I'm going to be sad when this man passes away. One less forward-thinker in this world. Thankfully there are people out there who can take these statements and continue opening this educational path to others.
Big thumbs up: he was way ahead of most people back then. The one thing that has changed is that drug raids, while still bad policy, are becoming less and less good politics as well.
"They can't abide the fact that they are not God/" Fucking Brilliant! You think our politicians aren't high 24/7? Look at Newt Gingrich and tell me that guy doesn't smoke weed. Get real people.
i can understand the want for legalization of drugs and prostitution, but answer me this: if a woman is drugged on heroin against her will, and then sells her body under the force of a man (pimp), how do you convict him? everyone knows he drugged her and is using her as property, but when she goes to court she will say no, because she knows he will give her the heroin she wants. how would issues like this be solved??
@RESTxINxPIECEZ You're not interested in an answer. You're interested in rejecting any response so that you can falsely claim the drug war is right.
I write this because of your blatant use of a ridiculous strawman.
In the unlikely event I'm wrong, I apologize. I will know I'm wrong when you respond intelligently, with a true thirst for knowledge, not with kindergarten nonsense.
@RPFS2008 hes not, but shes now a heroin addict, your entire thought process changes at that point. all she knows is she wants heroin, if the pimp goes to jail she wont get it, so she wouldnt testify against him.
@MrSchultzstaffel you are such a miserable little faggot. i cant even begin to tell you how happy i am that youre guna die sad and alone. you really deserve it
@georgelopezblows No...that's a lie...which I would expect from a doper. But if you happen to be black as well as being a pot-head...then just for you, I'll make it a double-header of hate! A black pot-head? Is that the definition of a two-time loser? lol You decide.... =)
@georgelopezblows Who knows what the hell your talking about? Who even cares? I stand by what I said...all drug dealers get the death penalty. Kill them. All drug addicts...three strikes and they get it too.No exceptions. If you knew that doing drugs on Monday, Wednsday and Friday was going to get you the death penalty...but doing them on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday was going to get you a slap on the wrist, then when would you logically do them?Remove your head from your rear...you can do it.
The most fucked up thing in any problems we encounter as individual countries, though with a few exceptions, is that pretty much all fallow in USA steps. So you don't only fuck up your country, but you fuck up the rest of the world to!
We still haven't explored the final option in this War on Drugs...and that is to put to death all the drug dealers and after three strikes...put the drug addicts to death as well. I do not give a good-God-damn about the drug dealers or the drug addicts...I care about the children who can't play in their neighborhood or old people who can't walk down the street because of the violent drug gangs, the pushers, the dealers or the revolting addicts! The death penalty answers this problem quite well.
@MrSchultzstaffel If you want to impose your will on others, yes, be for making drug use illegal. But, if you are against street crime, be for legalizing drugs. Did you not watch the video? People like you do not believe in self-ownership. You want to hand over your personal title to the state. Ignorance is a greater threat than drug use. Drugs are like guns, they don't cause crime. People do. Making drugs illegal provides financial incentive to the underworld.
@fzqlcs More liberal rationalization. You seem to be an expert on what "people like me" really want. Well...be that as it may, I'll just have to say it again so that you'll understand; the death penalty for drug dealers and a three-strikes and your dead law for all drug addicts too. If murder were legal then it would just all "go away" too right; because making it easier to accomplish always takes it off the table as a personal option. You want to use drugs? Fine. But don't do it in my America.
@MrSchultzstaffel The difference you fail to comprehend is that drug use is, in and of itself, is NOT a violation of anyone's personal, property or civil rights. It is simply a behavior YOU (and other useful drug cartel idiots) do not like. You want crime to hinge on the political status of given substances rather than whether a violation of rights occurred. Your vision of America is a nation that reflects self-serving ignorance, not liberty. No thanks!
@fzqlcs If you are so hell-bent on doing dope as a way of exercising your freedom's nutcase...then allow me to provide you with a lethal dose; so you can exercise your "rights" and at the same time relieve society of the burdon that both you and your lifestyle obviously are. Drug use never has carried with it the appropriate punishment and so people indulge in it with no more concern than when they turn off a light switch. A firing squad or a long rope will fit addicts like you just fine. =D
@MrSchultzstaffel all you indicate is that small people have small ways and how government can always count on the weak-minded for support. liberty is very scary to some unfortunate souls.
@fzqlcs Uhhh...okay. You got a wall socket in your place there? Lick it. Save the government some money on a few feet of rope. You live in a trailer court? I believe that there should be a power-hook-up right outside there....so go out and put the brass end in your mouth and suck real hard. After all...you're free to do so...you have the rights...might as well get there faster than the drugs would allow you to arrive at your final resting place wouldn't you say? Cheers! lol =D
@MrSchultzstaffel who said I do drugs? That is not the necessary condition to support the notion of self-ownership and individual liberty. The fact that you do not simply indicates the willingness to be a state slave. You are a great cautionary tale to show where such thinking leads.
@fzqlcs ...as I said hippy...thoe wall sockets are located at the base of the wall there in the room that your at right now...those rectangular things...and if your on a public library computer then just ask the help for assistance in finding them. I have faith in you. lol
@MrSchultzstaffel I am a hippie (not hippy, you ignoramous) in the sense of Milton Friedman, Thomas Sowell and William F. Buckley Jr are. You have faith alright. Faith = a belief in that for which there is no evidence. No wonder you have no use for evidence or reason. Faith is plenty for a fool.
@fzqlcs Okay hippy...uhhh...those wall sockets are a bit low so it might be a good idea if you take a drink of water and wet yourself down real good before you start in...lol
@MrSchultzstaffel at least we know Thomas Sowell is a little advanced for you. i suggest you consult Popeye for any future intellectual musings. you definitely sound like someone who has had his tongue in a light socket.
@fzqlcs Now that's ironic...comming from someone who's a mentally impaired hippy who's fighting for his right to use whatever substance he can to mentally impair himself even further...I'll take that as a badge of honor! lol Now lick away hippy! Your wall-socket awaith! lol
We will never legalize drugs, the profits to our "friends" is just too great, it is a major part of our economic system and our govt creates many jobs and keeps money flowing into our economy.Many foreign "investors" use drug profits to keep our game profitable. Just too much money and power in drugs to make it legal. IRAN-CONTRA raised money to fund arms for hostages with drug sales, getting around Congress to help fund the Contras! This was done with Drug profits, most people forget this.
...cont..helps us to buy cooperation from them. We did the same thing in Iraq, so the drug war is no war at all. it is fact a way to gain cooperation from various factions that might help us do what we want in those nations. In turn we then let them sell their dope in our country and we in turn Jail the little people, make these bullshit laws and call it a war on drugs! Is it any wonder why HEROIN from Afghanistan is coming into this country more pure and greater amounts than ever before! THINK!
Good argument, but what most of us fail to realize is that the drug trade is just not about here but overseas in areas that we try to control. SOuth East Asia in the 60's was a very important are for us so we did much business with Warlords that helped us against the N.Vietnamese Govt. The profit from drug money helped us buy their cooperation. This same model is used now in Afghanistan, the drug lords there are the warlords and local cheiftains. The profit from drugs and the money it raises...
@comptonproduction What a racist thing to say and I am sure you are probably a minority yourself. For you simpletons, the word 'Uncle Tom' has now come to mean intelligence, success and post racial thinking. Anyone you call an 'Uncle Tom' should be complimented.
@comptonproduction Judging from your English it appears you don't have the faculties to comprehend what he is saying; this explains your childish and ignorant comments. Anyone who is of a similar mind to you deserves where he/she ends up in society. Good day now.
Many rational and logical arguments can be made for legalization, but this will not be sufficient to counter the irrational and illogical backing behind illegalization.
Drug policy was constructed for a number of reasons, one being to create a legal and acceptable continuance of Jim Crow laws, another more important reason being to control vast sums of money in the underground economy.
It would not be possible to carry out the dark projects and financial manipulations without drug policy.
Read the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, the Federalist Papers, Bastiat's The Law. Know the history of USA or you can't support & defend it. Restore America 2012 Ron Paul RonPaul2012dotcom 1835 “Minute” on India written by Thomas Babington Macaulay; A government cannot be wrong in punishing fraud or force, but it is almost certain to be wrong if, abandoning its legitimate function, it tells private individuals that it knows their business better than they know it themselves.
It is very brave for some prominent Conservatives like Sowell to call a spade a spade when it comes to the failed drug war. I have recently changed my party registration to Republican (lord knows a blue state like New York needs more) but from early adulthood, I have had increasingly Libertarian leanings.
@4tehhorde I am all for legalizing drugs as a matter of individual liberty. However, taxes never end recessions. They make government (politicians) richer, not the people.
