YOUR COMMENTS

Why are so many people in NH misguided about the effects of Marijuana? It has a negative correlation with cancer. It may have three times more tar but its irreverent. marijuana has THC and has not been shown to be harmful. Tobacco and Marijuana are two completely different plants with different chemicals and effects. I suggest you read up on actual science and recent studies other than what you learned in health class in high school.

Legalizing and taxing marijuana would give us billions of dollars in revenue and cut spending on prison, enforcement so our police can deal with violent crimes. The punishment doesnt fit the crime.
- Dan, Manchester, NH

Put users away for a few years . Stiffer laws for them. The legalization crackpots are just burn out who will say or do any thing to justify their stupid behavior.
- gene, manchester

And the US gov't is spending way way too much money on trying eradicate marijuana. This old school thought on how bad marijuana effects are rediculous. You might as well make cigerattes (which is proven to kill people) and alcohol (which causes death to the users and others) illegal.

And your health policy which has brainwashed americans into thinking it's right makes people wait hours upon hours in line to be seen....get back to me on that. I call up, see my doctor in 30 minutes and get my prescription in minutes, and DON'T pay my half my paycheck to other people who don't work.

War on drugs? It's a fact that you can become physically and mentally addicted to marijuana. Not as well known, but it will occur. The withdrawals are like that of an opiate (heroin, percoset, etc.) Mood changes are seen, and so are energy levels. Not as severe as alcohol detox, but it's still there. And people who smoke extensively do have severe anxiety and depression issues. SEVERE.

Legalization? It will never happen. Just like ecstasy will be used on a case by case basis and never legalized. People abuse things too much, it's human nature. The few who can control are fine. Addicts will always exist, and people will always have a reason to find the worst in things. Morphine is one of the greatest gifts to the world, and the worst if put in the wrong hands.

It's all in the eye of the beholder as well.

(Keep Canada in Canada, I like my paycheck where it is...especially since welfare recepients take enough already without free healthcare)
- Ken, Manchester, NH

i believe this is a never ending battle! if you read the article it is just a never ending circle, yay good for you, you caught a drug dealer in our city. You know what you just did, you let in 3 more from out of state to take the locals place, and now there are hardcore dealers in town. These ppl are being forced to come here to sell their product because their local connection just got busted. this is why we are seeing an increase in violence... we are getting more and more ppl from out of state and other countries, who are the real deal. Its all very sad, but i feel they should just leave the local pot dealer alone. Seriously, have you ever heard of anyone robbing their mother for a joint? Or breaking into someones house at 4am because they just wanted to smoke a dube? No, you dont. I say leave the local pot dealers alone and concentrate on all the heroin and crack dealers in this city! AAA sounds good right? wrong , then if you take all the suppliers of those drugs away we will have complete anarchy on our hands. Have you ever seen a heroin addict or crack addict jones for their drug? its not pretty and they will do anything to anyone to get what they want. So, this is my point, it is a never ending circle of life! ppl of gov't come from nice houses with little picket fences who may have dealt with a drunk parent, but, truly they can never understand the world we live in, when they havent experienced it.
It seems like no one knows exactly where to start with the war on drugs, its all fruitless.... it is an endless, extremely expensive, WAR.
- Samantha, Hooksett

War on drugs has created a target maket for organized crime to be funded. Now using thier violent tactics to take out local suppliers. Move thier own people in, Finance the corrupt, damage our community. Get a grip, Feds need to step in.
- Kevin, Manchester

I have to agree with Marc on this one. Marijuana is bad for you, so therefore should be illegal. Without laws to protect us from our own choices where would we be as a society? Just this morning while having a cup of coffee with some bacon and eggs, I thought how thankful I am to be protected by a government who truly cares for my well being. While waiting in line for a triple whopper, king sized fries and coca cola, I lit up a cigarette and noticed a big ad for Jack Daniels. Great idea, while at the state liquor store, I can grab some lottery tickets. So, only one more stop to pick up some barely legal porn before heading home to the sit in my lazy boy, watch some TV with a bowl of ice cream and yell at the tenants. Hey, I heard that cell phones cause tumors...
- Ed, manchester

