I think there is a lot of truth in your first paragraph. I don't mean this in a disrespectful way to people who drink and smoke pot, but there seems to be a significant amount of people who need the calming effects of alcohol or drugs to get through the day. I can't relate to feeling that much anxiety and stress that I need medication to cope with those feelings, but apparently, it's a common problem in this country. I think until there are better alternatives for alcohol and drugs, alcoholism and drug abuse will be major problems no matter what laws we create. While I feel sorry for people caught up in drug abuse or alcohol abuse, I don't like laws that protect us from ourselves. I'm more inclined to believe legal use of well-regulated and taxed drugs is a better solution than what we are doing now. Strengthen laws related to alcohol use and drug use that put others in danger, such as driving under the influence, robbery, etc., so the penalties are very stiff. My business and economics background makes me believe that if there is a demand for a product, someone will always provide it, whether it's legal or not. I think we have to accept there is likely to always be a demand so there will always be a supply.
I grew up in Maysville and Etown, KY and I had zero problem getting weed, alcohol, ecstasy, coke, acid, mushrooms, Xanax, Valium, cigs, meth, etc as a teenager WITHOUT the internet or cell phones.
How in the actual F**K does anyone think they’re going to remove drugs from society today with the internet, black market and bitcoin?
I can log in online right now and buy anything I could ever want from Dick pills, to statins, to depression meds, steroids, hair loss pills, any barbiturate or opiate, mushrooms, weed, alcohol, literally anything I want and it’s all WAY cheaper than from a pharmacy or dealer here and it’s delivered to my front door via our tax paid postal service.
So tell me how the govt is going to rid ourselves of that? Might as well legalize, tax the shit out of it and regulate quality, because it’s not going back.
Now I don’t advocate having heroin or coke being legal because we all know how that ends.