Eagle River man gets 8-year term in cocaine ring

Drugs are controlled in the US because of their tremendous potential for harm. FDA says they must be shown to be safe & effective in recommended doses for legitimate medical uses. There are to my knowledge no legitimate medical uses for cocaine that cannot be met as well by other less addictive substances. Cocaine is a recreational drug that harms people and society. We mandated through our legislatures that this not be allowed. It is important for the group of officers to bring another perspective to the topic, but fear they just want to throw in the towel.
This is part of the complex issue of people wanting to alter their consciousness. Banning or putting extra constraints on some substances has always created lucrative black markets. Our attempts at banning alcohol were disasterous. Tobacco control is a mess. I think we need to have local groups that carry on discussions that might lead us to some unusual 'out of the box' solutions to this problem. When gov't officials deal with this, they have so many agendas and constraints that the situation just becomes murkier.

Here is an out of box solution - legalize marijuana and generate a "new" tax base revenue. Get this country out of debt, half the people in Wisconsin are toking anyway.

Alcohol does more damage to the body and yet drinking is sanctioned because it has the government's stamp of approval.

I don't smoke Marijuana but as long as they do it in the privacy of their own homes, and not bother anyone else with their habits I am all for it.

I think a lot of non-violent drug offenders who are rotting away in prisons are a waste of tax payer's money.

As far as taxing tobacco products, I don't see that as a way to curb the habits. Most smokers will buy cigarettes if the price is $15.00 a pack.

Did any of you actually read or understand what the offender in the story was charged with and convicted of????

It wasn't "toking a joint", it was cocaine trafficing. You know the stuff that gets into the lockers at your kids High School.

Should we legalize that too, after all, like upset 2 says, half the people in Wisconsin are doing it anyway....

Hmmmmm