I'm a former Manchester resident. Legalization of drugs, even marijuana, would be an appallingly bad idea. To those who say no one ever “died from pot” have a look at this official report from the National Institutes of Health in Washington:

http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/marijuana.html

Marijuana use can quadruple your risk of a heart attack, and can double or even triple your risk of cancer. It is estimated that marijuana smoke is about three times more carcinogenic than tobacco.
Anyone out there want to tell us that no one ever dies of heart disease or cancer?

Marijuana use can cause brain damage, hormonal problems, birth defects in one’s children and its users are far more frequently ill and thus absent from work, imposing an economic burden on the rest of society.

It’s also a myth that all marijuana users are “mellow”. I used to have a landlord who dealt and used marijuana. I learned all this when one night he got stoned and shot at our neighbors with a rifle. He’s in prison now and I live somewhere else.
- Marc Carter, Kingston, ON

Some of the middle east countries have just about zero drug-related crimes and virtually no drug problem. Why? Their penalties for drug use or dealing are stiff - like life in prison. If we had that here, the problem would disappear.
- Brian, Farmington

People, nothing is going to change. It's the same bloated windbag’s writing policy in this country as it has been now for roughly 20 years. These windbags, who mostly all come from a waaaaay different time than today, live in little bubbles, where the real world has very little effect on them. People have en mass made it clear countless times that the overwhelming majority of Americans feel that Marijuana should be de-criminalized, yet no headway has been, is, or very likely will be made. But that's okay, people across this country, you just go ahead and keep electing the same people for the same positions, because you are lazy, and either don’t care, or are too ignorant to learn something...anything...about the people running for offices. Like with most serious issues facing this entire country, I say, look no further than the mirror.
- Craig D, Manchester

Wow! The debate continues as it has for many years in the past and many more to come!

As an individual who has been working in the substance use/abuse field for the past 22 years I have learned a lot not by reading books however working with people. I would first like to limit the subject to legalization of marijuana being one can get side tract very easily. In my 22 years I have heard from those use and have been arrested at all levels (from occasional users to heavy users) however, no one yet has presented to me a true logical reason for a great debate for legalization. They consistently say things like...if you smoke pot you don't get into fights cause your mellow (that’s because the brain is sedated and they can't get off the couch)...medical reasons (for the most all the active chemicals have already been extracted for medical purposes and my clients don’t have any such medical condition)...its natural (not when you have to cross breed it, use certain lighting and food to increase its active ingredients from 3% up to 20% to get the better “high” that’s work, not natural)...no one has died of an overdose, (does that not mean people don't die as a result of impairment problems such as walking into the traffic, falling downstairs etc)..this to name a few of the many things people have presented to debate...however, the one people miss every time WHAT IS IN IT.
Most people think it being “grown natural…from the earth” it is in its purest form, without added chemicals (including other toxicants) We make the assumption because we know who we bought it off of it is safe when are people going to get it drug dealers are not our friends, they don’t have our personal best interest in mind! NO illegal drugs get oversee by the FDA so we really do not know what chemicals we are taking in our body. If you have ever met anyone who gone to simply smoke a joint and end up hospitalized due to the embalming fluid or PCP that was added that they were not aware of you would quickly change your tune!

