You are probably right; it will not be eliminated. But this is a big step. You might ask why.
There is a big difference from something being covert and illegal, to being legal and out in the open, for several reasons.
1) Political and economic cost of doing it. Yes, you can do it, but who authorizes it will pay a political price for it, especially if it comes out into the open. These things cost money. You can only hide so much overhead in a budget. This will tend to lessen the extent of use. It might be used for, I dunno, like real terrorism.
2) Breaking the seal. Making it illegal and shitty to fuck with civil liberties bleeds over into other realms. Notice how we started to openly spy and torture at the same time? That's not a coincidence.
In your analogy, sure you may pick up a whopper. But you will do it less for fear your wife will find out. Also, you tend to drink and smoke less since you feel better eating less junk food and don't want to spoil it with other vices.
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u/[deleted] Jun 01 '15 edited Jun 01 '15
You are probably right; it will not be eliminated. But this is a big step. You might ask why.
There is a big difference from something being covert and illegal, to being legal and out in the open, for several reasons.
1) Political and economic cost of doing it. Yes, you can do it, but who authorizes it will pay a political price for it, especially if it comes out into the open. These things cost money. You can only hide so much overhead in a budget. This will tend to lessen the extent of use. It might be used for, I dunno, like real terrorism.
2) Breaking the seal. Making it illegal and shitty to fuck with civil liberties bleeds over into other realms. Notice how we started to openly spy and torture at the same time? That's not a coincidence.
In your analogy, sure you may pick up a whopper. But you will do it less for fear your wife will find out. Also, you tend to drink and smoke less since you feel better eating less junk food and don't want to spoil it with other vices.