Re:*sigh* (Score 1)

If you say that drug use leads to crime you are making an argument that I wonder about.

Drug use does lead to violations of laws: drug laws. It forces the user to turn to the black market, where there is no police protection or government enforcement of contracts. So drug users and dealers are more likely to own a gun for protection. Being that a non-trivial percentage of them are felons, possession of that gun puts them in violation of even more laws. And on, and on. Illegal drug use does lead to crime.

You have just formulated one of the main arguments for legalization of drug use: it is the fact that drug use is illegal that causes crime, not the drug use itself. If the users were able to purchase their pot at the local drug store or 7-11, there would be no need to break the gun laws.

The other side is of course that being intoxicated leads to crime, just check any statistics on how many murders were commited while drunk - a legal drug. Still, prohibition of a substance with significant demand leads to a black market, which provides organized crime with a good income. And many people who otherwise would have no dealings with organized criminals do so, because it is the only way to get drugs. The step to harder, more dangerous substances becomes smaller, since pot smokers are already doing something illegal and have the connection to the criminals.