Even if I accept as true your claim that most burglary and theft are made to support a drug habit, that argument is completely bogus. It is drug prohibition that causes that problem not drugs.

Drug prohibition artificially drives up the price of drugs and simulataneously pushes people into the "criminal" world simply to get drugs. Even further absurd is the unstated part of your assumption which is that most drug users are drug abusers who steal to support their habit. The simple truth of the matter is that just like most people who drink the legal drug alochol do not have alcohol problems, most people who use illegal drugs are not addicts.

Similairly Su Grant's claims that illegal drugs cause "domestic violence, gang related activity, murder, and a host of other crimes" simply is not supported by fact. As for domestic violence the most common drug associated with DV is of course our friend alcohol. Perhaps The cops should show up at the Splashbar and arrest everyone drinking there just to make sure they don't go home and beat there loved ones. As far Drug's causing gamg crimes it is off course drug prohibition which is the culprit as alcohol prohibition did the same thing with alcohol. Once prohibition is lifted and there is a legal outlet to sell the product it is no longer a gang activity.

As to Jim Greens staement "He must live in a safe lilly white area with no crime and has never seen the drug world up close or has been victimized by it" -- beyond the obvious racisim of this statement it is factually incorrect. I live in Las Vegas which can hardly be called lilly white, or crime free. As far as not seeing the drug world up close, putting aside my college years (where I got my first close up look at the wrold of drugs and started to realize that in real life drugs weren't like they showed them on those ABC after school specials), I spent 10 years working in the criminal justice system as an attorney. I have seen the negative affects of drug prohibition first hand. I have also seen the affects of drug use, and guess what, it turns out that the affects of drug use are no where near as bad as portrayed by the media.

For anyone here with an open mind I highly recommed Jacob Sullum's "Saying Yes : In Defense of Drug Use" for an interesting look at the history and underpinning of the drug prohibition and a challenge to the current drug propoganda.

Just out of curiousity? How many of you who support drug prohibition also think alcohol should be illegal and why or why not?