I try to focus in on the demand, (the user)…not the supplier (the dealer)!
- G.A., Hudson

Folks, economics is the key here. Milton Friedman the economist explains: legal business tends to make around 10% profit, 20% if doing really well, 30% for amazing performance. Contraband (illegal) business can make 2000% profit-hence the incentive to make a drug-selling gang, go to war with other gangs, and one can afford LOTS of guns to defend one's illegal business-leaving you and me in the crossfire. Al Capone anyone? The conservative economist says we should legalize drugs for this reason. This allows for society to focus on helping addicts out of their addiction medically, and gets rid of THE incentive to sell drugs-HUGE profit. Legal business-10% return, illegal business-2000% return. Prohibition just CREATES Al Capones, since he can now afford the guns too. Prohibition does not work-people still take drugs anyway-just like they went underground into speakeasies in the 30's. Amazing how little we've learned...
- Jake, Seattle

The so-called ¨War on Drugs¨ is just an invention to spend more money building more jails to place more potheads in there. Jails that are built need to be filled and what is easier than arresting and prosecuting people for drug use or distribution? And subsequently there are more jobs for new officers, and so on. It is a vicious cycle. Behind the drug business there are people with a lot of power for which is not convenient to legalize drugs.
- Marie Lowes, Bedford

Rich, you missed my point but then again I'm not surprised. I wasn't comparing the two crimes just the reationale for legalizing a crime because enforcement measures in some eyes hasn't been effective. Stop and think if we didn't have aggressive enforcement and we stopped enforcing drug laws 20 years ago where would we be.Legalization doesn't work. They have tried it in Amsterdam, Sweden, and even in Alaska. Guess what happened, after 20 years of de-criminalizing pot the people in Alaska voted to re-criminalize it because of rampant drug use and problems associated with it. For one, Heroin addiction in Alaska tripled, so much for not being a gateway drug. Let's learn from these past mistakes. The key is a three prong approach; treatment, education and yes, enforcement. Most of the people in jail on drug charges are not there for simple possession they are there for sales or possesion with intent. As far as being a victimless crime, you've obviously haven't had much contact with heroin or crack addicts. They and their families are the victims not to mention society, who is going to pay for all this treatment? They will tell you in some cases getting locked up saved their life. It was the only way they were able to get off the streets long enough to kick the addiction. If you don't believe it go to a NA meeting they are packed with people you claim are not victims. Finally, let's be honest do you want a nation of underachieving potheads. Think of the brightest most sucessful people you know. Now picture them smoking pot on a regular basis. I think you get the picture.
- TG, Goffstown,NH

Drugs being illegal or not has nothing to do with the problem he metntions. There are drug dealers all over the place downtown - anybody with common sense and a little street smarts can figure out which ones they are...The landlords need to stop renting to anybody with a pulse and a wad of $100's (ever hear of a "background check" Landlords???) and the police need to forget riding around on their pretty mountain bikes and keep up the busts. Once these dirtbags figure out they can't rent anywhere and the police are breathing down their neck, they'll pack up and move on. However so long as they have ample housing and little worry about arrest business will keep on booming, agree or disagree?
- M.A., Manchester

Hello,
I have read everyones comments and you all drive valid points. But my conern here is the fact that we have " pot heads" in jail doin more time than a rapist or a pedophile. When you smoke marijuana it doesn't make you go crazy and kill people. Alot of people i have spoken over the years have all had different opinions on the legalization of pot. Whats it do really.....??? You laugh, you get hungry, and you go to bed. Sounds like a heck of a time to me. Meanwhile we have heroin and crack dealers feeding 13 and 14 year old kids with the substance and ruining there lives and even ending up dead. This whole drug war is a crock of you know what and they are targeting a lot of marijuana users. Actual statistics show. NO ONE HAS DIED FROM POT. Alcohol and tobacco kill people everyday. How many kids say. " my father left and my family is not together because he is an alcoholic"....yet...how many familys are still together with there being 1 or even 2 parents that are marijana users. I myself smoke pot from time to time. I havent ruined my life. I have smoked it since i was 15. I have a beautiful family, a house, basically everything i always wanted. It never affected me in my work or personal relationships. Also the media is wasting a rediculous amount of money on these anti-pot commercials. A talking dog?...i know you have seen it. These commercials make pot seem like its some kind of lethal killer. Its not. You wont die.. I understand it is a gateway to other substances. But isnt alcohol in a way?. Is starts with a glass of wine, then a beer, then the next ya know your doing a funnel shot full of jim beam?....cmon people think about.. George Washington was a pot head. Look what he did.. think about it,.
- Eric, nashua

Law enforcement has been attempting to control the supply of illegal drugs for ever and the problem just gets worse. It has gotten to the point where law enfocerment is dependent on illegal drug use. Watch an episode of Cops. Almost every crime is drug related. How many cops would have to be laid off if drug use was decriminalized. How many prisons would have to be shut down, how many correctional officers layed off. I suppose that if a prison were the only industry in a small town, the ripple effect could cause the local ecomony to collapse.

