Comments on: Dope For Hope

By: Jeanie Topper

Jeanie Topper — Tue, 05 May 2009 09:14:36 +0000

good job bro i really liked it U are an awsome wrighter!!!! i look up to u contiue to do what u do Love ya bro

Its amazing!!!!

By: Alex Muñoz

Alex Muñoz — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:58:48 +0000

Great input Topper. Waiting on the second part

By: Jamie Newman

Jamie Newman — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:58:50 +0000

WOW!!! Topper you did an amazing job on this argument! Good jop presenting the information on bothsides of this argument:)

By: aj

aj — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:25:25 +0000

I think that if i want to get stoned i should be able to in public

By: Casey Higgason

Casey Higgason — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:48:07 +0000

I kind of figured the article would have this sort of message, but I can’t help but think: doesn’t the outlaw of drugs parallel the Prohibition regarding alcohol, which resulted in similar violence and power wars? I do agree with O’Rourke in that we should at least talk about it. People commit crimes under the influence of alcohol, but I wonder how it compares to the dangers people faced trying to smuggle it illegally.

I freely admit that I don’t know the outcome of legalizing drugs. And I personally don’t see a point in indulging in them. But people should be open to thought and trying possible solutions.

By: Paige Armstrong

Paige Armstrong — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 21:54:33 +0000

Excellent, you should continue to expand on this one and write others. I really liked the lead.

By: Taylor Jones

Taylor Jones — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:04:12 +0000

Great article. I can’t wait to read the rest!

By: Logan Woodul

Logan Woodul — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:14:47 +0000

great story if this is part one please get the follow up to part two so i can see how this ends. i think the idea is unique but a bit flawed at the same time. i don’t tink you should unban all drugs but some like marijuana might be a good idea who knows

By: Antonio Nevarez

Antonio Nevarez — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:24:44 +0000

wow topper!!
this article is amzing!!
good job!!….

By: Isaac Perez

Isaac Perez — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:21:39 +0000

Seriously? This is exactly the kind of politics of fear that contributes to the build up of violence. Filling us with slippery slopes (“One could only imagine crime would increase to a drastic level if thousands of people were under some level of influence”) does not address the problem at its core. Absolute, irrational prohibition of anything creates more problems than it solves or prevents. So long as drugs are kept illegal they will continue to be tempting to our youth (31% of high school seniors reported using marijuana at least once in a study by the US DOJ in 2007). In the Netherlands, marijuana has been legal for years now, yet their teenagers actually try marijuana at a later age and consume it in lower proportions than our high schoolers. Also, prohibition puts drugs in a market that is unregulated for consumer safety, with all the potential revenues untaxed and used to finance the very violence and illegal activities that tied to its traders (kidnappings, gang wars, bribes) that the government indebts itself in trying to prevent. Let’s face it: attempting to “un-invent” drugs is a naive, moralistic stance that has been proven to be ineffective and counter-productive. A much more sensible solution, in my opinion, lies in the creation of an educated public and the power of an open, democratic and lawful market for drugs. The possibility of abuse will always exist so long as we have human bodies and minds, as much as it exists with alcohol, caffeine, food and anything that grants pleasure, but the way to address this is not pretending these things don’t exist, but rather creating a public that is educated and can learn to use any source of pleasure responsibly. If we are able to have these within the constraints of the law and under the gaze of communities, the scale of senseless, brutal violence we are seeing from both criminals and government is very likely to come to an end.