Would America Be Better if Drugs Were Legalized?

Is there any possible way that we could reduce crime?

Harry Browne explains the advantages of a legalized drug market...

*clip from C-SPAN's Washington Journal

The Nanny State in Your Car

Proponents of the nanny state are ringing in an extra special new year in Austin, Texas where beginning next week the use of navigation devices while driving will be illegal.

According to people calling themselves "Austin City Council" hand-held cell phone use while driving is also an ordinance violation.

Since the control freaks are always looking to create more victim-less crimes here are some ideas for them:  

• Ban people from driving while tired
• Prohibit drivers from placing their finger on the radio dial
• Make tinted windows on cars illegal
• Tax people for not wearing seat-belts
• Place a ban on the application of make-up while driving
• Require tax stamps to be placed on the front windshield of all vehicles
• Prohibit people with less than 20/20 vision from driving

Humpday Humor: Ask For a Receipt

The late, great Patrice O'Neal always asked for a receipt.

No Knock Raids Decrease Officer Safety

Charles Dinwiddie,
killed during no knock, SWAT raid 

A police officer's job is dangerous enough as it is.  Arbitrarily decreasing "officer safety" is foolish.

Safe situation: two people sleeping soundly in their home

Dangerous situation: two people being awakened from a deep sleep by multiple armed men who broke into their home under the cover of darkness

A safe environment was altered to a dangerous one because of an arbitrary edict issued by a politician.  In this scenario the slumbering residents are bound to react to the home intruder situation they face.  Unfortunately this means that some people are going to reach for their firearms and discharge them if they feel an imminent threat to their family's safety.


See this tragic example which unfolded in Killeen, Texas:

Police Detective Charles “Chuck” Dinwiddie, 47, and Officer Odis Denton, 37, were shot as they and other officers served the narcotics search warrant just after 5:30 a.m. Friday at 1104 Circle M Dr. Apt. 3 in Killeen.

600 Murder Suspects On The Run in Pennsylvania

These Men Are Hunting 600 Violent Criminals 

(photo: BUTCH COMEGYS/AP)

In Pennsylvania the search is on for more than six-hundred murder suspects who are on the run.

Tonight hundreds of families are hoping that Pennsylvania State Troopers find those responsible for the death of their loved one.

Fortunately with all the resources being spent on this manhunt we expect at least a handful of murder suspects to be apprehended by police this week.  Stay tuned...  


*in Philadelphia alone there are over 600 active murder investigations.  

Kudos to Maryland for Decriminalizing Marijuana

Let's give credit to the people calling themselves "State of Maryland".  Thankfully, they plan to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.  Mr. Martin O'Malley said in a statement:

 I now think that decriminalizing possession of marijuana is an acknowledgement of the low priority that our courts, our prosecutors, our police, and the vast majority of citizens already attach to this transgression of public order and public health.

This is a classic example of the politicians taking forever to catch up to the people.

It was 42 years ago that Milton Friedman wrote a column for Newsweek titled "Prohibition and Drugs".  In it Friedman said:

Whatever happens to the number of addicts, the individual addict would clearly be far better off if drugs were legal. Today, drugs are both incredibly expensive and highly uncertain in quality. Addicts are driven to associate with criminals to get the drugs, become criminals themselves to finance the habit, and risk constant danger of death and disease.

The same logic that Friedman applied here should be extended to the argument for the decriminalization of sex.  Individuals involved in the exchange for sex (like drugs) will be far safer and healthier if the act of simply doing business wasn't a crime.  

Guns Are Well Behaved in Switzerland

So how do other advanced countries deal with high rates of firearm ownership by citizens?  Ironically Bloomberg of all places gave us a little insight.   

From Bloomberg: Shooter Kills Three Women in Swiss Mountain Village Spree

Of course this is a tragedy but read down to the final three paragraphs of the story...

"There were 241 deaths in Switzerland by shooting in 2010, compared with 408 in 2001, Ninety-two percent of those deaths in 2010 were suicides."

Murder is declining steadily in Switzerland, and...

"In February 2011, Swiss voters rejected in a referendum a proposal to ban citizens from keeping guns at home and require all guns to be registered."

To sum up the situation in Switzerland, a country of 8 million people:

1. 3,610,300 guns owned by citizens
2. 20 murders by shooting in 2010

To sum up the situation in New York, NY, a city of 8 million people:

1. 57,300 guns owned by citizens
2. 237 murders by shooting in 2012

There are 63X as many firearms in Switzerland as in New York City yet gun murders are 12X higher in NYC than in Switzerland.  

Why do the guns in North America have to cause so much trouble when their cousins in Europe mostly keep to themselves?