally I think anyone who takes illegal drugs is using really bad judgment, and so are people who drink to excess or smoke. But everyone picks their own poison. As long as people's actions don't hurt others, then adults should be able to do what they want ... at their own risk...they can't blame others for the results of their actions.

"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."

Abraham Lincoln (1809-65), U.S. President.

Speech, 18 Dec. 1840, to Illinois House of Representatives