>>The key words here are "sale" and "possession". Drug usage is not the crime. Probably not so different elsewhere. While New York has some very stiff drug laws, minor possession (<25 grams) of marijuana is basically a citation. Larger quantities and other drugs are indeed prosecuted strictly and harshly. "Don't do the crime..." etc.
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>I think that different states have different laws here....

Indeed they do. All my statements to this point are from a NY POV...

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>>>>I don't know your generation, but at 51, I think mine used to think authority was benevolent. Until we matured and learned better.
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>>>Sure you do.. I'm 49. I suppose in one sense you're correct in that all laws contain the unspoken, "or else". The threat of force is indeed behind the law.
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>>And that is supposed to be the deterent - the threat of jail. With the widespread usage I see around me, I question the effectiveness. I think my tax dollars would be better spent in drug counseling/awareness/education programs than in just building more and bigger jails. Whicj seems to be the current trend.
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>Well, the issue of 'speedy trial' comes to mind as well. I have nothing against prevention programs as you mention above but I'd think that if people knew they would get busted for doing something illegal and it was certain they'd tend to stop. It's the certainty factor that IMO is most likely at issue. Now, there's also another issue and that's one of 'appropriate punishment'. I'd think that ragter than tossing someone in jail for a smallish offense a good stiff fine might be better. Personally, until the human heart changes and people want to not smoke dope (for example) all the laws in the world aren't going to help as much as we'd like...

Your last sentence sums it up nicely. You cannot legislate 'attitude'. Why do we continue to try?