Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Heath Ledger 1979-2008
Heath Ledger was found dead today, according to a Times article. It says that drugs "may have been a factor." In the words of Allan Tao, "How is this related at all to government and politics?" Well, this recent piece of news (3 hours old right now) reminded me of how little I know about the different presidential candidates' drug policies. Actually, I know nothing about their stances on illegal/prescription/over the counter drugs. In short: does anyone know? Do any of the front runners have good ideas in relation to the war on drugs or related topics?
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Although I do not know each candidate's stances on drug use, I can tell you what some of the candidates have done in the past concerning drugs. According to www.ontheissues.org, Obama "admitted to marijuana use in high school & college and questions harsh penalties for drug dealing". Clinton "addressed drug problem with treatment and special drug courts and diverted non-violent drug offenders away from prison". Giuliani believed that "drug policy should be an integral part of foreign policy." McCain wanted "stricter penalties; stricter enforcement" and "prevention & education [applied] to alcohol as well as marijuana."
From the website, it looks like Obama wants more freedom of drug use for the individual, probably with some guidelines. Clinton wants to give peaceful drug offenders softer penalties. Their actions fit their platforms well. On the Republican side, Giuliani and McCain want to restrict drug use by either spreading universal rules toward drug use or by educating the nation of its dangers. They also seem to go along with their platform as well.
Personally, I agree with Clinton's and part of McCain's actions concerning drugs. I think that drug users who were cooperative should be given a second chance through rehab and probation. I also believe that drug use should be restricted and that everybody should be told of its dangers.
This is obviously a tragic event, but would stricter drug penalties really have prevented it? I think that people will use drugs whether they are legal or not, and that instead of spending money enforcing drug laws we should teach people about the negative effects of drugs. Drug use is, in the end, a victimless crime, and as such should not be subject to criminal penalties and enforcement in my opinion.
Anyway, RIP guy from 10 things I hate about you.
Like Justin said, this is obviously tragic, but I also find it disconcerting that someone would be able to have six types of prescription drugs. My mom has major sinus problems, and is limited to buying a certain amount of Claritin (b/c the govt is concerned people will use it to make meth), yet someone else gets have that many prescription drugs?
I think the government needs to re-evaluate its drug laws.
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