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Recently, there’s been news about a startling decrease in traffic deaths in the past few years. Last year, deaths were below the total for 1954! Much of the decrease is being attributed to improved traffic law enforcement including enforcement of the drunk driving laws.
I, too, have grave doubts about the continued illegality of drugs and marijuana in particular. And the opportunity to tax the hell out of it seems particularly appealing. The question remains, however, how to suppress driving under its influence and putting the innocent public at risk. I wonder if there’s a roadside screening process akin to the Breathalyzer for alcohol?
Interesting, John, about the roadside drug testing. I assume that a police officer could be trained to do this as well.
Yup, I meant a DEcrease in highway deaths. If I recall correctly, nationwide statistics have been kept since 1954 and 2009 (or maybe it’s 200eight*) had the lowest total on record. For many years, the national figure was around 40,000 deaths per year. The most recent year reported on counted something under 20,000 deaths. That is, indeed, a startling DEcrease.
I suspect that the economy is causing drivers to drive less, and certainly cars are more crashworthy, but improved enforcement also plays a part. I’d hate to see the trend reversed.
*For reasons I cannot explain, this editor keeps inserting an emoticon whenever I hit the “8” key.
[quote=”maravilla”]but you forget that CR is the highway for drugs coming from South America and going to mexico and then the US. every few days there is some raid where they bust pot and cocaine smugglers who were making their way north through the mangrove swamps. many of these busts end in violence. sure, it’s not happening in my neighborhood, but on both southern coasts there is lots of narcotrafficking going on.[/quote]nice to see someone is aware of this.theirs A whole lot of other things going on in the middle.you probably don’t want to know about that though.
and drugs and dealing,just how many folks live there that are running from prosecution?
alot more could be said.A friend of mine was in the US Coast Guard years ago. He told me the CG only interdicts 17% of the drug traffic into the US. With the number of tons that CR alone manages to stop every year you can see why this will never end. To much money, to many users, too much corruption.
I’d be wary of legalization because of the very things David mentioned. The shoulders of the roads would be where the traffic jams would occur with police stops. Unless the penalties are very stiff for High drivers, the roads would become the war zone. No easy answers to this one. How long will it be before CR or any other relatively sane country goes the same way? We are a world gone mad.
John, the question in my mind is just how that scenario would shake out. Suppose, just suppose, that all levels of government simply stopped enforcing existing anti-drug laws because all substances were decriminalized.
Every drug offender in prison is set free. Every narc is reassigned. Every Coast Guardsman goes back to enforcing the other anti-smuggling laws. A very great deal of money is freed up. What then?
The government could give it back to you and me, but to each of us individually it wouldn’t make any real difference, so they’d keep it and . . . what? I’m afraid they’d find another war to start. How better to finance the “liberation” of Iran?
the privatization of prisons is all about making money and you don’t make money if you don’t have prisoners. how many people are in prison in Texas for smoking a joint? LOTS! so there is a very big financial incentive to keep these laws on the books and to continue locking up people for minor offenses all in the name of making a profit for the companies who oversee the prison system.
Right now that private company CCA has approximately 65 correctional facilities that they operate throughout the country. that’s not a little operation, and that is only one company. there are others that i can’t think of right now.
what are we liberating Iran of now? last time it was the democratically elected leader Mossadecq. oh, i forgot, Iran has all that oil.
i think that the operation of 65 prisons throughout the country is a significant number. don’t you? and i made a reference to those incarcerated in tejas because it is well known that you can go to prison for possession of a joint in that state. so the criminalization of such a small amount of marijuana cannot be about keeping the streets safe; it’s about keeping the prisons full so they make money.
1953. Mossadecq. Operation Ajax. Very interesting if you’re into coups and assassinations.
that may be, but they won’t make maximum profit if the prison isn’t full of prisoners!!! there is a monetary incentive to keep the cells occupied. what would really be scary is if these companies were traded on the stock exchange; then, they are mandated BY LAW to turn a profit for the shareholders. so prisons are big business. one guy in Texas got 35 years for possession of 4 ounces. uh, that seems a little harsh to me when child molesters and murderers often get less time.
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