Not so, my friend. I, personally, have quit smoking marijuana. Also cigarettes. I have tried to quit alcohol at times, as well as coffee.

Coffee was the hardest, and in fact, I'm back on it. Likewise alcohol.
So in my experience, pot was the easiest of all of those to give up.

and who wants to stop, smoking a little weed since my teens, going to be 83 in a couple of weeks , never smoked cigarettes, no medications, run, bike ,walk and hit gym 5 days a week , had a very exciting life in many dangerous places in the world which I only tell funny stories about and most of all I couldn’t be more happy now or how my life has evolved. MAYBE it WAS the WEED

No self respecting drug mule is going to ferry dope down the Turnpike. Too many cameras and license plate readers.

That's where the money is located. In the meantime our jails are full of drug cases instead of the real criminals that we release. We seem to be upside down.

There was a thread for business ideas.

The reality is that criminals are mobile. They can easily move to areas that allow them to operate. There is actually a small percentage of our population that are regular criminals. I am a proponent of three strikes and you are out. It has never been allowed to function.

As far as crime throughout history society has been trying to prevent crime. Hangings, famously attracted pick pockets and so did application of the guillotine.

Drugs-we often get news about ultra strong drugs hitting the streets and killing people.
We then spend a fortune to track down and get them off the street. Is that rational?
Only the state can murder people?

I have more questions than more productive solutions.

It is interrelated. Drugs, a drug habit is expensive and debilitating. Only way to make the needed money is through crime. A crime that causes crime.

You cannot collect fines from people with no money, no residence and a likely fake name.
Harsh? Perhaps? We have passed but never allowed three strikes and you are out. Revolving door? It would only go around three times.

Right on. They use Rt 466A and Rt 44.

There are very few people in prisons who were arrested on simple drug charges...

Most have pled down to that, for an easy conviction, but were initially arrested in distribution charges, most probably while armed...

Education
 

I was thinking that maybe some education would at least stimulate the naysayer regarding drugs and thus may open their eyes a little and cause them to think beyond the "chill out" excuse or current users. Of course the "Dealers" will continue to spread their poisons and chase after our children. Did you know there are 12 NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meetings in the Villages and near neighborhoods each day of the week? Did you consider each NA attendee leaves a family at home who are regaining a decent life. Of course if you are a dealer or user you don't give a damn. Did you consider that almost everyday there is mention of person being arrested for either drug use or having the tools to use drugs or caught with the amount to be a dealer? Who do you think those dealers are going after? Of course the children and youths! Forget the rumor that is mentioned in previous posts that the drugs being flown in to Atlanta are going northeast.! Hell, take a minute and check with the DEA and Marion County Sheriff's Office and you will be educated they are using the Turnpike as a major route to Miami and The Villages are a good place to push drugs on the way to Miami.!Some mention now being made aware of more "homeless" showing up in The Villages! Come on why do you think many are homeless. Duh, could it be drugs are a major cause? Heck the San Francisco streets are loaded with people sleeping on the side walks, historic sites, etc because they are exhausted looking for work. We truly respect and honor those who attend the NA Meetings as they are the ones who recognize the horrible impact it is having on their and others lives and are taking action to build up our
lives and not further wreck them for the sake of a selfish addiction. :ho:

I think someone’s been watching to many viewings of the movie Reefer Madness that shows up late at night sometimes on TCM , actually it’s a great movie to light up and giggle while you watch

1. Defunding doesn't mean what most people think it means.
2. The War on Drugs was lost the first week it started, and has been losing ever since.
3. See Prohibition on Alcohol history if you want an explanation on #2.
4. Many people who are addicted to painkillers, first became addicted when it was prescribed LEGALLY to them for legitimate reasons: recovery from surgery, for example. Anyone addicted to narcotic painkillers needs help. Arrest them not for being addicted, but for the burglary they committed, or the red light they ran, or whatever other thing they did OTHER than simply being addicted to drugs. And then help them to stop being addicted to the drugs. That's what defunding is all about. It's about giving the police more authority as police handling crimes that actually need a police officer to handle. And giving authority to people who are qualified in other aspects of public service, to handle those other public service jobs. Like helping homeless stay off the streets and hopefully find them shelter, mental health services, and jobs, or veterans suffering from PTSD and needing someone to talk them out of killing themselves, or help new mothers suffering from post-natal depression so they don't kill their own babies. Defunding puts police funds into hiring people who can do THOSE things to prevent crimes, so the cops can BE cops.

The only people who 'know' what defunding means, who are actually against defunding, are people who don't want to prevent crime. They only want to attack if after its been committed.

Ha ha. They showed us Reefer Madness in 1968, the first week of each school year at Frederick Military Academy to deter us from smoking pot. Being a young country boy I never knew about pot until they showed me the movie.

Do your research
 

I don't recall including the drug "marijuana" in any of my notes so am lost to understand why someone would raise an old film on that drug as some way to discredit the threat of drugs on the Villages. Usually old and long time users like to try to redirect the problems of drugs by using this age old film. They give no consideration that when the film was made it was made by the film industry who were major users of drugs, that hardly any research was made on it's long term effects, and they relied on person's getting high and becoming long term customers of the drug dealers. The ones who tout the drug have not done any research on its effects on the youth and user families who watch their futures go up in smoke! It has terrible effects on or children who start smoking when they are before the age of 21. Look it up. :ho: