I've read the online edition of Creative Loafing's Atlanta paper for a few years now, to catch up on those issues in
Atlanta which the main newspaper doesn't care to elaborate upon beyond a minimum. It's an alright publication, apart from
being uncompromisingly left-wing and therefore not entirely objective.
Two days ago, I had the gall to opine on
John Sugg's article about how the war-on-drugs has damaged or destroyed countless American lives. I actually wouldn't argue that too ferociously,
but at the same time I saw that Kathryn Johnston, a 92-year-old woman who was shot dead in a botched drug raid after firing
at police, was being used to advocate legalizing drugs.
Slander? Not so much. Take this brilliant excerpt:
"If you need an exclamation mark to the statement, "The drug war is insane," here's a dilly. Marijuana is America's
top cash crop, according to a study released in December. About 10,000 tons of grass are grown each year, worth almost $36
billion. That dwarfs the $23 billion corn crop or $18 billion in the annual harvest of soybeans."
The argument being used here is that, because marijuana is a moneymaker and is
"a drug far more benevolent than legal alcohol"
it should be legal. I might argue the benevolence bit; I have known some frequent teenage users of marijuana, and can
always tell them apart from non-users by their slightly slowed reaction time and daydreaming look. Science it ain't, but it's
my own evidence that pot makes you stupid. I wouldn't argue that drinking every day is less damaging, since it's legal
for people older than 21 years, but the question I really want to ask follows below.
What is up with young, hip people and drug use? Or at least, lots of CL readers? Why is it so important
to them apart from its incurrent psychological dependency? Why is it to them a right that needs to be upheld before, say,
the Atlanta Police Department is cleaned out following Mrs. Johnston's unnecessary death?
I will be fair and say that Mr. Sugg devoted a section of his article to police corruption in the Anta, but some responses
to one comment of mine were pretty blunt, no pun intended.
Here's my original comment:
I gotta ask
How many people reading this are drug users?
It's a very relevant question, as they would obviously
be more likely to gripe about the war-on-drugs and use Ms. Johnston as a decoy for advocating, say, legalized pot.
The first respondant to the above, by the name of Nathan Cook, did not mince words:
Oh please
Legalize it all...
