cbc60d1e   
   XPost: talk.politics.libertarian, alt.drugs, alt.politics.libertarian   
   From: bliss@sfo.com   
      
   Brother Nate wrote:   
   > Jerry Okamura wrote:   
   >> The question is can you ever stop people from doing what they want to do?   
   >   
   > Again, it's more complicated than that.  For example, we   
   > have laws that prohibit murder - people still commit murders,   
   > but we will keep those laws because there's a clear victim,   
   > a compelling moral imperative that murder is wrong.   
   >   
   > Personally I don't see that moral imperative when it comes   
   > to pot smoking.  There are some who would go farther and   
   > say that it doesn't exist for any drug use, but I believe we   
   > need to treat every drug on a case by case basis.  And,   
   > as per an argument I advanced years ago, I think there's   
   > a subtle reason why libertarians will resist the idea that   
   > pot should be treated as a separate case purely on its   
   > own merits.   
   >   
   > Once upon a time Richard Cowan proposed that medical   
   > marijuana would serve as a "wedge" issue - gaining the   
   > acceptance of MJ as a medicine would open the door   
   > for further efforts to legalize it for general use by adults.   
   > I think he may have been right about that, but I believe   
   > the legalization of MJ separately from other drugs would   
   > also serve as a "reverse wedge", because most of the   
   > support for drug legalization comes from pot smokers.   
   >   
   > If they achieve a victory on that issue my hunch is that   
   > they'll fire up their celebratory joints and lapse into short   
   > term memory loss about about the rest of the drug   
   > legalization agenda.   
   >   
   > --   
   > Brother Nate   
   > bronate@gmail.com   
   > Moral Compass   
      
   	You make the mistake that many on these Usenet   
   newsgroups do of confusing activists with drug users.   
   	Further cannabis users short term memory is   
   only affected while the cannabinoids are active..   
   	Most activists who are users have prorities I believe   
   and they wake up sober and ready to write about the   
   topic of changing the sad laws that cost everyone so   
   much.   
      
   	later   
   	bliss   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)