I struggled with this for a long time.. Jim, the wonderful guy that runs this LibertyPen channel had a discussion with me awhile back and I changed my opinion.. I listen intently to common sense and rationality.. This too is rational.. As a Christian it is my duty to preach righteousness and God's will. But how would that be changed if drugs were legal? It wouldn't.. So I for one agree drugs should be legalized. It would save lives NOT cost them.. Prohibition was a mistake, and so is this.
@SuperGuitarman69 I've never understood for one moment how Christians can be so against weed but absolutely have zero objection to alcohol- a more harmful and addictive drug, one that is infused with chemicals and unnaturally occurring substances.
@Andsormida01 Where did you get that I was advocating alcohol in my comment? Or where do you think that Christians in general advocate alcohol? Prohibition was exactly the same thing as the current war on drugs that is currently going on... All I was saying is that it simply doesn't make sense that we continue the same policies that made Al Capone a multi-millionaire, and and some street thug a billionaire.. Doesn't that make sense to you?
@SuperGuitarman69 It was directed at Christians in general, not you but many Christian conservatives consider the right to relax with alcohol after a hard days work perfectly acceptable while they scorn at people who smoke weed in the same manner. It's laughable.
@Andsormida01 Ah I think you would be surprised.. Many Christians will be more on the side of liberty than you think.. If it is between government controlling our lives, and what they think is morally right, they will error a lot of the times on the side of liberty.. I am finding more and more Christians I know actually now thinking that the Federal Government is the enemy of the people.. Therefore to promote freedom over serfdom is better for them as well..
@Andsormida01 Remember this.. It is vogue to criticize Christians, but atheists, muslims etc.. are looked at through PC sunglasses.. So persecution is now targeting Christians.. And they are up to the fight.. They are seeing Christianity targeted by leftists in government.. Attacking them from every angle.. So, they in turn are learning that all around freedom is the way to go...
@SuperGuitarman69 I can guarantee you, ISLAM is criticized a thousand times more than Christianity, especially on the internet and especially by athiests.
@Andsormida01 Not hardly... Watch tv.. Islam has earned the right to be criticized.. Yet PC involvement has sent the President (I use that loosely he is NO President) to apologize to every Islamic country in the world and take national prayer day away as to not offend the Muslims..
@Andsormida01 Ironically, while many of my fellow religious skeptics have given Islam the criticism it rightly deserves, the most prominent defenders of Islam are also atheists. The fact that the religious skeptics of the world are also indoctrinated into the PC left's doctrines are one of the big reasons why I have put my differences with the Christian community aside next year. I intend to vote Libertarian next year, unless it looks like the GOP has a chance of carrying New York.
@SuperGuitarman69 That's awesome, I love it when christians quit their statism to preach their moralism in a peaceful way. There's nothing wrong with that. Prohibiting something (that doesn't harm others) by force just because one disapproves of it, can only be considered immoral. Also, does prohibition really make society more moral when people are still demanding the drugs? All you get is a black market, the people are still the same as before.
Brilliant analysis. We have no right to dictate what others do with their own bodies in a free society. This goes for prostitution, suicide and the like. We can only prevent you from restricting the freedoms of your fellow citizens.
When questions arise regarding the public good, they should be decided at the local level. This a central tenet of federalism. It allows people to simply leave one area where they dislike the local moral codes to seek out regions that are more to their liking.
In the face of all this irrationality, there has got to be some huge reason that is occulted (is that the right English?) from the public as to why drugs (at least marijuana) are still illegal.
I can't believe that the governments of the world would follow this course of irrationality without something that made it worthwhile for them.
@EmilioCasavegas Yes, very good principle, if something seems astonishingly ridiculous, yet survives for decades, look for a different rationale, than the one you think is operation (ie. we think the drug war is based on pursuing the welfare of people, which it obviously does not, so ....what *is* it pursuing?) I think you can find your answer from viewing some videos here at youtube. ex-CIA agent John Stockwell; and financier Catherine Austen Fitts. Gary Webb, (deceased journalist)
@EmilioCasavegas I just did a search myself on Catherine Austin (with an i) Fitts and drug war, and found some stuff that educated me. At drugwar dot com you can find her series on "Narcodollars for dummies" --its amazing and demoralizing to hear thousands of people recycle the same pro-con arguments again, while entirely avoiding mentioning the "politically incorrect" facts about what is going on. So...I hope you manage to teach as many people as possible your look-deeper-folks point.
It's difficult to make my point unless you see real life examples, the UK's club scene is just one example. Go out on a weekend and look at the carnage that spills out onto the streets not just from drinking sessions but from the hard drug clubbing scene. I'm not being closed minded here - I expect I've experienced a lot more of the drug world (at least) than Thomas Sowell. As he quotes 'a fool can put on his coat better than a wise man can put it on for him' and in this case I am the fool
Also, I read a comment about legalisation in Portugal. Portugal's social scene is not the same as some globally (more alcohol less drugs in Portugal). The drug users there are mostly ALREADY using high level hard drugs. The weekend pub-goer/drinker is unlikely to go out and buy hard drugs once legalised. The danger is in a social scenes such as the UK's (and some of the US) whereby kids that are already using Cannabis or Cocaine socially can easily make the transition to Heroin, for example.
Anyone is capable of being 'stupid' or making a mistake, especially at a young age. And once you do that with hard drugs they own you. A lot of social scenes globally revolve around drugs, it's seen as normal to do Cocaine - just like alcohol. If more addictive hard drugs were legalised now (accepted in society) I can tell you for sure that several of my friends would be dead by this time next year. The only reason that they don't do them now is because they're NOT socially acceptable
@darkaudiovideo I'm curious what it is that makes you think your friends would run out and do hard drugs if they were legalised. The people I know who make legality the guidepost for what they do or don't do simply use legal or prescription drugs instead of street drugs. Yet not everyone is an alcoholic or pill addict, are they? And I can tell you for sure that if drugs were legalized, my friends would almost certainly be fine - the ones who would have died from drug use have already done so.
@wildhammer81 You don't have to be classed as an alcoholic or a pill addict for drugs to have an effect. I know a lot of people who regularly do Ecstasy or smoke Cannabis despite the fact that it's seen as 'normal' in their social group and you can see it having an effect on them and others around them. Making these drugs more easily accessible is like saying it's OK to do more and I don't think that's the right approach. You would need to change societies attitude towards drug taking first
The problem with reading feedback on a drug related Sowell video is it's mostly made by middle aged debaters who have no experience of drugs. There's so much naivety and ignorance in the comments. Anyone can be tempted to try hard drugs under certain circumstances. 15 years ago if someone racked up lines of Cocaine in front of me I would have been disgusted, but now it's common place. How did that happen? How have intelligent academic kids become Heroin addicts with no regard for life?
It's very easy to agree because many of you are bamboozled by the general charm and work of Thomas Sowell. However Sowell in this case is the 'intellectual' and has no grasp on the reality of drugs. Drugs such as Heroin can not be compared to alcohol - the level of addiction just isn't the same. I can go on a weekly drinking binge as we often do here in the UK but pretty sure I wont become an alcoholic. I can 100% guarantee that wouldn't be the case with Heroin. Please don't be naive.
@darkaudiovideo The level of addiction of certain drugs is not the point of Thomas's argument . Thomas argues it is the corrupt overly regulated powers of the government that causes crime happening over a drug addict's addiction to drugs powerful in addiction; drug addicts then commit crimes to afford illegal drugs giving drug traffickers and corrupt politicians money via the black market. Therefore, legalizing drugs' of powerful addiction would be like alcohol if regulated like alcohol.
@thekooj That didn't make sense. However it's irrelevant what the argument is, the point is if you legalise and lower the cost of drugs it might solve some problems within society (i.e. crime related to drug dealers/government), but other problems will still come about from legalising it (i.e. a lot more people will be exposed to drugs that they wouldn't have been exposed to before - leading to more addiction within society)
@darkaudiovideo It does makes sense, its not my fault that you can't handle a intellectual debate about economics without being emotionally distressed and rude. And yes the message is completely relevant to the it. If you understand economics and Thomas Sowell's message, the outcome would be to sacrifice the few for the greater good. Just like when alcohol was illegal more crime was present when it was legal. If other drugs did become legal it would be in better control with less violence.
@thekooj Well done, you've passed your economics assignment and given an incorrect analysis of my personality. And again missed the point. Yes legalising alcohol may have reduced organised crime, but look at what OTHER shit the UK has to put up with (type 'Bad News For Binge Booze Britain' into YouTube for example). I can't wait for legalisation of drugs bearing in mind the UK's 'club drug' scene is nearly as big as that of alcohol
@darkaudiovideo Hey that booze Britain video looks fun, I got to go there someday. I think the important part of that video is the part that goes "only a minority of the boozer get in trouble" as the rest just wake up from a hang over. I'm pretty sure only a minority would get in trouble and the rest would just wake up and continue their normal lives and just party on the weekends, because most people are responsible.
