One of the great illusions in life is that protection from the spiritual damage of addiction is something that can be legislated. Alcohol has been shown to be one of the most addicting and physically damaging drugs around. And yet trying to legislate alcohol use out of existence: well we all know where that one went.

Spiritual recovery and renewal is something that comes from the heart. It's not anything that can be legislated.

I do agree that closing the borders won't solve any addiction problem. Any more than making drugs or alcohol illegal would.

As for addicted/alcoholic parents inflicting damage on their children: this can be dealt with using current laws against child abuse. One element that could be helped by not spending money on the Black Hole known as the “War on Drugs” is that this money could be used to strengthen social service agencies that could help children trapped in abusive parenting.

As I said before: if drugs were legalized and regulated the way that alcohol is, we'd see our imprisonment rate go quickly down. As well as much of the violence in our society. Prohibition didn't work for alcohol, and it's not working for other drugs.

As for those who use drugs in an addictive way (just like those who drink in an alcoholic way): Drug addiction, like alcoholism, is a medical condition. These medical conditions should be treated by health professionals rather than law enforcement. People shouldn't be arrested simply for possessing any drugs, any more than a person in this day and age would be arrested simply for possessing a case of beer.

Now if someone were to get high on booze or drugs and drive a car, operate machinery, or commit a crime — they should get arrested and face the full consequences of their actions.

Once the enforcement-only, legalism begins, it's increasing failures lead to ever more draconian “solutions” until the final abject failure is a police state.

Already, within the USA, we incarcerate 25% of all the world's prison population, though we make up 3% of the world's entire population. Shouldwe move up to 50% or 75% to see if that works?

Isn't that the problem? Rev. Fanestil has neither the duty (nor the inclination?) to do the difficult work of distinguishing between the bad guys and the good guys. I applaud his desire to serve communion as a sign of grace, and I agree that border policies need to be fixed, but it's naive to think the bad guys are going to suspend their drug operations while we try to work it out. I'd love to hear not only Rev. Fanestil's outrage at being detained, but also how he intends to help stop drug trafficking across the border. Or was that simply the royal “WE” he was using?

Part of the problem of course is the so called “war on drugs.” Which is a travesty. Prohibition failed with alcohol back in the 1920s and it is failing right now with drugs other than alcohol. Legalizing and regulating drugs in a similar manner that alcohol is legal and regulated would do a lot to rid our cities and borders from a lot of the violence that now infests these places.