No child deserves to be abused, ever.

Jim

How do you define child abuse? Is it kinda like pornography? You know it when you see it?

It would be nice if every kid had a childhood with two parents that love and respect it. Not gonna happen though. Laws don't change that. True torturer's of their progeny hide it. Hide it well in fact. Doesn't come out for years usually.

No matter what law is passed bad things will happen to people who don't deserve it. Having more laws than can be put into an entire set of encyclopedia's means everybody is less free and bad stuff still happens to people who don't deserve it.

The definition of child abuse is growing up in a Democratic household

x2 >>>> this country needs stricter laws/death penalty to solve the problem. Zero tolerance attitude no questions asked but that will never happen in this country. The problem will be here for every generation going forward.

I'm still BATMAN

Some of you guys need to move to Saudi Arabia, Indonesia or maybe North Korea. Your ideas on freedom are much more aligned with theirs.

You're right, here in the US we should be able to break any law we don't agree with. Also the penalty should be minimal so there is no real deterrent.

That's a good point. Lets take it one step back from that. What is wrong with society where so many people feel the need to escape reality by use of illicit products?

Stress,boredom.
People disconnected from the land.

Mike

Could be lots of things. I wrote the book on stress and pain, but still no tracks on me. I credit that to nuns smacking me around when I was small, boot camp as soon as I turned 18, and 12 years of humping equipment up and down hills. People don't know who they are these days, they don't know their worth, and sure don't know where their metal brakes. If they did, they wouldn't settle for a low pay job, and then complain about the wages. They wouldn't have a spouse they cant stand, or look homeless. Its called pride in yourself.

No one can argue that some people have a genetic predisposition for addiction...

I've known people who are/were addicts in one form or another... alcohol and/or drugs.

A lot of them had pretty horrific childhoods. And they used their favorite chemical to escape the shame and pain of the memories.

But every one of them who turned their lives around will tell you that you have to face up to that past. And then make a personal choice not to use chemicals as a crutch to try and hide from it.

A lot of the time addiction is a physical response to a mental or psychological issue.

Mike

I understand drugs are illegal. But, why in the heck are we "blaming the users" for making a decision with their lives? I don't want someone telling me how I can live my life. Don't help them. Don't revive them. I am fine with all of that, but the choice is theirs to make.

I also understand that other people's choices can affect their families, employers, etc. Frankly, the same rationale can be applied to booze, cigarettes, sugar, fast cars, motorcycles, bicycles without helmets, loaded guns in the house, mountain climbing.......... In the end, we should all have a real problem selectively telling someone what they can and cannot put in their bodies--or what they should do with their lives. Not everyone wants to live their life like you or I do. For instance, not everyone wants to spend their days arguing on a trapping website. I know, it's crazy.

We are either free or we are not.

Using drugs affects more than the user, and the users family. It affects the entire community, and yes, alcohol is a drug too. Drugs affect one’s willingness to have a moral code for themselves, and hold themselves to it.
Also, the community is affected by the fact that an addict will often turn to thievery to obtain the drug.
Not to mention the fact that I.V. drug users hang with like minded people, who may from time to time need to borrow a rig from each other to get high. Dirty needles spread hepatitis, hiv, and other blood borne illnesses.
Some drug users go as far as sexual favors to get what they need, and many a lot lizard has passed on the gift that keeps on giving.
In an effort to protect the larger group, some personal freedoms NEED to be infringed upon, if freedom is your argument.

giving away freedom to gain safety is just giving away freedom for an illusion

I'm not pro weed but I read the "Cannabis use increases violent behavior including homicide." article. This is what they base their conclusion on.

"What makes this new study more compelling than previous studies is that the researchers followed the same individuals for over 50 years from a young age to adulthood. This is precisely what one needs to solve the chicken or egg riddle with respect to cannabis and violence: just look and see which one happens first."

Trouble is that Correlation does not imply causation. Here is a funny but true one for you. So does margarine use cause divorce? I'm sure they used margarine first. Here are some more http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations

Tell that to OSHA while you are quoting revolutionaries. You enjoy the safety they provide as well as the DOT, but criticize the manner in which they do their jobs.

don't forget msha-and did i mention i'm BATMAN??

I haven't a clue what that means Mike