How Far Should We Go?

WE MUST HAVE LAWS, and we must enforce them, though sometimes one might wonder whether some of the laws, and some of the enforcement techniques are, shall we say, worth the trouble, worth the paper they're printed on.

Case in point. It is of course illegal to manufacture, distribute, buy or sell certain prohibited chemical substances, which are generally termed " recreational drugs". Drugs for fun and mental escape, not for healing. (But isn't healing fun, and fun a form of healing?)

The image of a dark blue sedan, with plain clothes (suit and tie) officers inside, aiming a radar gun at someone's house, thus aiming it at the wallet lying on the bedstand, finding out whether there are enough ten and twenty dollar bills therein to trigger the radar by means of the metal strands of wire inside the bills.....because if there are, illegal drug sales might be the source of revenue; who would ever have that much cash otherwise?

The image of walking through the busiest streets of a major cosmopolitan city, like London, wondering whether you will ever fail to be on camera, ever be unseen by the police, somehow hoping so, somehow hoping not, knowing that the answer is no.

And then too there's the seventeen year old high school senior. male, who develops a crush on the pretty new girl in school, and starts to "chat her up".The girl seems friendly. And available. She doesn't know anyone, because she's from a different town. So, our seventen year old boy shows her around, introduces her to people. They go out on a date or two.

One day she asks him if he knows where she might be able to score some pot. Our boy has never smoked pot or anything else nor done any sort of rec drug, including alcohol, in his entire, short life, but, he wants to impress the girl, he wants to score points.

He hands her the bag of dope, and she starts to pay for it. He tries to talk her out of paying, but she insists. A few days later several drug related arrests are made, including our boy. Now saddled with a drug record, his future suddenly looks a lot different. It is a future in which, no matter how mature, educated, and succeessful he becomes, he will always mistrust authority and have trouble making new friends, and dating.

Now, just for the record, all this stuff really happens. Should it? Is this what we want? Or is it per chance a bit too remindful of some science fiction novels, such as "1984" and "Brave New World"?

We'd better hurry up and decide, while we still can.