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From: ray@rochester.ARPA (Ray Frank)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,net.med
Subject: Re: Drug Abuse - True Problem or Media Hype?
Message-ID: <20976@rochester.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 22-Sep-86 10:51:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: rocheste.20976
Posted: Mon Sep 22 10:51:21 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 28-Sep-86 19:46:47 EDT
References: <720@scc.UUCP> <20756@rochester.ARPA> <463@epimass.UUCP> <374@necntc.UUCP>
Organization: U of Rochester, CS Dept., Rochester, NY
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Xref: watmath talk.politics.misc:299 net.med:4868

In article <374@necntc.UUCP>, gkb@necntc.UUCP (Greg Busby) writes:
> [As an aside, some of my siblings' high-school-age friends have said
> that with the higher drinking age, they can't get alcohol, so they have
> turned to drugs.  But that is another pet peeve.] The point is that
> regulating a legal drug has made it harder for "children" to get it, so
> why wouldn't legalizing and regulating illegal drugs have the same
> effect?

  The entire paragraph above is just about the most bullshit ridden group of
words assembled that I've seen in quite awhile.
You are saying that because the drinking ages for alcoholic consumption were
raised that kids can't get alcohol, but CAN get drugs.  Does some moral code
of ethics exist out there that would prevent someone from selling alcohol to
minors but would alow the selling of illegal drugs to minors?  I think you've
been led astray by some of your siblings' high-school-age friends.  Even if
this were true, what is your point, that we should alow kids to have alcohol
so that they will use less drugs?  
  Now my point.  If drugs are made legal, kids will have even easier access to
them, just as they currently have easy access to alcohol.  Just as they have
always had easy access to alcohol.  But a more frightening point is that
these legal drugs will now be cheap.  A kid could spend his lunch money on 
some drugs and be wacked out for days.  Can you imagine a 'pack of coke' 
costing the equivelent of a pack of cigarettes with enough 'blast' to last
the day?  The next time you are driving by a school play ground, please
observe all the kids in the area smoking.  Also realize that it is against
the law for minors to purchase tobacco products, but there they are, smoking
away, with no one admonishing them for it.  So here we have a regulated legal
substance with kids having absolutely no problem obtaining it.  So much for
your theories on regulation and legalization.

ray