I'm surprised that this wasn't titled, "Dude you're getting a DOOB!" Yes my sense of humor is as bad as ever.

However, are you refering to the pot possession as being a gross violation of his rights? If so I don't think so since it's not legal to possess marijuana in the state of New York. The whole legalize marijuana movement hasn't caught any steam out here out east and I don't think any states posses such laws.

Now if your talking about something else then I have no clue. Government and economics is your area, I'm just a cartoonist.

His rights which were violated are his right to his body and his right to his property. As the owner of both, he can choose to be drug-free or a raging crack addict as long as he doesn't violate another's rights.

Rights, by the way, are not governed by what the law says. They are, as the Declaration of Independence put it, "unalienable." The State has no business telling us what we can and cannot imbibe, just as it has no business telling us what to eat for breakfast...or if we eat breakfast at all. :)

Being illegal doesn't make something wrong. It just means the government has choosen to intervene in your life for some reason.

Being illegal = something wrong. It means the government has chosen to intervene for reason.

I don't need to drive or mix in public places with stoners any more than I would with drunks or cigarette smokers.

You probably are the first one to to decry cigarette smokers and hopefully drunkards.

All of those habits are debilitating physically, mentally, and habit forming at best. We DO need protection from our vices, be mature if possible, and admit it.

Mr. Grow Up:

Would you defend the "Jim Crow" laws passed against minorities in the US? How about the laws passed against Jews in Germany before WWII broke out? If you have the time, I'd like to see you defend the laws passed against white farmers in Zimbabwe.

To put it another way, you would have no problem with Congress passing a law that banned the German language from ever being spoken in public, the ability to earn a wage, and blue jeans. You'd find these laws acceptable because the state chose to intervene, therefore something is obviously wrong.

The governments "chose to intervene for reason," did they not? Certainly the state knows what's best for you, otherwise, how would you ever be able to go about your normal life? Hopefully, you catch my sarcasm by now.

I do not need protection from my vices. I know the risks I take. I don't need a third party telling me what I can and cannot do, particularly if the only "victim" is myself. Discount entirely that I wouldn't even be a victim since my choices were up to me to make.

You are saying we need a policeman sitting with us every mile we drive. You are saying responsibility is a pointless goal. You are saying that YOUR morality supercedes mine and therefore mine should be punished and outlawed.

Perhaps when your actions you find harmless are put under the scope of legislation and a jail term, you'll understand. Then maybe you will be mature about it and think things through a little longer before demanding a police state.

Grow Up,

You suggest a lack of maturity in those that support the legalization of marijuana. Nevertheless, you fail to consider that maturity, according to dictionary.com, is a "characteristic of full development, either mental or physical." This involves the ability to make one's own decisions relating what one can or cannot do to one's body and mind. You claim that we "need protection from our vices." Does this mean that you would have no issue with the government arresting and imprisoning you the next time you choose to procrastinate? That is also a vice, and can affect those around you just as much as marijuana can.

Nevertheless, the United States Constitution gives us, as citizens, basic rights and liberties. We are granted the liberty to eat foods that are unhealthy, to consume substances that impair our mental and physical abilities (alcohol and tobacco), and to risk our lives in various ways, such as participating in potentially dangerous sports. I've no doubt that you, personally, have no experience with any of the above, and that is your personal choice. Nevertheless, if the government controlled every aspect of our lives in a way that ensured complete individual safety, the liberty given to us by the Constitution would be compromised. Please consider this before making the argument that you do not want to be surrounded by people who choose to endanger their well-being. Being around those individuals is a personal choice, just as would be going into the midst of cigarette smokers and alcohol users.

You also seem to lack a fundamental understanding of the current political situation surrounding the issue. The only reason that cigarettes and alcohol are legal and marijuana is not is the influence tobacco companies currently have on those who pass our legislation. Please remember this the next time you wish to demonize marijuana smokers.