What if the government took over the trade and altered the demand rather than attempting to control the supply. What if illegal drugs were decrimnalized like other dangerous drugs such as nicotine, caffeine and alcohol. If they were distributed properly and taxed at rates that still left them costing less than the black market. The government would know the whereabouts of every junkie in every city.

Having seen how the ditribution of hard drugs such as herion works from the inside (35 year ago), I can tell you with absolute certainy, that with the current situation, there is an incredible incentive for a drug addict to attract and hook other people. That is the most common and conveinent way to support a habit. Hook the ones you are close to and then supply them. Decriminalization would reverse that trend. Junkies wouldn't try to hook their freinds and loved ones if they could afford their habit. Instead, they would discourage people they care about from faling in the same hole they find themsleves in.
- Ken Stephens, Sacramento

Yes, the world is full of stupid people, but does making a law against stupidity make them less stupid? The point of the effort to decrim marijuana is that we spend way too much money on efforts that do nothing to solve the problems associated with drug use. Even with all the efforts of the past 30 years, including the "War on Drugs", drug use has continued at or above the same levels as it was in the 1970's. So if the current methods of enforcement are doing nothing to help the problem, how can we stand by while our children are in line to be the next casualties of the "Drug War"? Criminals profit from the fact that marijuana is illegal. Kids hide the use of marijuana from their parents because it is illegal; the existing laws make discussion past "Drugs are bad, don't do drugs" impossible. How can a parent say to their kid, "Son, I smoked pot when I was younger and it created some problems for me ..." without risking being "outed" as a criminal, maybe even a bad parent? A lot of Law Enforcement officers are coming around to the idea that we cant arrest our way out of a drug use problem. Education is the key. At the same time we need to keep our laws out of peoples personal lives, because stupid or not, everybody has the right to make the decisions about their own future.
- JD McGarr, Campton

It is really quite simple. tobacco kills but leagal, alcohol is legal but people get killed from drinking to much of it, humm that isn't bad though. Weed has nothing added to it. no one kills for more that's for sure. actually to worst thing i know of some one doing is driving to the store to get something to eat. look out every one!! some one on the road, on there way to get some munchies. and when you talk about people doing harder drugs maybe you should look at there mental health.
in the 20's drinking was not ok. maybe it should have stayed that way cause making marijuana the scape goat for alcohol. people are not violent with marijuana and for all those people who think there is going to be a drug war. that is such crap. drug wars happen over hard drugs. "pot heads" don't care about other "pot heads". the government wants to control this but think about if we stopped targeting marijuana and focused on the really bad things and maybe we can get more done. other people who do not think it should be legal just don't know what its like. try it, you might not be so miserable. some things are not for everyone. but to hold it against someone who finds something that makes them feel relaxed. who are you to take away that right that we all have. to live MY life. you may not like marijuana but i would love to bet you like to speed in your car, maybe something else but we are not holier than thou.
my opinion is: Free marijuana from criminalization and focus on something that actually kills people. "work smarter not harder" -Bruce Lee
- Michael Anderson, Manchester, NH

i've seen numerous well-written and sane articles about drug law reform. i would like to think that laws will change someday but don't hold your breath. there is lots and lots of money involved here, and i would bet my paycheck that the people at the top of the drug-profit pyramid are as well connected as lobbyists in any other industry.
- randy, new york city, ny

Hi all!

