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From: tan@ihlpg.UUCP (Bill Tanenbaum)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,net.med
Subject: Re: Drug Abuse - True Problem or Media Hype?
Message-ID: <2519@ihlpg.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 29-Sep-86 23:42:25 EDT
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Posted: Mon Sep 29 23:42:25 1986
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Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
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Xref: watmath talk.politics.misc:419 net.med:4971

> [Terry Grevstad]
> One small question here:  Some drugs taken often seem to make it
> virtually impossible for a person to hold a job.  It seems to me,
> therefore, that even if drugs were cheap, there would still be some
> stealing for drug money, because the addicted persons wouldn't be able
> to work.  (In case you didn't notice, I'm not talking about the casual
> user or the social user, but the hard-core, can't-live-without-it
> addict.)
--------------
I can't live without food (and chocolate -) ), however, I have yet
to steal to get either one.   There may be some drugs which, by their
very nature, make it impossible for the heavy user to hold a job,
but heroin and cocaine are not among them.  Legalization would
greatly reduce the stealings and muggings for drug money, and
the official corruption caused by drug money.  Of course,
legalization has its price.   The social costs of legal alcohol
and tobacco, due to their widespread use and lack of associated
social stigma, far exceed those of illegal drugs.  Legalization
would solve one set of problems, and make worse another set of
problems.
-- 
Bill Tanenbaum - AT&T Bell Labs - Naperville IL  ihnp4!ihlpg!tan