@darkaudiovideo Just because you can't read doesn't mean you can be an asshole too. Your just being closed minded and you like listening your self talk without listening to the opponents side. You need to grow up and be a man and learn that you cant win every fight. All that I'm hearing from you is that your scared, so you need the government to tell you everything is going to be all right because they have "regulations".
@thekooj The argument might sound impressive to the average naive do-gooder but it wont work. Anyone that thinks that legalising drugs is a good idea has no drug world experience and no common sense. Go to Amsterdam where cannabis is 'accepted' - it's not a pretty picture (only for the kids doing it). About 50% of foreigners are stumbling around off their heads. If Heroin was accepted there as well it would be a absolute shambles. So you think it would be OK if your kids could buy Heroin?
@darkaudiovideo Yes, I believe it's okay if my kid could buy Heroin. That's a false statistic, tell the truth. It sounds like you never smoked marijuana before, because you don't stumble around when you are high. Addiction would be better controlled if drugs were legalized, just like caffeine. If drugs were legalized today, would you or anybody else you know that doesn't do drugs buy drugs just based of the fact it's legal? no. It would be just like cigarettes and alcohol.
Of course in a free society, private industry could insist on its employees not using drugs. Even going as far as drug testing their employees as is done today. Freedom is a two way street. You have the right to take drugs and behave the way you want. I also have the right to screen out employees based on behaviors I find objectionable. You have no right to work at my company, I have no obligation to pay you. I have no right to dictate your behaviors unless they are a condition of employment.
all what this guy is saying is just logic and that is what the present people in power are missing, or maybe they enjoy to look at peoples pain. Logic is what this world is missing now
Well stated! The war on drugs has been going on for nearly 40 years and yet, nearly every form of illegal drug is readily available to anyone who desires them. If they were legalized tomorrow would all the non-users rush out to buy them? No - they've already demonstrated their choice. The biggest difference would be a huge loss of income for street gangs and drug cartels. It's too bad this issue is always emotionalized by politicians and the media.
@wildhammer81 Ha what makes you think that all the 'non-users' wouldn't rush out and buy drugs if they were legalised? Have you got any drug world experience!? I can guarantee that many many people who are are at the alcohol/cannabis level would go straight out and buy something harder to try it, because its now 'allowed' and easy to do so. Once you 'try' Heroin it's not that easy to not buy it a second time. It's like playing with fire or worse.
@darkaudiovideo Yes, I do have real drug world experience. Of course, that's a catch-22 because if I have experience, then I'm immoral and can be written off as having no place in a moral discussion - if I have no experience, then I'm ignorant and have no place in the discussion either. I absolutely agree that several drugs are very addictive - heroin, cocaine and meth are excellent examples. If you think it isn't easy to get any of these right now, then you haven't tried - which is my point.
Joe the plumer does not realizes drug money is in the pockes of many law enforcment agents and have made their failies very rich. That is why gov agencies does not allow drugs to be legalized. I heard it from a guy that used to work as a cop in elpaso he told us once they were instructed to let "certain" suspects alone when crossing the mexican border to el paso with tons of drugs.
I agree with many of the comments here, Mr Sowell breaks it down with simple logic, he's clear on his position. If your a novice like me I recommend his book basic economics a citizen's guide, It changed my opinion on many things.
This is the common sense that seems lacking in our policy discussions. This man speaks plain, clear, truth- a marked deviation from the mouthpieces of the DEA and prohibitionists who fanangle data and policy to try and justify the continuation of an immoral and costly, morally and financially, war on our citezins that accomplishes nothing.
when drugs were legal and unregulated, as in since discovery of a drug until 1910-1930, we were in pretty good shape. drug prohibition has actually increased drug use, funding in criminal activities, murder, theft, and death. there would be far less incentive to try a drug that's really bad for you if it were legal.
@kev3d I didn't even mention a "per capita murder rate". And "carnage" can be defined as the destruction of lives by narcotics. Thanks for asking. Hope this helps.
@darwinkilledgod The only data available to me is the first-hand report of my son, who lives in Europe. And he is by no means an "anti-drug zealot", having for years been an occassional user of pot, and occassional user of 'shrooms, etc. And yet he was shocked at the carnage he witnessed when visiting Amsterdam.
@grifflesnaffle Define "carnage". Because Holland has a lower per capita murder rate than the U.S.
Since Portugal decriminalized drug use 10 years ago and instead encouraged treatment for addicts, addiction has gone down, as has HIV infections. By all measures, it is a success. Holland has less drug usage per head than many other European nations.
Clearly those addicts would no longer be addicts if the substances were illegal. Is this what you are saying? If that is the case the next rational step would be to ban alcohol and tobacco since those are also major killers. Tobacco alone is estimated to kill 400,000+ a year in the USA... Next the government should determine what we eat so we can win the war on obesity.
@grifflesnaffle Personal choice is just that, personal choice.
If someone is stupid enough to overdose then it is no big loss for society. I'd rather protect those people who die because an addict can't get enough money for his addiction other then robbing people. then the addict himself. We are not God, we can't protect people from their own idiocy, the best we can do is limit the damage.
Dr. Sowell accurately states that "...tens of thousands of lives are lost each year to drunk driving." And yet he faults prohibition for creating criminal "booze cartels". I'm not as sure as Dr. Sowell is that tens of thousands of deaths a year in exchange for doing away with bootlegging is a sane trade. Tens of thousands die annually because alcohol is legal. Now he proposes adding legions of stoned hypes, coke-heads and tweakers to the mix on the hi-ways. All day long
@grifflesnaffle Do you know anyone who soberly waits "Oh boy, as soon as they legalize drugs, Im going to become an addict!" Of course drugs are widely available today just as booze was widely available during prohibition. Let us not forget that many murders are committed because of drug funded gangs and cartels and we also have the expense of incarceration or all drug offenders.
@UkeRocket Yes, common sense in important.because common sense tells us that when we die, that's it; Bush is a war criminal; Obama is a fraud; and America is a terrorist state. Did Sowell tell any "common sense" truths like the aforementioned?
@UkeRocket I went to a Chargers game one time and I was quite upset that there was no opera playing. I got pissed and went sort of overboard...I rolled three handicapped kids off the balcony. Their parents cheered though so I think it was OK.
If you are ever debating the prohibition issue with someone, I found a compelling argument that can sometimes bring the argument to a halt. From 1776 to about 1910, all drugs were legal, available, and largely unregulated ( no FDA, FTC, ect) in the US. Though they did not have some of the more exotic drugs, they did have the big three, cannabis, cocaine, opiates. So during this period was the country awash in addicts and chaos? No, in fact we witnessed the largest economic rise in human history.
@fdoo17 Isn't Amsterdam a place where drugs (at least Hemp) is legal, and aren't they doing well over there. In fact, there's more to hemp than the drug. One could make textiles, or even paper from it. Also, let's not forget that the government doesn't have the constitutional authority to prohibit drugs without an amendment, which they didn't pass. The ban on drugs is therefore unconstitutional.
@baryonyx550 i think you may have misunderstood my argument. i was discrediting the theory that legalized drugs would lead to more addicts and a less productive society, because the US from its founding to about 1910 or so had all legal drugs and was far and away the most productive country on earth, even when an adult could by morphine or cocaine over the counter. I fully support the legalization of ALL drugs, and not decriminalized or need a doctors permission or any other barriers except age
The Ethics of Addiction explains how the state determined it's profiting by enticing the youth and further spreading drug usage into the communities. Organized crime by the government has traveled around the world for centuries & an amerikan ideal for those corporates investing their dollars in the building of prisons. Never caught before until now ; the illusion targeted the user. Life of a fine nation & unholy tactics combined 2create lethal results by their own creation + police brutality!
In what country has legalization of drugs reduced problems? The only specific examples I know of (Oslo and Mexico) have only seen their problems rise. Also, to make this argument for any drug other than marijuana is proof one has never spent time around addicts. They remain violent and volatile individuals regardless of law. Hang out in a heroin den for a day and tell me that stuff should be legal.
@TheIvoryCity There is no evidence that folks are lined up waiting for drugs to be legalized in order to be addicts. That is just stupid. Drugs are completely available in America from grade school to prison. It is not like drug illegality is accomplishing anything beyond filling up the jails and, because of overcrowding, causing the release of more violent criminals on to the streets. Drug illegality only erodes liberty, creates a police state and drains the country of valuable resources.
@fzqlcs still haven't answered my question about specific examples of things getting better when drugs are legalized. Do you have any? And one could make the same argument about not enforcing anti-murder laws because we're "losing the war against murder". That doesn't mean we should just give up enforcing those laws. I will agree we need reform on drugs laws.
