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Yep. And because of that, there is no quality control at all - and money means assholes will cut it with anything. There was a Brighton dealer (IIRC) back at the tail end of the 90's who was cutting his stuff with drain / toilet cleaner. People were losing arms after injecting it ...
That's why even though I don't use, I do support legalisation. Tax it, enforce the quality like any other consumer product, and move it from a black market to the forefront. Save a fortune in police activity, reduce organised crime, reduce the drain on hospitals. And the government turns a profit!
But ... there is too much money to be made for that to happen. 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Sometimes it's unexpectedly potent rather than being cut with dangerous things. Just as nasty.
I don't use it either but favour legalization. (Canadian is a mixture of British and American!)
The government could indeed make a "profit", just like highwaymen. The fools would likely set the taxes so high that organized crime would continue. Cigarettes are routinely smuggled into NYC because of the taxes on them, and there's still black-market marijuana in Canada, despite it having been legalized. I also recall hearing, many years ago, of dozens of tobacco-related murders in Germany, the result of criminals fighting for control of the black market.
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We should make them legal then, could save lives! 
Unless you're trying to say they are illegal mostly because they kill 
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Making them legal would definitely save lives. They don't kill any worse than alcohol or tobacco, often less so. They were legal until about 100 years ago and were made illegal (in the US) even without a constitutional amendment, which curiously was required for Prohibition (alcohol). Prohibition was a failure, creating black markets, financing organized crime, killing people with rotgut alcohol, creating disrespect for the law, and corrupting law enforcement. All the things that now happen with the insane War on Drugs. Not to mention drive-by shootings between gangs and so many non-violent users whose lives are ruined by time in prison.
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To add to your argument as an interesting parallel:
Prohibition gave birth to organized crime in the US - city/state scale, typically
Drug prohibition gave rise to the drug lords with private armies that are national and international in scope.
Both, because it was illegal and thus lucrative.
If you ever wanted to get rid of the drug lords, just legalize the drugs. Their days would be numbered and not require too many significant digits.
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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There are so many arguments for legalization that it's easy to forget some of them. Others are SWAT teams raiding the wrong place, resulting in innocent people getting killed, and the abuse of asset forfeiture laws. It's the drug warriors, not users, who belong in prison.
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Greg Utas wrote: It's the drug warriors, not users, who belong in prison.
That type of logic can be used for any sort of "criminal activity" one wishes to engage in (or has associates who do) - basically, an over-reaction.
Your quote divides the domain into two groups when one can easily add the third essentially link in the chain of violence: the smugglers/dealers/producers. They make the entire scenario into a violent one as they're the ones fighting over the money and power.
Legalization is a good goal but do remember that the real crime is really done by criminals, not nice people. Both the enforcers and the users are, in a way, the victims here: the users because they're ![Elephant | [mastadon]](https://codeproject.freetls.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/elephant.gif) ed by everyone and the enforcers because they never know if that kid with a join has another 30 lids on him to sell and a gun to back it up.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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I should have clarified that by drug warriors, I meant legislators. The DEA and the like are just minions following orders, although that didn't always hold up as an excuse after WW2. I left out producers and sellers because they're culpable to the extent that they engage in violence or sell adulterated products.
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I thought the term was generally "cause and effect", not "effect and cause"..
The drugs are mostly illegal because they kill sometimes..
Although it was fun imagining an anthropomorphised drug saying to his friends "Well that's it I tells ya. I ain't got no damn choice. I'm through... They've outlawed me, so it be the killin' life fer me now"
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Whether drugs are legal is entirely political because, unadulterated, most of the illegal ones aren't as harmful as alcohol or tobacco. Remember Reefer Madness? Some illegal ones are addictive, but so are legal ones.
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I've got a kilo of coffee beans hidden away that I think she doesn't know about.
When it runs out in the morning, tackling the Canadian Rockies in nothing more than a pair of undies starts looking like the easier option.
Sure, she drinks it, but that stash is for me! (and a bonus morning of sanity)
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What do you need the Rockies for? Braving grizzly bears is nothing compared to drop bears!
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One Keith Richards[^] would beg to differ. 
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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Yes, it's true, "Drugs kill".
So do peanuts!
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Rehashing a bit what everyone's been telling you:
Backyard swimming pools kill - take care, or maybe outlaw them?
And cars kill so many -
Actually, back in the time when Ronald Reagan was president and he started up his war on drugs (actually a distraction for other domestic problems), there were about 400,000 deaths per year from cigarettes/tobacco, about 50,000 death/yr from drunk driving, and about 4,000 deaths/year directly attributable to the illegal drug use. Where would you put your best efforts?
Only the tip of an iceberg that relies on anti-drug brainwashing as a way to create distractions from more compelling problems - particularly if there's big money involved.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Bill Gates died, and went up to Heaven, where Saint Peter showed him to his house; a beautiful 20 room house, with grounds and a tennis court. Bill Gates was pleased, and spent many months enjoying the amenities of Heaven.
One day, he was enjoying one of Heaven's many fine parks, when he ran into a man dressed in a fine tailored suit.
"That is a nice suit, my friend," said Gates. "Where did you get it?"
"Actually," the man replied, "I was given a hundred of these when I got here. I've been treated really well. I got a mansion on a hill overlooking a beautiful lake, with a huge five-hundred acre estate, a golf course, and three Rolls Royces."
"Were you a Pope, or a doctor healing the sick?" asked Gates.
"No," said his new friend, "Actually, I was the Captain of the Titanic."
Hearing this made Gates so angry that he immediately stalked off to find St. Peter.
Cornering Peter, he told him about the man he had just met, saying, "How could you give me a paltry little house, while you're showering new cars, a mansion, and fine suits on the Captain of the Titanic? I invented the Windows operating system! Why does he deserve better?"
"Yes, but we use Windows," replied Peter, "and the Titanic only crashed once."
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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HEAR! HEAR!
"If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going"
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Dear oh dear 
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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Does a house wear address?
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I will address that query by housing it in the affirmative.
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Just until the mail armor delivers.
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I war-rent that the crabby ones have a side-walk[^].
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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