04-02-2009, 06:06 PM
freeradical wrote:
[quote=davester]
After that, you need to make sure that the punishments for using the drugs are commensurate with the damage they do to society (whoa!! cigarettes are in the lead on this one.
No way - tobacco use does not destroy someone's productivity at work, break up marriages, or cause people to steal to support their habit.
Tobacco can cause a person to take multiple breaks from work during the work day, and that arguably diminishes productivity. It can also be at very least a source of conflict in relationships. Tobacco products are almost universally available and affordable (if less so than years ago), so one would have to make an extreme effort to support their use of tobacco in an illegal fashion. It is also arguable that if someone is addicted to a criminalized substance whose use is held in contempt by society, and whose price and availability is unpredictable and at the mercy of people operating outside the boundaries of the law, they will be more inclined to think, "WTF" and slip into a life of crime to satisfy their needs.