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Violent crimes will go down if drugs are legalized. I am sure that the drug lords will roll over and go away. The drug business is the most violent and profitable crime/business in the world. Why would anyone think that the drug pushers would walk away from a "successful business" just because the government has legalized it? Did the end of prohibition stop mob influence in the alcohol industry? Today, the mob is as deeply involved in the distribution and sale of liquor as it was at the end of prohibition. There is no way that the drug lords will stop their evil work just because we have legalized drugs. In fact, it will "legitimize" them and turn our law enforcement community into enforcers for "legalized" drug pushers. Another reason violent crimes will not go down is that people commit crimes because they are on drugs in the first place - legal or not. They were not necessarily committing a crime to get illegal drugs, but the drugs themselves caused a violent behavior which leads them to committing a crime, something that would not have happened if they had not been taking drugs in the first place. In actuality, crime will rise when drugs are legal because more people will be taking drugs.
If the government was to treat heroin, crank, ice, crack, LSD, and other hard drugs be dealt with the same way as alcohol is treated. Why would the government ever want to do that, Crack, for example, is highly addictive? When an addict is high on crack, he or she can become extremely violent and will do anything to get more crack. Legalization does not change the body's chemistry. Someone addicted to legal crack will be just as messed up as those addicted to illegal crack today. .
If the sale of hard drugs is regulated, people will use them responsibly, just like everybody drinks responsibly. Do you want a pilot who uses cocaine or LSD to be flying; do you want a school bus driver buying crack? Do you want the government to set maximum blood content levels for LSD, cocaine or crack? That's what will have to be done if the potheads get their way.