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PeakOil is You

PeakOil is You

THE "War on Drugs" Thread (merged)

What's on your mind?
General interest discussions, not necessarily related to depletion.

Re: Wars on Drugs

Unread postby TWilliam » Fri 26 Dec 2008, 05:02:56

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TommyJefferson', 'T')he legal problems with illegal drug use extend out further than just people who are incarcerated. Your one-in-a-thousand does not include the millions and millions of people who:

  • got probation, but now have a drug conviction on their record
  • had to pay substantial fines, attorney fees, and court costs
  • failed a drug test and were fired, or didn't get a job
  • had their children taken away by a court because of drug use
  • didn't receive government benefits because of drug use
  • got excommunicated from their family support group because of the social stigma
  • had their money stolen by unscrupulous black-market dealers
  • lost their government license to earn a living because of drug use (RN, CPA, bus driver, MD, real estate broker, pilot, etc.)

'Millions and millions'?

Really.

I'd be interested to know where you've gotten the figures for these 'millions and millions'. And is that an annual figure, or the aggregate of all such cases since the founding of the Republic? :roll:

Regardless, I expect that there are relatively few individuals who would need to consider all of those points concurrently, since not everyone is a parent, nor is everyone employed in a field requiring official sanctioning (licensure), on the government dole, or part of a family with puritanical leanings. I further expect that the odds of any one of those specific concerns being an issue are considerably higher than 1,000:1 against.

I will concede that I incorrectly equated incarceration rate with arrest rate; it was late and I was tired, sorry. The UN reports that in 2002 (the latest year surveyed), there were slightly more than 5.6 drug offense cases in the U.S. per 1,000 population. Assuming by 'cases' they are referring to arrests that subsequently lead to a recorded action of some sort, whether incarceration or probation, then that would put the odds at slightly more than 1 in 200 (I don't consider it an arrest if no action of record occurs). Still not too shabby...

(A lot better than Canada, that's for sure. They had 926 per 1,000... :lol: )
"It means buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy, because Kansas? Is goin' bye-bye... "
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