Putting drug addicts in jail will not solve anything. In Vancouver, Canada, there is a huge issue with drugs and it seems what we are doing is not working. The police used to focus all their attention on the addicts themselves but the addicts treat jail as a revolving door. Drugs affect people mentally, so no matter how long you incarcerate an addict for, you don't sovle the problem - you only prolong the problem.

If you think about it, if addicts are brave enough to steal and rob ordaniary citizens, do you think they fear jail? Treatment is the answer.

And the US gov't is spending way way too much money on trying eradicate marijuana. This old school thought on how bad marijuana effects are rediculous. You might as well make cigerattes (which is proven to kill people) and alcohol (which causes death to the users and others) illegal.
- Carl, Vancouver

Discussion of this editorial is also happening at digg.com. See what the rest of the world is saying about this.
- Fran Taylor, Concord, NH

If the general public knew how many people they work closely with on a everyday basis took drugs they would be very very surprised. People like you boss for example, or your dentist. I am not talking drugs like Heroin or Cocaine. Marijuana is the main plant that everyday people use that somehow people are so against. I am in agreement with Rehab when caught with hard drugs. Marijuana on the other hand should be legal and just doing that would take a huge population of people out of our prisons who shouldn't be locked up with murders and rapists.
- Dn, Burlington

How can anyone say that using drugs is a victimless crime? Anyone that's seen a newborn going through withdrawal because his mother couldn't/wouldn't stop using during pregnancy realizes this isn't the truth.

Imagine a world where perception altering drugs are legal and now put your life in the hands of someone under the influence such as a pilot, bus driver, soccer mom... any deaths associated with those people using drugs and possibly killing bystanders wouldn't be victims... they'd just be collateral damage of legalizing drugs
- Brandon, Cincinnati

John, Your make a false assumption that these opinions are for legalizing criminal behavior. The article is stating that the criminal behavior is an effect of the drug policy. I'm not sure you actually read more than the title. The government is not infallible. Just because something is law, doesn't deem it objectively criminal. And nobody associates legalization with getting soft on DWI's. That's a different subject that needs to be addressed seperately. There are plenty of civilized societies that have made progress with legalization. We need to educate and think for ourselves. Stop listening to the propaganda.
- Kyle, Ohio

By legalizing Marijuana (and other drugs) there will be unintended consequences. The cartel's who sell these drugs for a large profit will look for other ways to make easy money. Its possible this could include more home robberies and burglaries.
- Bob, Chicago

To Mike from Merrimack, what are you talking about? Your comment assumes that for some reason there will be triple the amount of homicides because people will begin to take drugs. I don't do Heroin not because its illegal, its because I don't want to die! Are you saying that without laws you don't have any common sense or judgment of your own?

Mike's comment highlights what the prohibitionist crowd believes, that somehow people base their beliefs or morality over what is law. That couldn't be further from the truth. When a government seeks to control what a person does to their own body and mind only bad things will come.
- Stergios, Fort Lee

Recently, the United Nations recognized
the country of Sweden for its success
in its war on drug abuse. Sweden,
instead of incarcaration for long periods
of time, spends its resources on
rehabilitation of the drug user, and
their programs have been successful.
Sweden has no tolerance for drug use
and their laws reflect this low tolerance.
For example, in Sweden, one is legally
intoxicated at 0.02% of B.A.C., which
is ONE FOURTH of the B.A.C. limit in
the United States! In addition, a first
time offense is up to six months in
prison/rehabilitation. It seems to me
that their will be always a certain
percentage of the population that will be
more susceptable to drug addiction
than the rest of society.
Perhaps if this country had the attitude
of the drug addict/user as someone
with a treatable disease, instead of a
criminal to be locked up for a long periods of time, we may be able to
start winning the war on drugs like
the country of Sweden has done.
- Paul, Bedford

