tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post30718104215504556..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Needle exchange bill pits small government Republicans vs. authoritarian wingGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-4235918290522713762007-05-11T08:05:00.000-05:002007-05-11T08:05:00.000-05:00It comes down to the following question: is it abo...It comes down to the following question: is it about justifying oneself before others - a practice decried multiple times in the Bible by Jesus and the Apostle Paul - or is it about actually dealing with a real problem. If it about effectively countering a real problem then needle exchange is a slam dunk. If it is about justifying ones actions then it just highlights the harm that expectedly results when criminals are encouraged to service a drug market due to the ban.<BR/> While it may be claimed that it lowers overall heroin [or Meth - because now thanks to drug policy, many people now inject Meth when they didn't before] use, those who were deterred were the more responsible and law abiding people anyway who posed little risk to themselves and their families. OTOH, having criminals service this market only compounds the problems. We witness the aftermath of this policy every day. The aftermath includes violent crime, burglary, and identity theft. In Oregon the newest Meth related craze is stealing salvage metal to bankroll either the addicted to ridiculously expensive [it costs less than 5 bucks a day to produce the fix for a hard core addict]drugs, or produce the drugs. The lapdogs in the media are unclear about what they use the stolen metal to accomplish.<BR/> Yep. We need more grandstanding by pompous freaks like Perry to encourage those who encourage criminals with ridiculously high profits. And yes, we as citizen taxpayers and crime victims foot the bill for this foolishness.JT Barriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15571868033521182864noreply@blogger.com