Do you condone drink/drug driving then?
Absolutely not, but nor do I agree with removing responsibility, self awareness, decision making from individuals and relying instead on government / society.
We can see where that is leading.
Drink and drugs are often pretty good at changing your self awareness though, making you think you can drive.
I think that we could further reduce the alcohol limit, but zero could cause problems - driving the day after, or several hours after a single drink. Seems Draconian to me.
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This is why liberty will never be offered to people. Freedom of choice can be brought down to a discussion about driving, humans are just too used to being governed 
Exactly and each successive government just compounds the problem, as it is in their interest to do so.
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When you see what the Americans have done with it you can sort of understand why.
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That is liberty by government (big business) not the same as an individual freedom. Iām not saying liberty is the answer, personally as a species I think weāre to far gone for redemption.
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There are countless examples of conflict between individual freedom and the collective good. In the US an individualās freedom to own an assault rifle makes it easier for people whose anger is out of control to get hold of them and set about slaughtering schoolkids. I assume you would agree that we need to strike a balance in that case. In fact we pretty much always need to strike a balance of some sort. The dispute then becomes one about where the correct balance point is.
VB
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Itās hard to generalise though. Firstly 1% is very far from being ārampantā. In the 19th and early 20th centuries in China, where opiates were legal and cheap, at times 25% of the population were users. If we think alcohol abuse is bad now we should remember how it was in 18th century London. The societal damage in both cases was very considerable.
And when people argue that criminalising drug use hasnāt eliminated it completely they might also remember that criminalising child sex abuse hasnāt, sadly, eliminated that completely either. I, for one, think we shouldnāt give up the fight though.
VB
Oh come on, sexual abuse involves a non consenting party. Itās not even close to being a fair analogy.
Not that Iām quite ready to decriminalise Heroin since itās leaves its users in a largely non-functional state PDQ.
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Thatās not my point. Iām not suggesting thereās any analogy between the crimes. Iām undermining the argument that we should stop trying to eliminate a behaviour simply because we havenāt completely succeeded at eliminating it.
VB
Every generation says this. I think that the kids will surprise us (in a good way, I mean!)
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Not if my kids are anything to go by.
Ungrateful little bastards.
(Sometimes theyāre alright).
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Just on the point of legalised drugs and prostitution as the whole liberty thing is a toxic webb. I would like to see all drugs legalised, regulated, taxed with controlled supply and proper user education . The idea that some drugs are legal while others arenāt is wrong and stopping people from experiencing one of lifeās few real pleasures is draconian. As far as sex workers goes I would rather see a welfare system that enabled people not to be drawn into such a life if it is not their true calling.
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A short press release by Release (an independent UK organisation which works with drug users and policy makers) which I think is worth reading. The full PDF of their report is also available for download.
too
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Prostitution is legal in many of the states in Australia. When we first moved to Melbourne we rented in Parkville which is a very nice part of town. I was astonished learn that there was a brothel at the end of Flemington Road that was legal. I didnāt think much of it at the time, but later evidence suggests that:
(i) There are huge links between the brothel owners and the most hardcore of organised criminals
(ii) There was massive human trafficking going on to staff these brothels. This is also a serious issue in Amsterdam according to recent articles.
Despite the fact that there are legal brothels which are safer environments to work in and regulated for health, there is a huge street trade in Melbourne and Sydney. So legalisation is not a panacea for all the ills of the sex trade.
On the other hand, I am all for legalising cannabis a la some of the more liberal regimes in the USA. The harder drugs might be best supplied to registered users by the state. At least this might destroy the black market for drugs.
I canāt see anything sensible destroying either the drugs trade or the sale of sex. However, I can see lots of merit in making the black market extraordinarily risky and unprofitable for dealers. Prohibition canāt do this, but state competition might.
Totally agree, I wasnāt arguing for legal brothels the idea of a third party profiting from someone else in that way is disgusting.
Sorry, I hope my post doesnāt suggest that I thought you were advocating legalising brothels. Iām not sure there is an answer, but that certainly isnāt it. It would be nice to eradicate the vulnerable being preyed upon by the unscrupulous. The moon on a stick would be nice too. One thing is clear, the current policy of turning a blind eye and criminalising the victims is not a great solution.
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Yep.
āProstitution in Australia is legal so I spent the rest of the afternoon going through the phonebook trying to find a brothel with wheelchair accessā
Jim Jefferies on Aussie brothels and arranging a visit with his disabled mate. Fabulous stuff. @MGOwner
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