@TheIvoryCity Here is one thing that would get better. Gangs would lose their primary funding mechanism. It is right that violations of one's personal, property or civil rights be criminalized. However, you want crime to also be based on the political status of a given substance. If drugs are legalized, no violent criminal or violator of his fellow man's rights is off the hook.
@fzqlcs But Mexico just legalized drugs and gangs are still terrorizing the border. I am not saying anything of the sort, I'm just saying that the results you tout as being so obvious haven't actually panned out in a single country where drugs have been legalized (to my knowledge. Still waiting for a specific example on your end.)
Ivorcitycity makes a good point in his last post, and we don't have a huge gang problem here like we had in years past, or like other countries have.
People usually don't take drugs in order to "become addicts", they just experiment with it and end up that way.
I'm not ideologically tied to an anti-legalization position, i'm open to the alternative, but so far, I haven't seen good arguments for it, atleast in 21st century United States.
@periechontology In California, where I live, gangs are a major problem and the sale of drugs is their primary funding mechanism. The argument against liberty is always the same--people are too dumb to act in their own best interest and need their betters to act as conservators. But look at issue's flipside. Do you think Americans get good value for the $100 billion a year spent on the drug war. Couldn't the money be better spent? Drugs are everywhere and we are becoming a police state.
But as i said, the American born gang problem is nothing like it was in this country, even though their very much still around.
Too dumb? Actually i don't care what adults do, my concern is children getting them.
As a Libertarian where else would you spend the 100 billion? if something is illegal you need an infrastructure of enforcement. I'm sorry but to me, making Cocaine just as accessible as Coors Light to kids, in today's world is insanity.
@periechontology You make my case. Cocaine is just as accessible as Coors Light as both are illegal to children, but are easily obtained by them now. Who is suggesting drugs be legalized for children? If you don't believe that children who want drugs now cannot get them, you are quite naive. Drug illegality hands over the profit incentive to everyone wanting to create addicts of our children. Why do you think our children would be worse off if that incentive is taken away?
Are you saying that if you left where you are at this moment you could FIND (not buy) Cocaine right now, as easily as you could find beer? The claim that they are equally accessible ANYWHERE in America is extremely outlandish. I can't walk down the street without passing thousands of gallons of alcohol in stores all around me. Do you know how often 18 year olds hang out with 16 years old? or 16 year olds with 15 or 14 year olds? (especially across genders).
@periechontology My comment is about children. Yes, I am saying that a high school kid can get his mits on cocaine as easily as beer, even after a 40-year tail-chasing multi-billion dollar drug war. In fact, kids often have better access to high school drug dealers than they do to liquor stores. In many cases, they can obtain dope without even leaving school grounds. If you doubt this, ask a high school student.
Do you think that these cliches are new? Hyperbolic cliches asserting that Cocaine is as easy to get as Coca Cola, pie, or other prosaic items go all the way to when i was in school in the 80's and early 90's (In New York City at the height of the Crack-Wars) . They were hyperbolic when they were first created and they are now. Their purpose is simply to highlight that these drugs are far more accessible than they should be.
Alcohol on the other hand actually is as easy to find as apple pie, infact easier (they might only have Cherry or Blueberry left in stock at the 7/11)..
@periechontology I have asked you many questions. The fact that you have neglected to answer any of them speaks volumes. Here is the most basic one. Why are you not satisfied to limit the definition of crime to the violation of one's personal, property or civil rights? Why do you insist on extending the definition to the political status of a given substance. Enough of the flippant horseshit. Explain why government should dictate lifestyle choices of a free people.
The accessibility of these drugs would lend itself more to experimentation, whereas in order to look for a pusher you usually have to really want the drug.
@periechontology Are you saying those who really don't want drugs would suddenly want to use them if legal or you don't think pushers seek out new customers?
I'm going to be sad when this man passes away. One less forward-thinker in this world. Thankfully there are people out there who can take these statements and continue opening this educational path to others.
TheReapersSon 19 hours ago
Big thumbs up: he was way ahead of most people back then. The one thing that has changed is that drug raids, while still bad policy, are becoming less and less good politics as well.
Aeschylus 1 day ago
"They can't abide the fact that they are not God/" Fucking Brilliant! You think our politicians aren't high 24/7? Look at Newt Gingrich and tell me that guy doesn't smoke weed. Get real people.
Vindigary 2 weeks ago
Words of purest wisdom.
Skandalos 2 weeks ago
i can understand the want for legalization of drugs and prostitution, but answer me this: if a woman is drugged on heroin against her will, and then sells her body under the force of a man (pimp), how do you convict him? everyone knows he drugged her and is using her as property, but when she goes to court she will say no, because she knows he will give her the heroin she wants. how would issues like this be solved??
RESTxINxPIECEZ 3 weeks ago
@RESTxINxPIECEZ You're not interested in an answer. You're interested in rejecting any response so that you can falsely claim the drug war is right.
I write this because of your blatant use of a ridiculous strawman.
In the unlikely event I'm wrong, I apologize. I will know I'm wrong when you respond intelligently, with a true thirst for knowledge, not with kindergarten nonsense.
jeffiek 1 week ago
@RESTxINxPIECEZ
Why is he (the pimp) the only one who can give her the drug (or get her off it)?
RPFS2008 1 week ago
@RPFS2008 hes not, but shes now a heroin addict, your entire thought process changes at that point. all she knows is she wants heroin, if the pimp goes to jail she wont get it, so she wouldnt testify against him.
RESTxINxPIECEZ 1 week ago
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@RESTxINxPIECEZ
"hes not"
"if the pimp goes to jail she wont get it"
You need to have a rethink.
RPFS2008 1 week ago
@georgelopezblows I'm not a Republican, nor am I about "making them look good." But you are doing the drug addicts justice here...lol
MrSchultzstaffel 1 month ago
@MrSchultzstaffel you are such a miserable little faggot. i cant even begin to tell you how happy i am that youre guna die sad and alone. you really deserve it
willyrandolf 4 weeks ago
@georgelopezblows Well...that's dope for ya. lol
MrSchultzstaffel 1 month ago
@georgelopezblows No...that's a lie...which I would expect from a doper. But if you happen to be black as well as being a pot-head...then just for you, I'll make it a double-header of hate! A black pot-head? Is that the definition of a two-time loser? lol You decide.... =)
MrSchultzstaffel 1 month ago
@georgelopezblows Smoke your dope...no common ground here...can't have common ground with another doper.
MrSchultzstaffel 1 month ago
@georgelopezblows Who knows what the hell your talking about? Who even cares? I stand by what I said...all drug dealers get the death penalty. Kill them. All drug addicts...three strikes and they get it too.No exceptions. If you knew that doing drugs on Monday, Wednsday and Friday was going to get you the death penalty...but doing them on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday was going to get you a slap on the wrist, then when would you logically do them?Remove your head from your rear...you can do it.
MrSchultzstaffel 1 month ago
The most fucked up thing in any problems we encounter as individual countries, though with a few exceptions, is that pretty much all fallow in USA steps. So you don't only fuck up your country, but you fuck up the rest of the world to!
Thanks for that!
TheDrFrogg 1 month ago
We still haven't explored the final option in this War on Drugs...and that is to put to death all the drug dealers and after three strikes...put the drug addicts to death as well. I do not give a good-God-damn about the drug dealers or the drug addicts...I care about the children who can't play in their neighborhood or old people who can't walk down the street because of the violent drug gangs, the pushers, the dealers or the revolting addicts! The death penalty answers this problem quite well.
MrSchultzstaffel 1 month ago
@MrSchultzstaffel If you want to impose your will on others, yes, be for making drug use illegal. But, if you are against street crime, be for legalizing drugs. Did you not watch the video? People like you do not believe in self-ownership. You want to hand over your personal title to the state. Ignorance is a greater threat than drug use. Drugs are like guns, they don't cause crime. People do. Making drugs illegal provides financial incentive to the underworld.
fzqlcs 1 month ago
@fzqlcs More liberal rationalization. You seem to be an expert on what "people like me" really want. Well...be that as it may, I'll just have to say it again so that you'll understand; the death penalty for drug dealers and a three-strikes and your dead law for all drug addicts too. If murder were legal then it would just all "go away" too right; because making it easier to accomplish always takes it off the table as a personal option. You want to use drugs? Fine. But don't do it in my America.
MrSchultzstaffel 1 month ago
@MrSchultzstaffel The difference you fail to comprehend is that drug use is, in and of itself, is NOT a violation of anyone's personal, property or civil rights. It is simply a behavior YOU (and other useful drug cartel idiots) do not like. You want crime to hinge on the political status of given substances rather than whether a violation of rights occurred. Your vision of America is a nation that reflects self-serving ignorance, not liberty. No thanks!
fzqlcs 1 month ago
@fzqlcs If you are so hell-bent on doing dope as a way of exercising your freedom's nutcase...then allow me to provide you with a lethal dose; so you can exercise your "rights" and at the same time relieve society of the burdon that both you and your lifestyle obviously are. Drug use never has carried with it the appropriate punishment and so people indulge in it with no more concern than when they turn off a light switch. A firing squad or a long rope will fit addicts like you just fine. =D
MrSchultzstaffel 1 month ago
@MrSchultzstaffel all you indicate is that small people have small ways and how government can always count on the weak-minded for support. liberty is very scary to some unfortunate souls.
fzqlcs 1 month ago
@fzqlcs Uhhh...okay. You got a wall socket in your place there? Lick it. Save the government some money on a few feet of rope. You live in a trailer court? I believe that there should be a power-hook-up right outside there....so go out and put the brass end in your mouth and suck real hard. After all...you're free to do so...you have the rights...might as well get there faster than the drugs would allow you to arrive at your final resting place wouldn't you say? Cheers! lol =D
MrSchultzstaffel 1 month ago
@MrSchultzstaffel who said I do drugs? That is not the necessary condition to support the notion of self-ownership and individual liberty. The fact that you do not simply indicates the willingness to be a state slave. You are a great cautionary tale to show where such thinking leads.
fzqlcs 1 month ago
@fzqlcs ...as I said hippy...thoe wall sockets are located at the base of the wall there in the room that your at right now...those rectangular things...and if your on a public library computer then just ask the help for assistance in finding them. I have faith in you. lol
MrSchultzstaffel 1 month ago
@MrSchultzstaffel I am a hippie (not hippy, you ignoramous) in the sense of Milton Friedman, Thomas Sowell and William F. Buckley Jr are. You have faith alright. Faith = a belief in that for which there is no evidence. No wonder you have no use for evidence or reason. Faith is plenty for a fool.
fzqlcs 1 month ago
@fzqlcs Okay hippy...uhhh...those wall sockets are a bit low so it might be a good idea if you take a drink of water and wet yourself down real good before you start in...lol
MrSchultzstaffel 1 month ago
@MrSchultzstaffel at least we know Thomas Sowell is a little advanced for you. i suggest you consult Popeye for any future intellectual musings. you definitely sound like someone who has had his tongue in a light socket.
fzqlcs 1 month ago
@fzqlcs Now that's ironic...comming from someone who's a mentally impaired hippy who's fighting for his right to use whatever substance he can to mentally impair himself even further...I'll take that as a badge of honor! lol Now lick away hippy! Your wall-socket awaith! lol
MrSchultzstaffel 1 month ago
all drugs should be legel
edwardd6681 1 month ago
stated perfiectly
necrom666 1 month ago
We will never legalize drugs, the profits to our "friends" is just too great, it is a major part of our economic system and our govt creates many jobs and keeps money flowing into our economy.Many foreign "investors" use drug profits to keep our game profitable. Just too much money and power in drugs to make it legal. IRAN-CONTRA raised money to fund arms for hostages with drug sales, getting around Congress to help fund the Contras! This was done with Drug profits, most people forget this.
nagone11 1 month ago
...cont..helps us to buy cooperation from them. We did the same thing in Iraq, so the drug war is no war at all. it is fact a way to gain cooperation from various factions that might help us do what we want in those nations. In turn we then let them sell their dope in our country and we in turn Jail the little people, make these bullshit laws and call it a war on drugs! Is it any wonder why HEROIN from Afghanistan is coming into this country more pure and greater amounts than ever before! THINK!
nagone11 1 month ago
Good argument, but what most of us fail to realize is that the drug trade is just not about here but overseas in areas that we try to control. SOuth East Asia in the 60's was a very important are for us so we did much business with Warlords that helped us against the N.Vietnamese Govt. The profit from drug money helped us buy their cooperation. This same model is used now in Afghanistan, the drug lords there are the warlords and local cheiftains. The profit from drugs and the money it raises...
nagone11 1 month ago
Uncle Tom Sowell might know from personal experience on drugs.
comptonproduction 2 months ago
@comptonproduction A'ight now Remus. Ain't no need for insults like dat.
SirManUp 1 month ago
@comptonproduction What does that make you? Step and fetchit?
AynManRand 1 month ago
@comptonproduction What a racist thing to say and I am sure you are probably a minority yourself. For you simpletons, the word 'Uncle Tom' has now come to mean intelligence, success and post racial thinking. Anyone you call an 'Uncle Tom' should be complimented.
EarlRegent 1 month ago
@EarlRegent May I refraze, sir: He a kiss ass Mutherfukker.
comptonproduction 1 month ago
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@comptonproduction Judging from your English it appears you don't have the faculties to comprehend what he is saying; this explains your childish and ignorant comments. Anyone who is of a similar mind to you deserves where he/she ends up in society. Good day now.
EarlRegent 1 month ago
@1971SuperLead not reeally dude
GrandWizad 2 months ago
1984, an ominous year
ElJefer 3 months ago
Many rational and logical arguments can be made for legalization, but this will not be sufficient to counter the irrational and illogical backing behind illegalization.
Drug policy was constructed for a number of reasons, one being to create a legal and acceptable continuance of Jim Crow laws, another more important reason being to control vast sums of money in the underground economy.
It would not be possible to carry out the dark projects and financial manipulations without drug policy.
zq926 3 months ago
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Read the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, the Federalist Papers, Bastiat's The Law. Know the history of USA or you can't support & defend it. Restore America 2012 Ron Paul RonPaul2012dotcom 1835 “Minute” on India written by Thomas Babington Macaulay; A government cannot be wrong in punishing fraud or force, but it is almost certain to be wrong if, abandoning its legitimate function, it tells private individuals that it knows their business better than they know it themselves.
possumpistol 4 months ago
Is Sowell okay with making them legal for kids?
RoboSlater 4 months ago
@RoboSlater Probably no more than he would be for making alcohol and cigarettes legal for children...what a stupid question.
Hereticalable 4 months ago 5
@Hereticalable - sign of a believer looking for a reason to doubt logic, reason, and rational. Damn right that was a stupid question.
TheDonster666 4 months ago
HE IS SUCH A FREAKING GENIUS!!!!!!!!!
xHippieHunter 5 months ago
@xHippieHunter PAUL/SOWELL 2012!
iluvpoliticzz 4 months ago
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xHippieHunter 4 months ago
@iluvpoliticzz no Sowell/paul 2012
xHippieHunter 4 months ago
It is very brave for some prominent Conservatives like Sowell to call a spade a spade when it comes to the failed drug war. I have recently changed my party registration to Republican (lord knows a blue state like New York needs more) but from early adulthood, I have had increasingly Libertarian leanings.
grungefreak10 5 months ago
@grungefreak10 Drug war fails because the governments use drug money to finance their occult activities.
EternalComos 1 month ago
1. Legalize drugs
2. Impose taxes on them
3. No more recession
4tehhorde 5 months ago
@4tehhorde I am all for legalizing drugs as a matter of individual liberty. However, taxes never end recessions. They make government (politicians) richer, not the people.
fzqlcs 5 months ago
True enough...DAMN YOU, REAGANOMICS!
4tehhorde 5 months ago
@4tehhorde Re #2: What a great idea! We could call it the Marijuana Tax Act! lol
weavermama 5 months ago
I struggled with this for a long time.. Jim, the wonderful guy that runs this LibertyPen channel had a discussion with me awhile back and I changed my opinion.. I listen intently to common sense and rationality.. This too is rational.. As a Christian it is my duty to preach righteousness and God's will. But how would that be changed if drugs were legal? It wouldn't.. So I for one agree drugs should be legalized. It would save lives NOT cost them.. Prohibition was a mistake, and so is this.
SuperGuitarman69 6 months ago 8
@SuperGuitarman69 I've never understood for one moment how Christians can be so against weed but absolutely have zero objection to alcohol- a more harmful and addictive drug, one that is infused with chemicals and unnaturally occurring substances.
Andsormida01 5 months ago
@Andsormida01 Where did you get that I was advocating alcohol in my comment? Or where do you think that Christians in general advocate alcohol? Prohibition was exactly the same thing as the current war on drugs that is currently going on... All I was saying is that it simply doesn't make sense that we continue the same policies that made Al Capone a multi-millionaire, and and some street thug a billionaire.. Doesn't that make sense to you?
SuperGuitarman69 5 months ago
@SuperGuitarman69 It was directed at Christians in general, not you but many Christian conservatives consider the right to relax with alcohol after a hard days work perfectly acceptable while they scorn at people who smoke weed in the same manner. It's laughable.