To John Tolandopolous from Paistow, your statement of "What kind of civilized society simply legalizes criminal behavior as a means to control it." deems the act of taking illegal drugs as criminal. Do you honestly think the drugs that are classified as legal are somehow better than those which are illegal? How many drugs did you have today? What about tobacco, alcohol, and the hundreds of prescription drugs which are legal? These drugs are just as harmful, and even more harmful then marijuana but aren't considered criminal. How is putting a substance in to my own body considered criminal anyway?After all, it is my body not the government's. It is just as Mr. Simon wrote "We're talking about respecting people's private, personal choices, and only insofar as those choices do not harm others!"
- Laura Hubacz, Penacook

I'm glad to see this is becoming an issue people are actually discussing. I myself used to believe those who wished to end prohibition must want to use drugs, but after realizing most of those against prohibition were personally anti-drug, it really made me consider how serious an issue this was. Growing up with programs such as DARE, it seemed archaic to envision a world without drug restrictions. Exploring other political issues, one realizes the same arguments used for drug restrictions are used for gun restrictions, and the same arguments used to increase fighting terrorism are used to strike civil liberties. Once you realize what is sacrificed to support a certain issue, you will discover what you truly believe.
- Garret Ean, Concord

I agree with Chris from Manchester: "No victim-no crime." That is the concept that the folks who say that decriminalizing pot is tantamount to a reason for decriminalizing theft. With theft and other such crimes that prohibitionists love to cite, there *IS* a victim (got that, TG?)
- Rich K, Hudson, NH

John,

Your opinion would incarcerate 10% of the population. We already have the highest per capita incarceration rate in the world in this country, by far. In 1970, when "War on Drugs" was declared, there were fewer than 200,000 people incarcerated. Today there are 2.3 million. Let that sink in for a second...

Now listen: this is what happens when you arbitrarily criminalize a private lifestyle choice that harms no one. DUI is a whole different story.
- Matt Simon, Pembroke

Quoth Matt: "... These well-armed individuals ... occasionally have to battle each other over business disputes. ..."

Which "battle," it must be noted, they feel they must conduct violently on the streets, because they're arbitrarily precluded from seeking nonviolent redress in the courts. "Prohibition-related," not "drug-related" violence. Happened the same way in the '20s, just with a different substance.

I agree, Mike, that paternalistic government has almost completely weened us of the concept of personal choice and personal responsibility. But because we're slaves now, we must remain slaves?

Oh, and last I checked, "Ad Hominem Pete" (nice degeneration, there -- so much easier than developing a cogent opposing argument, eh?), "domestic abuse, robberies, murder, burglaries and thefts," etc., were already illegal, regardless of what might be argued to have precipitated them, selectively legal or not. Or do you assert that these actual crimes against others don't occur or are fine if one is instead drunk, or not even on anything? What's the difference, other than one (the one, conveniently enough, that you personally disapprove, but why should that concern anyone else in a free society) is arbitrarily illegal? Is the violence and wasted money and effort /directly/ connected with prohibition, itself, even remotely worth the trade? Or don't you want to think about that?

"Drugs" are already legal, my friend, and prohibition empirically doesn't work. You would appear less on the "lunatic fringe" if you'd accept those inescapable facts, and the fundamentally arbitrary and anti-liberty /nature/ of selective prohibition, and move on from there.
- Bill, Weare

Some folks have a hard time grasping the concept of

NO VICTIM,
NO CRIME

It's a shame, really.
- Chris, Manchester

The same rationale can be used against any crime. If it wasn't against the law to steal we wouldn't have a problem with thefts. Just because enforcement measures haven't solved the problem doesn't mean we give up and make that activity legal. Before you throw your support into the legalization of drugs without knowing what the results are going to be, take a look at where drugs are legal for most respects, Amsterdam. The drug problem there didn't go away by de-criminalizing it.. in fact it made the drug problems worse. Amsterdam is one of the dirtiest, most crime-ridden cities in Europe. Furthermore, if drugs were legalized do you think the dealers are going to become pillars of the community with 9-5 jobs. They will just find some other illegal activity that would fund their nefarious activities.
- TG, Goffstown,NH

