"You can be pretty dexterous on horseback. Japanese archers could be incredibly accurate on horseback, and there was a game played by a tribe of Native Americans where they'd run through a battle to touch a rifelman's rifle and ride out again."

Those were definitely societies and times one would want to emulate.

As a response, it lacks a certain something.

We have a template (in alcohol) for regulating legal substances. Public intoxication is a crime, drinking and driving is a crime, restrictions in sales, etc... No reason why we can't extend those types of regulations to any other substances that become legalized.

Another point is, what drugs do become legalized? I think the 'soul destroying' class of drugs (heroin, crack, meth, etc...) should stay illegal. Beyond that, it becomes more nuanced.

Yes, they are. And yes, they are many. Like a great number of laws based on nothing that have no crime of one person violating the rights of another, you find the call of societal collapse all over. Just look at the reasons for banning gay marriage and forcing seatbelt laws for a couple recent examples.

Laws, at least in this country, are supposed to be primarily based on one thing: preventing the violation of rights. Drinking and driving falls specifically into this case, as doing so is a risk of harm to others. The banning of cell phones while driving falls into this as well. These are just laws because they take away a risk of one person causing harm to another.

Thanks for all the posts, everyrone. And did anyone vote btw? I hope some did, as it might not do much good but who knows?

I haven't yet. I don't know anything about AVAAZ, and so I'm not all that willing to just give them personal information. But I'm looking into ti.

It's a shitty world policy that needs changed.

You can just put first name, and use a temp email. Also cell number is optional

It's generally required to provide full name and phone number when signing a petition to the government.

Online petitions get round filed. Hand written letters to your congressman in the US are reported to go to the top of the pile.

Not like they consider them much either way.

If you ask me, there will still be a war on drugs even after the legalization or decriminalization of certain narcotics. Chances are governments in all levels will try to tax it to the point where people will prefer buying smuggled weed or heroin. It's kind of like how criminals have sold smuggled cigarettes into states and cities that have high consumption taxes on cigarettes.

I do agree that the policies on drugs need revising and I wouldn't mind at least seeing the decriminalization of marijuana. I'm still not sold on the legalization of harder drugs though.

As for money, money will not only come from taxes but also from savings from law enforcement and prisons. The government wouldn't have to put so many people in prison and it wouldn't have to spend so much on the DEA. There would still be a DEA because not all drugs are ever going to get legalized like crack or meth and there would still be smugglers.

Also, much of the problem with the war on drugs isn't about the so called "religious right." Politics on drugs like marijuana are non-partisan and there are people on both sides of the political spectrum in the U.S. that support loosening the laws on softer drugs like marijuana just as there are people on both sides that support the current laws.