Drugs

Someone on the Google group uk.local.south-wales recently came out with the same tired old argument for legalising 'soft' drugs.

I quote:
"Any drug with medical benefits should be taken seriously, and not condemned because they have street abuse. Marijuana is a powerful drug for the treatment of glaucoma; a friend of mine uses it yet he is breaking the law here in the US. He has to get the drug on the street, and risks arrest. Yet, alcohol, one of the most addictive drugs in the world, and one of the deadliest, is freely available to anyone who is of legal age. Go figure."

Several others echoed the sentiments that as banned drugs caused less deaths than alcohol, we should legalise drugs.

Someone replied:

"I totally agree with the reasoning that as alcohol is more dangerous than our favourite tipple of mind-altering chemicals, let's legalise them all. But i don't want to stop there. Knives have killed more people than guns throughout history but knives are freely available in SHOPS!!??!! In fact you can go to any canteen and see children as young as three wielding these murderous things. So please let's legalise guns. After all guns don't kill, it's misuse of guns that kill."

Someone replied:

"Yeah right. Are you an American by any chance?"

Hmm! Seems they missed the point.

The reply:

"If i was American, would I need to ask for legalising guns? :-) I include all history in my reasoning that guns are less dangerous than knives - so let's legalise guns NOW - it's the commonsense logical view."

I agree with the lone voice in a world of feeble logic. Just because one thing is less dangerous than another, it doesn't reduce the element of danger to society. Tigers kill less people than alcohol but I'd prefer to see a pub on the street corner than a tiger.