Comment Re:Other (ab)uses (Score 1, Insightful) 270
I hate to use a slippery slope argument here, but oh well.
Yes, drugs are in fact illegal, and no you should not be trying to take them onto a plane. Even still, without any cause to do so, there is no legal or logical basis to perform a search on EVERYONE entering the plane for drugs. Yes indeed, it would reduce (or eliminate) the illegal activity a great deal, but it would also violate everyone's right to privacy and security in their person and property that is guaratneed by the US Constitution.
The reason our rights are there and the reason these types of searches should be illegal is so we don't keep endlessly justifying bigger and bigger intrusions into our privacy to prevent/punish crime. In an authoritarian state, crime is extremely low (for example, in communist China), but that is because the state has absolute authority to abuse the rights of it's citizens. I don't think that's what we want here.
Yes, drugs are in fact illegal, and no you should not be trying to take them onto a plane. Even still, without any cause to do so, there is no legal or logical basis to perform a search on EVERYONE entering the plane for drugs. Yes indeed, it would reduce (or eliminate) the illegal activity a great deal, but it would also violate everyone's right to privacy and security in their person and property that is guaratneed by the US Constitution.
The reason our rights are there and the reason these types of searches should be illegal is so we don't keep endlessly justifying bigger and bigger intrusions into our privacy to prevent/punish crime. In an authoritarian state, crime is extremely low (for example, in communist China), but that is because the state has absolute authority to abuse the rights of it's citizens. I don't think that's what we want here.