Andsormida01 5 months ago
@Andsormida01 Ah I think you would be surprised.. Many Christians will be more on the side of liberty than you think.. If it is between government controlling our lives, and what they think is morally right, they will error a lot of the times on the side of liberty.. I am finding more and more Christians I know actually now thinking that the Federal Government is the enemy of the people.. Therefore to promote freedom over serfdom is better for them as well..
SuperGuitarman69 5 months ago
@Andsormida01 Remember this.. It is vogue to criticize Christians, but atheists, muslims etc.. are looked at through PC sunglasses.. So persecution is now targeting Christians.. And they are up to the fight.. They are seeing Christianity targeted by leftists in government.. Attacking them from every angle.. So, they in turn are learning that all around freedom is the way to go...
SuperGuitarman69 5 months ago
@SuperGuitarman69 I can guarantee you, ISLAM is criticized a thousand times more than Christianity, especially on the internet and especially by athiests.
Andsormida01 5 months ago
@Andsormida01 Not hardly... Watch tv.. Islam has earned the right to be criticized.. Yet PC involvement has sent the President (I use that loosely he is NO President) to apologize to every Islamic country in the world and take national prayer day away as to not offend the Muslims..
SuperGuitarman69 5 months ago
@Andsormida01 Ironically, while many of my fellow religious skeptics have given Islam the criticism it rightly deserves, the most prominent defenders of Islam are also atheists. The fact that the religious skeptics of the world are also indoctrinated into the PC left's doctrines are one of the big reasons why I have put my differences with the Christian community aside next year. I intend to vote Libertarian next year, unless it looks like the GOP has a chance of carrying New York.
grungefreak10 5 months ago
@SuperGuitarman69 That's awesome, I love it when christians quit their statism to preach their moralism in a peaceful way. There's nothing wrong with that. Prohibiting something (that doesn't harm others) by force just because one disapproves of it, can only be considered immoral. Also, does prohibition really make society more moral when people are still demanding the drugs? All you get is a black market, the people are still the same as before.
BaptizedinFire 1 month ago
The only thing I agree with Sowell and Libertarians on
CyberCelebrity 6 months ago
@CyberCelebrity Go fuck yourself stupid Libtard!
Shonenut213 5 months ago
Outstanding speech. This along with the late Milton Friedman's talk are the two best arguments I have heard on the legalization of drugs.
frtw4428 6 months ago
Brilliant analysis. We have no right to dictate what others do with their own bodies in a free society. This goes for prostitution, suicide and the like. We can only prevent you from restricting the freedoms of your fellow citizens.
When questions arise regarding the public good, they should be decided at the local level. This a central tenet of federalism. It allows people to simply leave one area where they dislike the local moral codes to seek out regions that are more to their liking.
jamo387 6 months ago
In the face of all this irrationality, there has got to be some huge reason that is occulted (is that the right English?) from the public as to why drugs (at least marijuana) are still illegal.
I can't believe that the governments of the world would follow this course of irrationality without something that made it worthwhile for them.
EmilioCasavegas 6 months ago
@EmilioCasavegas Yes, very good principle, if something seems astonishingly ridiculous, yet survives for decades, look for a different rationale, than the one you think is operation (ie. we think the drug war is based on pursuing the welfare of people, which it obviously does not, so ....what *is* it pursuing?) I think you can find your answer from viewing some videos here at youtube. ex-CIA agent John Stockwell; and financier Catherine Austen Fitts. Gary Webb, (deceased journalist)
givebirthathome 6 months ago
@givebirthathome Thanks, I'll search for those names. I'm glad you understand what I'm trying to say.
EmilioCasavegas 6 months ago
@EmilioCasavegas I just did a search myself on Catherine Austin (with an i) Fitts and drug war, and found some stuff that educated me. At drugwar dot com you can find her series on "Narcodollars for dummies" --its amazing and demoralizing to hear thousands of people recycle the same pro-con arguments again, while entirely avoiding mentioning the "politically incorrect" facts about what is going on. So...I hope you manage to teach as many people as possible your look-deeper-folks point.
givebirthathome 6 months ago
@EmilioCasavegas also had much to say about it.
givebirthathome 6 months ago
He is great
jetrpg22 7 months ago
i agree only way to win the war on drugs is to legalize it
gonzjr26 7 months ago
Thomas Sowell... The Man... I compare him to shaft.. he gets all the chicks...
HandyMan101 8 months ago 2
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RON PAUL 2012
txliberty 8 months ago
Compelling....
carolm62 8 months ago 2
The quote at the beginning cracked me the hell up
s0beit 8 months ago 10
This is so intelligent that no one will believe it's true.
1971SuperLead 8 months ago 30
Every video that starts off with lame music + text zooming in can't be taken as anything but propaganda.
luKrek 9 months ago
@luKrek
Wow, great rule for making logical deductions.
Califacience 8 months ago
It's difficult to make my point unless you see real life examples, the UK's club scene is just one example. Go out on a weekend and look at the carnage that spills out onto the streets not just from drinking sessions but from the hard drug clubbing scene. I'm not being closed minded here - I expect I've experienced a lot more of the drug world (at least) than Thomas Sowell. As he quotes 'a fool can put on his coat better than a wise man can put it on for him' and in this case I am the fool
darkaudiovideo 9 months ago
Also, I read a comment about legalisation in Portugal. Portugal's social scene is not the same as some globally (more alcohol less drugs in Portugal). The drug users there are mostly ALREADY using high level hard drugs. The weekend pub-goer/drinker is unlikely to go out and buy hard drugs once legalised. The danger is in a social scenes such as the UK's (and some of the US) whereby kids that are already using Cannabis or Cocaine socially can easily make the transition to Heroin, for example.
darkaudiovideo 9 months ago
Anyone is capable of being 'stupid' or making a mistake, especially at a young age. And once you do that with hard drugs they own you. A lot of social scenes globally revolve around drugs, it's seen as normal to do Cocaine - just like alcohol. If more addictive hard drugs were legalised now (accepted in society) I can tell you for sure that several of my friends would be dead by this time next year. The only reason that they don't do them now is because they're NOT socially acceptable
darkaudiovideo 9 months ago
@darkaudiovideo I'm curious what it is that makes you think your friends would run out and do hard drugs if they were legalised. The people I know who make legality the guidepost for what they do or don't do simply use legal or prescription drugs instead of street drugs. Yet not everyone is an alcoholic or pill addict, are they? And I can tell you for sure that if drugs were legalized, my friends would almost certainly be fine - the ones who would have died from drug use have already done so.
wildhammer81 9 months ago
@wildhammer81 You don't have to be classed as an alcoholic or a pill addict for drugs to have an effect. I know a lot of people who regularly do Ecstasy or smoke Cannabis despite the fact that it's seen as 'normal' in their social group and you can see it having an effect on them and others around them. Making these drugs more easily accessible is like saying it's OK to do more and I don't think that's the right approach. You would need to change societies attitude towards drug taking first
darkaudiovideo 9 months ago
The problem with reading feedback on a drug related Sowell video is it's mostly made by middle aged debaters who have no experience of drugs. There's so much naivety and ignorance in the comments. Anyone can be tempted to try hard drugs under certain circumstances. 15 years ago if someone racked up lines of Cocaine in front of me I would have been disgusted, but now it's common place. How did that happen? How have intelligent academic kids become Heroin addicts with no regard for life?
darkaudiovideo 9 months ago
@darkaudiovideo r u serious? 15 yrs ago, coke was MORE widespread and commonplace.
guineapiggyman 9 months ago
@guineapiggyman And?
darkaudiovideo 9 months ago
@darkaudiovideo my point is now, its definitly not commonplace.
guineapiggyman 9 months ago
It's very easy to agree because many of you are bamboozled by the general charm and work of Thomas Sowell. However Sowell in this case is the 'intellectual' and has no grasp on the reality of drugs. Drugs such as Heroin can not be compared to alcohol - the level of addiction just isn't the same. I can go on a weekly drinking binge as we often do here in the UK but pretty sure I wont become an alcoholic. I can 100% guarantee that wouldn't be the case with Heroin. Please don't be naive.
darkaudiovideo 9 months ago
@darkaudiovideo The level of addiction of certain drugs is not the point of Thomas's argument . Thomas argues it is the corrupt overly regulated powers of the government that causes crime happening over a drug addict's addiction to drugs powerful in addiction; drug addicts then commit crimes to afford illegal drugs giving drug traffickers and corrupt politicians money via the black market. Therefore, legalizing drugs' of powerful addiction would be like alcohol if regulated like alcohol.
