United States: Should we end the war on Drugs?

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barneystinson69 said:

mornelithe said:

In fact, it could do the exact opposite, as it's clearly started doing in Washington and Colorado.  The potential tax windfall could fund education and prevention programs if it's legalized countrywide.  I can appreciate your view, and I basically look at it the same way I do cigarettes or alcohol.  Neither are particularly useful to society but trying to ban them is a fools errand, and far more expensive in just about every way.

What do you mean? I'm supportive of legalizing it. For what its worth, better for someone to be taking weed than taking heroin. And like I said, the billions of dollars that could be saved from it. That money could be used to reduce the deficit, or be put back in other parts of the economy.

The money should be used to open free rehab centers for drug addicts. I can't tell you the number of people who tried to get help but were just flat out broke and couldn't afford treatment. This one girl I know was finally able to go when she found out she was still on her fathers healthcare which would pay for it. She got help and even though she has relapsed here and there she now has her own place (before she had to sleep with guys just to  have a place to stay, yes I did offer her my apt without the sex but she refused for reasons I can't get into). Her parents were getting their house taken from them and didn't have a place for her to stay. She is like one of two people I know who went to rehab and got help and are doing much better now. We need to make rehab more avaliable for these people. Not throwing them in jail and hoping they come out and stop using.