War on Drugs is the reason for around half the crime.

The War on Drugs, btw, is just further evidence that the Government cannot ban anything, they can only make the situation worse.

Well to risk going off topic again...  I'll leave it with one more post on this.

Research actually shows that you can live a noraml life on heroin if you've got a good job.

Well that is if you have a clean, steady and affordable supply. 

In one of those ironic twists said research was funded by an anti-drug group that was expecting to find the other "common sense" answer that people couldn't do so.

http://www.doctordeluca.com/Library/AbstinenceHR/ControlledHeroinUseEvidence05.pdf

Is one research paper cited a lot.

Gun laws are repression.

You've just suggested, through your own anecdote, that gun laws are pointless because if somebody wants someone dead, they will use what they can. If guns aren't available, they'll use a knife.

Except... like I said... guns usually do seem to help.

I can only speak from the area where I've worked, but in general, guns seem to stop a lot of fights.

There are a lot of fights in the neighberhoods I've worked in, and serious permanent brain damage can be caused with your bare hands and feet. 

Generally what happens is, people get into a couple of fist fights, so as to avoid assault with a deadly weapon.   If someone gets seriously hurt generally one of two outcomes seems to happen.

1) Someone attacks the injurer with a knife or a bat.

2) Someone starts carrying around a gun, and the other guy stays out of their way as word gets to them QUICK. 

It's just an ancedotal expiernce, but it matches with the data.  There is a reason why Police guns are designed to be extremely visible afterall.

The thing to keep in mind is that crime is different then what common knowledge dictates.

Most people think of crime...and gun violence for that matter as   "Some stranger breaks into your house and steals your stuff"   or "Some stranger attacks you in an alley.

When in reality the TRUE average crime is  "Some neighbor or aquantiance breaks into your house" or "Some aquantance attacks you on the street because he knows you recently came into money."

Most crimes are committed with preknowledge of the victim and their patterns... so in reality there is a hidden preventitive value in gun ownership just in that regard... because if your wrong or the person comes home early,  your risk suddenly jumps through the roof, and most criminals are looking to activly avoid murder or even charges like assault with a deadly.

2 points

1. I think the insugencies in Iraq and Afghanistan prove tanks are not needed to repel a larger army with superior firepower and resources. But just guns, and explosives.

2. While the government does write the laws, and gun owners are law abiding citizens, if laws start coming about that are not constitutional it is our right as citizens to defend our constition. If that means armed rebellion than thats what it means. I even think it mentions something similar to this in the constitution and with the second amendant. You got to realize the UNited States was born out of rebelling agaisnt unjust laws and taxation. If those conditions return people have a right to action.

The best way to stop people from doing drugs is to not lie to them about the effects like the government does. And for people to see examples of drug users around them. If crack is so bad and people use it and it makes their lives sucks, people will see that and not use it. With it being illegal these people are often not in view or locked up so the public doesn't see what damage it does. If it doesn't damage people so bad that they are able to function and live a happy life what is the problem?  Theer is also the problem of people starting on drugs that aren't as bad but switching to worse ones as the price rises. If drugs were cheaper there would be no reason to switch from pain pills to heroin. From coke to crack. Alot of the same arguments against drugs can be made against unhealthy food too.

For point one, the only reason such rebellions in Iraq and Afghanistan are as successful as they are are because we've been a bit more civilized than other occupying powers. If we were carpet-bombing cities, like the Russians in Chechnya, things wouldn't work out the same. A well-equipped State will always be able to defeat a rebellion, if force is the only factor in the equation.

That segues into point two, that politics is sufficient to defeat tyranny. The reason the Taliban endures is because of ancient tribal concerns that overrule the fact of NATO military might, and so People Power has proven sufficient in the modern world to defeat tyranny.

I'm pretty sure that, given the effects of heroin on an individual, most addicts would still be running themselves into the ground using it. How could an addict maintain a job? Without a job, how can they afford a house? Even if heroin was dirt cheap, we're back to square one. And don't give me any of that bs about common sense, you just said yourself that "fewer people wouldn't be doing it," a roundabout way of admitting that more people would become addicts, which would only make the problem much, much worse. That is what I was applying common sense to.

You're right! Let's end all of the government bans. Civilians should be allowed to own atomic warheads! And people should be allowed to carry guns into movie theaters and religious buildings too, right? Because if people in those places had had guns, those shootings would have ended real fast. Let's not stop there, everyone on airplanes should be equipped with an assault rifle! Surely this will reduce the possibility of further violence in the air.

They maintain a job... by maintaining a job.

A lot of Heroin users already maintain jobs while using it... as has been shown by the cited research.

It seems to be MOST people who the drug doesn't make destitute via consumption costs. 

Maybe your US centric or something, but you know a lot of countries use Heroin as a pain killer... largely because it's actually superiror to Morphine in a lot of ways.

The UK is an example of this.

And I mean hell... Heroin addicts are given Methadone... which is essentially well regulated heroin.  Plenty of ex addicts live regular lives.

Been wishing the US would just legalize Marijuana for years now. I never understood why it was banned.

I smoke up about 3-4 times a week after work hours and work a good job so that I have been able to send my daughter to pre-preschool/daycare  4 days a week since she was 1 rather than let her sit in front of the TV. She already counts to 10 in Spanish along with maybe 20-30 other words consisting of adjectives, colors, etc..., counts to 20 in English, she can write her name already and she knows the entire alphabet and is in the beginning stages of reading. She also only took 2 weeks (Only totalling around 2 hours though) with a bike to learn to pedal on her own as well as turn properly and she can flip backwards off the swing set bar while holding onto the rings. I also decided to measure her jump from a stand still position to see how far of a jump she can make. 90% of the time she surpasses 24 inches.

Large majority of children her age can't even do half of what I just mentioned, and she just turned 3 a little over a month ago. She was recently placed into a new class consisting of children older than her because the teachers and owner felt that leaving her with her own age group would hold her back. They say she is very advanced for her age, even more so physically.

Now, if you're wondering why I choose to smoke pot, it is because I like how it makes me feel. It makes me active for some strange reason and unlike alchohol I am still 100% functional and god forbid something were to happen I am still able to take care of the issue. It also helps me to sleep, which is why I tend to smoke after my daughter goes to bed.

It's just an all natural plant that one could grow by dropping a seed in the ground, lol. It's not synthetic or anything.

My fiance will smoke with me occassionally, but she prefers to just stick to her Vicodens (Car accident has left her with a bad back). Neither of us have upgraded to worse drugs, although they tell you people do. She is currently working as a nursing supervisor at a pediatrics office.

Most would assume I am the polar opposite if I mention that I smoke. I get lectures all the time...

I know I would rather my kid do the same instead of drinking alcohol, but that's just me. Although I of course will not bring it up or suggest she start either of them, lol.

Hell, even the (arguably) greatest Olympian of all time Michael Phelps like a hit or two from the bong.

Anyways, that's it for my little story, lol.