thekooj 9 months ago
@thekooj That didn't make sense. However it's irrelevant what the argument is, the point is if you legalise and lower the cost of drugs it might solve some problems within society (i.e. crime related to drug dealers/government), but other problems will still come about from legalising it (i.e. a lot more people will be exposed to drugs that they wouldn't have been exposed to before - leading to more addiction within society)
darkaudiovideo 9 months ago
@darkaudiovideo It does makes sense, its not my fault that you can't handle a intellectual debate about economics without being emotionally distressed and rude. And yes the message is completely relevant to the it. If you understand economics and Thomas Sowell's message, the outcome would be to sacrifice the few for the greater good. Just like when alcohol was illegal more crime was present when it was legal. If other drugs did become legal it would be in better control with less violence.
thekooj 9 months ago
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darkaudiovideo 9 months ago
@thekooj Well done, you've passed your economics assignment and given an incorrect analysis of my personality. And again missed the point. Yes legalising alcohol may have reduced organised crime, but look at what OTHER shit the UK has to put up with (type 'Bad News For Binge Booze Britain' into YouTube for example). I can't wait for legalisation of drugs bearing in mind the UK's 'club drug' scene is nearly as big as that of alcohol
darkaudiovideo 9 months ago
@darkaudiovideo Hey that booze Britain video looks fun, I got to go there someday. I think the important part of that video is the part that goes "only a minority of the boozer get in trouble" as the rest just wake up from a hang over. I'm pretty sure only a minority would get in trouble and the rest would just wake up and continue their normal lives and just party on the weekends, because most people are responsible.
thekooj 9 months ago
@darkaudiovideo Just because you can't read doesn't mean you can be an asshole too. Your just being closed minded and you like listening your self talk without listening to the opponents side. You need to grow up and be a man and learn that you cant win every fight. All that I'm hearing from you is that your scared, so you need the government to tell you everything is going to be all right because they have "regulations".
thekooj 9 months ago
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darkaudiovideo 9 months ago
@thekooj The argument might sound impressive to the average naive do-gooder but it wont work. Anyone that thinks that legalising drugs is a good idea has no drug world experience and no common sense. Go to Amsterdam where cannabis is 'accepted' - it's not a pretty picture (only for the kids doing it). About 50% of foreigners are stumbling around off their heads. If Heroin was accepted there as well it would be a absolute shambles. So you think it would be OK if your kids could buy Heroin?
darkaudiovideo 9 months ago
@darkaudiovideo Yes, I believe it's okay if my kid could buy Heroin. That's a false statistic, tell the truth. It sounds like you never smoked marijuana before, because you don't stumble around when you are high. Addiction would be better controlled if drugs were legalized, just like caffeine. If drugs were legalized today, would you or anybody else you know that doesn't do drugs buy drugs just based of the fact it's legal? no. It would be just like cigarettes and alcohol.
thekooj 9 months ago
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darkaudiovideo 9 months ago
Of course in a free society, private industry could insist on its employees not using drugs. Even going as far as drug testing their employees as is done today. Freedom is a two way street. You have the right to take drugs and behave the way you want. I also have the right to screen out employees based on behaviors I find objectionable. You have no right to work at my company, I have no obligation to pay you. I have no right to dictate your behaviors unless they are a condition of employment.
jamo387 10 months ago
all what this guy is saying is just logic and that is what the present people in power are missing, or maybe they enjoy to look at peoples pain. Logic is what this world is missing now
paradebaraki 10 months ago
I love how Sowell and Friedman have their own theme songs on these videos.
losethegame101 10 months ago 41
@losethegame101 And walter williams
smaug777000 6 months ago
@losethegame101 Sowell's sounds like Brubeck's Take Five
PissedAtPolitics 3 months ago
@losethegame101 Walter Williams has it's own too...
chechitopaisa 2 months ago
Well stated! The war on drugs has been going on for nearly 40 years and yet, nearly every form of illegal drug is readily available to anyone who desires them. If they were legalized tomorrow would all the non-users rush out to buy them? No - they've already demonstrated their choice. The biggest difference would be a huge loss of income for street gangs and drug cartels. It's too bad this issue is always emotionalized by politicians and the media.
wildhammer81 1 year ago
@wildhammer81 Ha what makes you think that all the 'non-users' wouldn't rush out and buy drugs if they were legalised? Have you got any drug world experience!? I can guarantee that many many people who are are at the alcohol/cannabis level would go straight out and buy something harder to try it, because its now 'allowed' and easy to do so. Once you 'try' Heroin it's not that easy to not buy it a second time. It's like playing with fire or worse.
darkaudiovideo 9 months ago
@darkaudiovideo Yes, I do have real drug world experience. Of course, that's a catch-22 because if I have experience, then I'm immoral and can be written off as having no place in a moral discussion - if I have no experience, then I'm ignorant and have no place in the discussion either. I absolutely agree that several drugs are very addictive - heroin, cocaine and meth are excellent examples. If you think it isn't easy to get any of these right now, then you haven't tried - which is my point.
wildhammer81 9 months ago
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wildhammer81 9 months ago
Joe the plumer does not realizes drug money is in the pockes of many law enforcment agents and have made their failies very rich. That is why gov agencies does not allow drugs to be legalized. I heard it from a guy that used to work as a cop in elpaso he told us once they were instructed to let "certain" suspects alone when crossing the mexican border to el paso with tons of drugs.
TzzX78 1 year ago
I agree with many of the comments here, Mr Sowell breaks it down with simple logic, he's clear on his position. If your a novice like me I recommend his book basic economics a citizen's guide, It changed my opinion on many things.
TysonFan911 1 year ago
This is the common sense that seems lacking in our policy discussions. This man speaks plain, clear, truth- a marked deviation from the mouthpieces of the DEA and prohibitionists who fanangle data and policy to try and justify the continuation of an immoral and costly, morally and financially, war on our citezins that accomplishes nothing.
jjjooommm222 1 year ago
when drugs were legal and unregulated, as in since discovery of a drug until 1910-1930, we were in pretty good shape. drug prohibition has actually increased drug use, funding in criminal activities, murder, theft, and death. there would be far less incentive to try a drug that's really bad for you if it were legal.
ungougedeyes552 1 year ago
@kev3d I didn't even mention a "per capita murder rate". And "carnage" can be defined as the destruction of lives by narcotics. Thanks for asking. Hope this helps.
grifflesnaffle 1 year ago
@darwinkilledgod The only data available to me is the first-hand report of my son, who lives in Europe. And he is by no means an "anti-drug zealot", having for years been an occassional user of pot, and occassional user of 'shrooms, etc. And yet he was shocked at the carnage he witnessed when visiting Amsterdam.
grifflesnaffle 1 year ago
@grifflesnaffle Define "carnage". Because Holland has a lower per capita murder rate than the U.S.
Since Portugal decriminalized drug use 10 years ago and instead encouraged treatment for addicts, addiction has gone down, as has HIV infections. By all measures, it is a success. Holland has less drug usage per head than many other European nations.
kev3d 1 year ago
All day long in Amsterdam the sirens wail, coming and going to and from the public
parks to pick up those youngsters who have overdosed...legally, I might add. Is this
your idea of a solution, Dr. Sowell?
grifflesnaffle 1 year ago
@grifflesnaffle I find this interesting. Do you have any data on what happened in Amsterdam in terms of overdoses, deaths, user rates, etc?
darwinkilledgod 1 year ago
@grifflesnaffle
Clearly those addicts would no longer be addicts if the substances were illegal. Is this what you are saying? If that is the case the next rational step would be to ban alcohol and tobacco since those are also major killers. Tobacco alone is estimated to kill 400,000+ a year in the USA... Next the government should determine what we eat so we can win the war on obesity.
Cuchulainn131 1 year ago
@grifflesnaffle Personal choice is just that, personal choice.
If someone is stupid enough to overdose then it is no big loss for society. I'd rather protect those people who die because an addict can't get enough money for his addiction other then robbing people. then the addict himself. We are not God, we can't protect people from their own idiocy, the best we can do is limit the damage.
necrotyk1985 1 year ago
Dr. Sowell accurately states that "...tens of thousands of lives are lost each year to drunk driving." And yet he faults prohibition for creating criminal "booze cartels". I'm not as sure as Dr. Sowell is that tens of thousands of deaths a year in exchange for doing away with bootlegging is a sane trade. Tens of thousands die annually because alcohol is legal. Now he proposes adding legions of stoned hypes, coke-heads and tweakers to the mix on the hi-ways. All day long
in Amsterdam the sirens
grifflesnaffle 1 year ago
@grifflesnaffle Do you know anyone who soberly waits "Oh boy, as soon as they legalize drugs, Im going to become an addict!" Of course drugs are widely available today just as booze was widely available during prohibition. Let us not forget that many murders are committed because of drug funded gangs and cartels and we also have the expense of incarceration or all drug offenders.
kev3d 1 year ago
This is interesting. Sowell's libertarianism is showing here. But he's at odds with most conservatives on the drug issue.
chapaev36 1 year ago
"Common sense... so rare it's a goddamn superpower."
