LET'S REALLY FIGHT CRIME & CREATE LEGALIZED DRUG DENS

I'm all for legalizing drugs - with just a couple of conditions.

First, they are free to anyone who wants them.

They must use them, though, in specially created drug dens on federal
government land in the middle of nowhere in Nevada preferably near
the nuclear waste depository site.

When they enter the drug den they sign an agreement that they cannot
leave until they are sober.

Before they are issued their first free drugs at the drug den, they
must sign an affidavit waving any right to free public health care to
treat illnesses directly related to drug use.

If you think this is far-fetched, guess again.

What is the No. 1 cause of crime in this country? It's not guns. And
you can argue it isn't gangs per se.

That's because many of the hardcore gangs - whether you want to call
them cartels, the mafia, or street gangs - get a huge chunk of their
income from the distribution of drugs.

Look at the crime stats in Manteca. If you backed out drugs,
everything would plummet. Driving under the influence? It would go
down. Burglaries and theft? It would go down. How about vehicle
thefts and auto burglaries? They would go down. Assaults would
probably drop too. I would argue Manteca's crime picture isn't all
that unusual compared to the rest of the country.

What about druggies who don't want to go? No problem. On their third
drug-related conviction they win a free trip to the drug den with the
same conditions imposed on those who go there voluntarily.

Let's face it. The war on drugs is going about as well as efforts to
spin wool into gold.

It would also go a long way to easing government budget problems.
True, the federal government would be saddled with whatever costs
they may incur running drug dens and deploying electric fences,
troops, mine fields, and whatever else it takes to keep druggies
inside but they'd probably save tons of money that is now being spent
in the folly known as the war on drugs.

It would be a big budget relief for state, county, and local governments.

Right now it is a big joke. Police make a bust for illegal drug use
or sales and either the suspect is cited and released or booked and
cut loose hours later. No room at the jail. The county lacks the
resources to prosecute and defend all of the drug suspects plus the
courts lack the judges. And even if there was a conviction the
prisons lack the space.

Even more important is everyone isn't saddled with giving druggies
free ambulance rides, medical treatment in emergency rooms, or
long-term care once they've crippled various organ systems through
the incessant use of drugs.

Obviously there are a couple of areas that would need fine tuning
such as marijuana use and alcohol.

What if someone not in a drug den consumes marijuana which a lot of
people contend isn't harmful? Give them the benefit of the doubt but
the third time they are convicted of a theft in connection with
stealing marijuana, stealing to buy or selling it then it's off to
the drug dens they go. If all drugs are going to be free, then the
government needs to tightly control their distribution.

As for alcohol, some would argue the cost to society is just as high
for those who abuse that drug of choice. That's why on the third
conviction for an injury caused to someone else that is attributed to
alcohol abuse they get to Nevada too.

Libertarians and - let's face it - drug users would argue that this
would be a gross violation of an individuals' rights.

What about the gross violation of the rights of people killed and
maimed by drivers under the influence, those who have their homes and
cars broken into so someone can satisfy their drug habit, or those
who are brutalized and even raped by someone high on drugs or alcohol?

No right is an absolute right. It's the only way civilization can work.

As far as concerns we would just be writing those people off what
about the others we right off in the name of "saving" druggies or
protecting the innocent from their wanton criminal acts and violence
that is clearly traceable to their drug use?

All the money we save could go toward helping those who want to get
an education and succeed, to pay for safety net programs, and be
directed back to the economy to provide opportunities for those in
poverty to raise themsleves up.

By taking a page out of Jonathon Swift's playbook, the odds are you
can do all of that and still see the cost of government drop and
health care costs plummet, be able to leave your doors unlocked and
not worry about someone killing your family while you are driving
down the freeway.