Gloria from Butler caricatures the position of those supporting decriminalization of drugs by creating a straw man to argue against. Her position is that drugs should be illegal because of the danger of people committing crimes while under the influence. To reiterate my position: decriminalization of drugs is not equivalent to the decriminalization of such acts as driving under the influence, theft, disorderly conduct and the like. Permitting the utilization of drugs is not a license for disregard of the rights of others and no one has actually advanced that argument here. Decriminalization is advocated based on the fact that one has an inalienable right to do to their body what they wish.

The "War on Drugs" costs taxpayers approximately $40 billion per year and has done nothing but augment the ills of drug use while increasing governmental power. Most recently, the El Paso (TX) City Council recognized this fact and passed a unanimous resolution to debate the merits of drug legalization because they have realized the absurdity of this fiasco--would that Butler do the same.