Dr. Sowell is, by modern standards and that idiom, a superhero. So refreshing.
UkeRocket 1 year ago
@UkeRocket Yes, common sense in important.because common sense tells us that when we die, that's it; Bush is a war criminal; Obama is a fraud; and America is a terrorist state. Did Sowell tell any "common sense" truths like the aforementioned?
tstruss912 1 year ago
@tstruss912
Um... this video was about the War on Drugs. >_>
I certainly hope you don't go to a football game expecting an opera.
UkeRocket 1 year ago
@UkeRocket I went to a Chargers game one time and I was quite upset that there was no opera playing. I got pissed and went sort of overboard...I rolled three handicapped kids off the balcony. Their parents cheered though so I think it was OK.
tstruss912 1 year ago
Comment removed
mrspatrickcampbell 1 year ago
Still true 26 years later and we're still 'fighting' the same losing war. Sowell is right again.
BazookaJoeM9 1 year ago 32
Thank you Dr. Sowell
CamillusUSA 1 year ago
Oh man Thomas Sowell using Friedman's arguments that were made since like the 70s, what a bold fresh take on drugs.
AndroidPolitician 1 year ago
If you are ever debating the prohibition issue with someone, I found a compelling argument that can sometimes bring the argument to a halt. From 1776 to about 1910, all drugs were legal, available, and largely unregulated ( no FDA, FTC, ect) in the US. Though they did not have some of the more exotic drugs, they did have the big three, cannabis, cocaine, opiates. So during this period was the country awash in addicts and chaos? No, in fact we witnessed the largest economic rise in human history.
fdoo17 1 year ago
@fdoo17 Isn't Amsterdam a place where drugs (at least Hemp) is legal, and aren't they doing well over there. In fact, there's more to hemp than the drug. One could make textiles, or even paper from it. Also, let's not forget that the government doesn't have the constitutional authority to prohibit drugs without an amendment, which they didn't pass. The ban on drugs is therefore unconstitutional.
baryonyx550 1 year ago
@baryonyx550 i think you may have misunderstood my argument. i was discrediting the theory that legalized drugs would lead to more addicts and a less productive society, because the US from its founding to about 1910 or so had all legal drugs and was far and away the most productive country on earth, even when an adult could by morphine or cocaine over the counter. I fully support the legalization of ALL drugs, and not decriminalized or need a doctors permission or any other barriers except age
jerryvalez 1 year ago
thank god for dr. sowell. without a daily dose of sowell's logic, the world seems a very foolish place indeed.
wtube502 1 year ago
What a wise man.
Rommel266 1 year ago
The Ethics of Addiction explains how the state determined it's profiting by enticing the youth and further spreading drug usage into the communities. Organized crime by the government has traveled around the world for centuries & an amerikan ideal for those corporates investing their dollars in the building of prisons. Never caught before until now ; the illusion targeted the user. Life of a fine nation & unholy tactics combined 2create lethal results by their own creation + police brutality!
intrascoobz 1 year ago
@iwustudent101
lol Glenn beck does too, what does that mean?
Califacience 1 year ago
I LUV ME SOME SOWELL LOL
jjmdirector 1 year ago
Thomas Sowell is a very well educated black man.
ferrariman1988 1 year ago
In what country has legalization of drugs reduced problems? The only specific examples I know of (Oslo and Mexico) have only seen their problems rise. Also, to make this argument for any drug other than marijuana is proof one has never spent time around addicts. They remain violent and volatile individuals regardless of law. Hang out in a heroin den for a day and tell me that stuff should be legal.
TheIvoryCity 1 year ago
@TheIvoryCity There is no evidence that folks are lined up waiting for drugs to be legalized in order to be addicts. That is just stupid. Drugs are completely available in America from grade school to prison. It is not like drug illegality is accomplishing anything beyond filling up the jails and, because of overcrowding, causing the release of more violent criminals on to the streets. Drug illegality only erodes liberty, creates a police state and drains the country of valuable resources.
fzqlcs 1 year ago
@fzqlcs still haven't answered my question about specific examples of things getting better when drugs are legalized. Do you have any? And one could make the same argument about not enforcing anti-murder laws because we're "losing the war against murder". That doesn't mean we should just give up enforcing those laws. I will agree we need reform on drugs laws.
TheIvoryCity 1 year ago
@TheIvoryCity Here is one thing that would get better. Gangs would lose their primary funding mechanism. It is right that violations of one's personal, property or civil rights be criminalized. However, you want crime to also be based on the political status of a given substance. If drugs are legalized, no violent criminal or violator of his fellow man's rights is off the hook.
fzqlcs 1 year ago
@fzqlcs But Mexico just legalized drugs and gangs are still terrorizing the border. I am not saying anything of the sort, I'm just saying that the results you tout as being so obvious haven't actually panned out in a single country where drugs have been legalized (to my knowledge. Still waiting for a specific example on your end.)
TheIvoryCity 1 year ago
@fzqlcs
Ivorcitycity makes a good point in his last post, and we don't have a huge gang problem here like we had in years past, or like other countries have.
People usually don't take drugs in order to "become addicts", they just experiment with it and end up that way.
I'm not ideologically tied to an anti-legalization position, i'm open to the alternative, but so far, I haven't seen good arguments for it, atleast in 21st century United States.
periechontology 1 year ago
@periechontology In California, where I live, gangs are a major problem and the sale of drugs is their primary funding mechanism. The argument against liberty is always the same--people are too dumb to act in their own best interest and need their betters to act as conservators. But look at issue's flipside. Do you think Americans get good value for the $100 billion a year spent on the drug war. Couldn't the money be better spent? Drugs are everywhere and we are becoming a police state.
fzqlcs 1 year ago
@fzqlcs
But as i said, the American born gang problem is nothing like it was in this country, even though their very much still around.
Too dumb? Actually i don't care what adults do, my concern is children getting them.
As a Libertarian where else would you spend the 100 billion? if something is illegal you need an infrastructure of enforcement. I'm sorry but to me, making Cocaine just as accessible as Coors Light to kids, in today's world is insanity.
periechontology 1 year ago
@periechontology You make my case. Cocaine is just as accessible as Coors Light as both are illegal to children, but are easily obtained by them now. Who is suggesting drugs be legalized for children? If you don't believe that children who want drugs now cannot get them, you are quite naive. Drug illegality hands over the profit incentive to everyone wanting to create addicts of our children. Why do you think our children would be worse off if that incentive is taken away?
fzqlcs 1 year ago
Are you saying that if you left where you are at this moment you could FIND (not buy) Cocaine right now, as easily as you could find beer? The claim that they are equally accessible ANYWHERE in America is extremely outlandish. I can't walk down the street without passing thousands of gallons of alcohol in stores all around me. Do you know how often 18 year olds hang out with 16 years old? or 16 year olds with 15 or 14 year olds? (especially across genders).
periechontology 1 year ago
@periechontology My comment is about children. Yes, I am saying that a high school kid can get his mits on cocaine as easily as beer, even after a 40-year tail-chasing multi-billion dollar drug war. In fact, kids often have better access to high school drug dealers than they do to liquor stores. In many cases, they can obtain dope without even leaving school grounds. If you doubt this, ask a high school student.
fzqlcs 1 year ago
@fzqlcs
Do you think that these cliches are new? Hyperbolic cliches asserting that Cocaine is as easy to get as Coca Cola, pie, or other prosaic items go all the way to when i was in school in the 80's and early 90's (In New York City at the height of the Crack-Wars) . They were hyperbolic when they were first created and they are now. Their purpose is simply to highlight that these drugs are far more accessible than they should be.
periechontology 1 year ago
@fzqlcs
Alcohol on the other hand actually is as easy to find as apple pie, infact easier (they might only have Cherry or Blueberry left in stock at the 7/11)..
periechontology 1 year ago
@periechontology I have asked you many questions. The fact that you have neglected to answer any of them speaks volumes. Here is the most basic one. Why are you not satisfied to limit the definition of crime to the violation of one's personal, property or civil rights? Why do you insist on extending the definition to the political status of a given substance. Enough of the flippant horseshit. Explain why government should dictate lifestyle choices of a free people.
fzqlcs 1 year ago
@fzqlcs
Which questions are these? And your final question is one i already answered. I told you what my actual concern was here.
periechontology 1 year ago
@fzqlcs
The accessibility of these drugs would lend itself more to experimentation, whereas in order to look for a pusher you usually have to really want the drug.
periechontology 1 year ago
@periechontology Are you saying those who really don't want drugs would suddenly want to use them if legal or you don't think pushers seek out new customers?
fzqlcs 1 year ago