The Commissioners of the City of Albany have decided to make mundane things such as rose vases, markers, and rolling papers – things often sold in convenience stores – illegal.
They argue that these items are often used for drug use, and therefore should be banned.
This is wrong on two levels:
1) Businesses should be allowed to sell whatever they like. After all, where do you draw the line in limiting what can or can’t be sold by a particular business? It is better to allow everyone to sell anything they wish and crack down on those who would defraud their customers than to limit the freedom of all. Furthermore, the business selling said items has violated no law other than the one you are trying to create. You cannot hold a business responsible for the actions of its customers. (Oh, wait, didn’t they already do that with Big Tobacco and aren’t they trying to do that with Fast Food??)
2) The War on Drugs is a complete failure and a waste of resources. As long as druggies are only harming themselves, they do nothing wrong. Prosecute them for abusing their kids or stealing to get money or what have you, not just because they hurt themselves. (For the official LP Platform write-up on this, check out the issues section of LP.org, under Crime and Violence. The LP-Georgia’s stance is on their platform page under War On Drugs.
