Ilsadago1 wrote:

"coffeesnob wrote:"
"In the year 2000:
85,000 people died (alcohol related)
17,000 people died (ALL illicit drugs usage combined)
What is not "realistic" about that? Numbers are numbers, dead people are dead people."

It's not always about how many deaths there are. It's the crimes committed to get, make, distribute and buy the drugs. It's the children permanently made ill by inhaling the fumes produced by a meth lab. It's the cost of medical, dental, substance abuse and mental health care. It's about the loss of employment, inability to care for children financially, hunger, homelessness and lack of basic needs. It's the lengths people will go to to feed the habit - it's not about getting 'high', it's about not getting dope sick. They will do ANYTHING to not get 'sick'.

Death is the least of the problems.

My comment above was only one. Most comments were for legalization of all drugs.

I'm an RN in an addiction medicine clinic for opiate & poly drug addicted clients. Believe me...death is easy. Getting clean is hard.

Proponents of legalization don't have a frickin' clue.

As for the legalization of all drugs, most people smoking pot have no idea what a meth addiction is like. Unfortunatly most voters who put our politicians in office, also haven't a clue. I watched a neighbor of mine go from being a normal happily married, productive women with children to losing just about everything she had. When she finally got help and started the long road back, I made it a point to see her often, but believe me, seeing her struggle every second to stay clean was painful to watch.