In her recent post, Tilly asks whether the rates of the crimes drug addicts commit in the quest to feed their habit would decrease with legalization. I do believe these crimes would decrease for at least two reasons: 1. the price of drugs would drop substantially and 2. police would be freed from pursuing drug users and would be able to investigate more thefts, burglaries, etc. With respect to auto insurance, I don't think there is an easy answer. Just as with alcohol, impaired drivers will be more likely to be involved in accidents and that may translate into higher premiums. What seems to be ignored is that alcohol intoxication can be more detrimental to driving ability than some illicit drugs, and its legality is fairly non-controversial. I believe that strict prosecution of impaired drivers is key. Although I am not a parent, I respect and understand a parent's legitimate concerns about their children's utilization of drugs and I do not think it should be legal for children to buy or use drugs--similar to current laws for alcohol and tobacco. As for children of addicts and the neglect they potentially may suffer, I think that these problems should be handled through agencies such as CYS, much as they are currently. Legalization, paradoxically, may help the children of addicts by keeping their parents out of jail and making drug use safer (less need for guns, clean needles, etc). I think that the government's current policy, on balance, does more harm than good for addicts. By seeking to save people from their own bad decisions, the government has created a black market in drugs populated by thugs, criminals, and the mafia that has served only to spread disease, populate prisons, and enrich drug lords with artificial price premiums. The current policy has done nothing to reduce rates of drug utilization in this nation.