To Mike (also no last name) from Merrimack: Your projection of what would happen if drugs were suddenly legalized ignores two important points: #1, thousands of people are dying right now due to our current drug policy, and this will continue indefinitely for the foreseeable future. Your scenario only talks of what would happen "for the first few years." Then what? Things would calm down as people adjusted, and the crime and deaths surrounding drugs would plummet. And #2, the scenario you describe is exactly why legalization activists advocate an incremental approach, in order to prevent the sort of sudden shock to the system you describe.
- Jeremy J. Olson, Manchester

Excellent article, one would hope we will see the end of marijuana prohibition in my life time...let us focus on the real drugs, the crack, the meth, the heroin, lets make room for the real violent offenders as opposed to putting people away for life for a plant
- j, manchester

Mike, did you read the article before making the "restaurants and bars" comment? Where did you get the idea that public use would ever be legalized and tolerated? We're talking about respecting people's private, personal choices, and only insofar as those choices do not harm others!
- Matt Simon, Pembroke

What kind of civilized society simply legalizes criminal behavior as a means to control it. According to that logic, we should also legalize driving while intoxicated since despite countless law changes and countless dollars spent in education, it remains the MOST litigated offense in the country with hardly any (if any at all) decline in the number of arrests. Once we legalize that, we can move on to the next topic. Take your pick, complain that the problem is out of control with no means of stopping it, then legalize it. Great idea! If you want to see results, you need to cut off the demand (ie: the customers), too much effort is spent on getting the dealers (as important as that is) if you take away the customers, there will be no need for the dealers. How do we do that, get a judge to actually impose a helf-way decent penalty. I look forward to reading your criticism of my opinion.
- John Tolandopoulous, Plaistow

To Pete (no last name) from Keene,

The "lunatic fringe" you refer to is exactly what the prohibitionists of the 20s and 30s thought of people who wanted alcohol relegalized. Do you believe that ending alcohol prohibition was in error?

1914 marked the creation of our first drug law due to concerns about %1.4 of our population using drugs. After a trillion dollars spent, countless lives ruined, and propping up violent drug gangs do you know what percentage of Americans today use drugs?

%1.4 percent.

The same man who unearthed the E=MC2 formula coined an expression. "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result."

Our drug policy is insane.
- Bradley Jardis, Hooksett, NH

While I agree that drug legalization may (in time) lead to a better society, i believe it's just too late for that now. People are invariably stupid, for lack of a better word. If we just did away with all kinds of drug laws today and voted yes for crack and meth in restaurants and bars, we'd be too liberated and unrestrained. I can guarentee you that for the first few years, murders, rapes, assaults and overdose deaths would at least triple, if not more. And in the end, is the freedom to get high whenever you want really worth the lives of a couple thousand people? Maybe even a million? Would you seriously kill a thousand people just to toke up in public? I know what everyone's saying, civil liberties good, tyrannical oppression bad, I hear that, but unfortunately we've gotten ourselves into this situation and all we can do is go from here.
- Mike, Merrimack

The lunatic fringe will be out with this editorial comment. If only we would legalize drugs, all of our problems will go away, forever and we'll have more tax revenue coming in forever! No more domestic abuse, no more robberies, no more gangs, no more murder, (marijuana is the non-violent drug though), no more burglaries and thefts, no more people not showing up for work because of a hangover. Doctors with the prescription pad will have the answer.

Look at how well drug legalization is working in The Netherlands.
- Pete, Keene

Thank you, Mr. Simon! Alcohol abuse is bad; alcohol prohibition under the Volstead Act created far more problems than alcohol did. Drug abuse is bad, but the consequences aren't nearly as bad as the "War On (some) Drugs", which produces wholesale violations of our civil liberties. I do not use any illegal drugs, but I find it ridiculous that one natural plant (tobacco) is subsidized by the government, while another (cannabis) is outlawed. The most dangerous drug in the country, in terms of deaths, is alcohol, but all the states regulate and tax alcohol, and NH is a distributor! Please end the War On Freedom, which masquerades as the War On (some) Drugs!
- Kevin, Lancaster