I'm interested in hearing what the argument against legalization of drugs is.

It would encourage people to use drugs.

But doesn't legalizing anything encourage its use indirectly? If we legalize video games, aren't we indirectly incouraging their creation, purchase and use? That's not a very good argument. In any case, why do we have alcohol legalized?

Taxes, and home-grown rec drugs are impossible to tax. That's why cigarettes are still legal. Follow the money.

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It always comes back to money...$$$ Gotta love the feds...

But is there an actual argument? Shouldn't people be allowed to legally grow whatever they want on their yard as long as it does not harm others?

One would think that in a "free" society, there wouldn't be restrictions on what you could grow in your garden.

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

If people are of such a mind that they'd do something simply because it isn't illegal then perhaps that is a problem of far greater magnitude than drug usage.

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Who does vote for these dishonest shitheads? Who among us can be happy and proud of having all this innocent blood on our hands? Who are these swine? These flag-sucking half-wits who get fleeced and fooled by stupid little rich kids like George Bush?

--Hunter S. Thompson

The way I see it, there really is no good argument against drugs, and even less of an argument (hypocracy-wise) when the current alcohol and tobacco laws are considered.

It should also be asked if the current drug policy is really anti-drug. When you look at it's effect on drug trafficking's profit margin, the answer is that it's enormously beneficial to those who invest in the drug trade.

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Who does vote for these dishonest shitheads? Who among us can be happy and proud of having all this innocent blood on our hands? Who are these swine? These flag-sucking half-wits who get fleeced and fooled by stupid little rich kids like George Bush?

--Hunter S. Thompson

Are you saying that we should simply decriminalize drug use or that we should allow for drugs to be sold in stores and that "drug companies" will be allowed to advertise for their product? Because if we allow the latter then I feel it would be encouraging drug use. Alcohol is legalized because it is a part of our culture and is socially acceptable.

Well yes, we should allow for drugs to be sold in stores as well as used in private/designated areas. Same are alcohol.Well, legalizing anything would encourage its use, don't you think? Part of the reason many drugs are not part of the culture/acceptable is because they are VERY illegal and result in severe punishment. In any case, I don't think those two characteristics should dictate law in a supposedly free country.

I think the fact that it would end a huge portion of crime is alone much more important than "socially acceptable."

I mean I understand your argument and I agree that it is hypocritical that alcohol and tobacco are legal and that we encourage people to drink and smoke through advertising and other measures. I also agree that if drugs like marijuana were made legal that they would become more socially acceptable and integrated into society. I'm not sure if drugs like cocaine or heroine would ever become socially acceptable in society due to their affects on humans mentally and physically, but people may feel more inclined to try them or experiment with them. I'm just not sure why we would want to permit more drug use then we already have. People already have legal access to substances like alcohol and can find illegal drugs if they want. Why should we make it even easier for people to form addictions and why would we want to add more drugs for people to chose from?

I understand what you're saying with the crime rates. If we made drugs legal there wouldn't be a corrupt, underground, drug-smuggling business. But what about the people who commit crimes because they have an addiction? People with addictions to substances like cocaine or heroin often steal from or hurt others. A guy in my community took a hit job because he wanted money for his drug cocain addiction. And once my father's camera was stolen by a heroin addict who wanted money for drugs. How would we stop this?

I don't know where you got the information about alcohol being that much better.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism

It also causes damage to the liver. Plus, the only reason it is safer is because the illegal status of the drug causes the people who make it to mix other shit into the combo in order to sell more of it. Remember, there is no quality regulation for heroin and other illegal drugs because they are illegal. Why would we want to permit more drug use? Because this is a free country and there are no good logical reasons against it? Other than that, I don't know. I thought that was a good reason already. Saying that a substance can already be obtained illegally is not a good reason to keep it illegal. It's just admitting that the War on Drugs is not working and that there is even less of a reason to keep the drugs illegal.

The reason they need the money for the drugs is because said drugs are much more expensive to buy due to the risk of getting them here illegally. Don't you think the price would fall if it were suddenly legal? Plus, it's also the mentality that "hey, I already comitted a pretty serious crime by using illegal drugs, why not steal, too?" But if you're that serious about reducing crime caused by people wanting to get more drugs, note the alcoholics that might commit similar crimes. Plus, it's probably a more difficult decision to go to a rehab center and admit to using an illegal drug than it is to admit to using a legal one.

Well that's the point, it can be defined as harmful and medically speaking i'm sure there are various study's done and stuff to prove it as harmful.

Anyway what happens when people then start selling the stuff? Should we just scrap interstate commerce regulations too and the government's right to regulate trade?