College Drug Ring Busted
Almost 100 people were arrested for dealing drugs at San Diego State University this week. My initial reaction: who the hell cares? I mean - who cares that the kids were selling drugs? Were they hurting you? No - not at all. These kids aren’t suspected of doing anything except selling something in a market where there is clearly a demand. They were about to become regular contributors to society and now they are going to be major drains. Why should we go to the trouble of putting these kids in jail for years?
But they preyed on innocent college kids! Preyed my ass! If Johnny Sophomore wants to take drugs at the big drugs party and he buys some from the local frat guy - is Johnny a victim? Absolutely not. There are no victims here: dealing drugs is truly a victimless crime.
There are victims! The investigation started because some kid died! Kids die at my alma mater almost every year from some form of alcohol overdose. Hell, a kid at my school died in a hazing incident when he was held in a running dryer. No one wants to ban alcohol or dryers! People do stupid things - especially when those things are new and exciting. I think it is terrible that someone overdosed, but unless he was held down and cocaine was funneled into his nose - he wasn’t a victim of the people who are being charged today. People make a personal decision to use drugs.
But these guys had guns! Yeah they had guns, they have to do business with gang members to get their goods! Most regular businesses don’t need guns because the police protect them. Drug dealers are just following the laws of supply and demand - not hurting anyone, but yet they are vilified and targeted by the government in our country. Shunned by the government, drug dealers have to protect themselves from the seedy elements that materialize when markets are forced underground. The fact that they had guns is irrelevant. It’s a bit scary, but it is irrelevant.
Ask yourself if you think drugs are bad. I know they are against the law, but ask yourself whether or not you truly think that they should be. More than 5% of people in the USA use some form of illegal drugs. Think about what that means - you encounter people EVERY DAY that use drugs. Do you care? Do they bother you? Do you think they should lose their jobs and become burdens of the state? If you even notice a junkie you probably have about the same level of reaction as when you encounter an alcoholic. Drugs in and of themselves do no harm except directly to the people who choose to take them. Now, I will allow that drug users sometimes commit crimes, but that pushes this discussion into the realm of real crime where there is a real victim.
If you keep your focus squarely on selling and taking drugs, I think that any rational person has to admit that dealing drugs is a victimless crime. If you are like most people and come to this same rational conclusion, why not ask your elected officials to quit wasting your money on drug enforcement? It only takes a few minutes, and if enough of us do it we might be able to let our cops focus on more important things. Also, when the topic of drugs comes up - don’t be shy about asking people’s opinions. You’ll find that most people don’t care about drug use, but they care about associated crime. Remember that prohibition brought gangs into alcohol distribution. This isn’t a matter of morales or wanting to use drugs yourself, but rather about saving our country from legislating itself into the toilet.
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