Dear Judge Gray,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. You asked "How important is it to
you that we reduce the glamour and pushing of these various drugs upon
our children? What would you and Dr. Edelstein do about this problem?"
Please allow me to jump into this conversation if you don't mind.
I have a logistics company in the alcoholic beverage industry and 4
kids, two are teenagers. I profit from the regulatory environment in
this business and nothing would make me financially happier than to see
government start regulating the pot business as it would likely follow
the regulated beverage business model.
However, no government program is going to keep the fun out of getting
high. By reading the bible we know that G-d has blessed people with
intoxicants and that people have enjoyed intoxication during the most
happy events of their lives throughout history. Of course the bible is
also clear that too much of a good thing is not consistent with the will
of G_d and that they are not for everyone.
Government cannot teach anything much less how to live a healthy
lifestyle. In fact, government involvement does the opposite. Once
something officially becomes "legal", it is perceived as having a sort
of a "seal of approval" no matter how many warning labels they put on it
or how much they regulate advertising. No one can stop the glamorous use
of product names (or codified slang words for them) in popular songs and
movies. In fact, the only thing that will keep drugs as glamorous as
they are now when illegal and unregulated; is to keep them legal and
regulated. By the way, the cost and the barriers to entry in growing
one's own are so low, the possibility of government actually
"controlling" pot is pure fantasy.
People learn personal responsibility from their experiences; successes
and failures. Hopefully my kids can learn little by little so they don't
make big mistakes later. I want my kids to know the consequences of
their actions and to learn to make good choices. Helping them with this
process is only the parents' responsibility.
So finally, in answer to your question, "How important is it to you that
we reduce the glamour and pushing of these various drugs upon our
children? What would you and Dr. Edelstein do about this problem?"
The answer to the first question is "Very". The answer to the second
question cannot be addressed by government other than by fully
decriminalizing all drugs without regulation. Only parents and society
can do the rest. Government solutions will not give my kids the right
message. If government stays out of it completely, the glamour will fade
as quickly as the sales of last year's pop song.
The pleasure of reasoned intoxication will never fade as these
substances are among the blessings bestowed upon us by G_d. Rather than
worry about glamorization, we should be encouraging more of a
ceremonious approach as this would define their appropriate use and make
inappropriate use more apparent.
Good luck on your race.
Best regards,
Michael Denny
Libertarian Party of San Francisco
(415) 986-7677 x123
mike@...
www.MichaelDenny.net