THE WAR ON DRUGS IS AN INFRINGEMENT ON LIBERTY

There are lots of good reasons for ending prohibition of illicit drugs.
Constraints of time and space do not allow me to list them all here, or to
offer more than a little explanation. What I do offer in this article is a
quick list of good reasons, in no particular sequence, except that I save
the most important one for last. I focus on marijuana, but what I say
applies mostly to other illicit drugs as well. Here's the list:

Prohibition creates more problems than it solves. This was true during the
Prohibition Era (the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s), and it is true
of the modern prohibition of marijuana and other illicit drugs today.

Prohibition creates victimless crimes. In and of itself, drug use is
innocent-it does not represent an act of aggression or fraud against
another person.

Prohibition does not work. People continue to use and sell illicit drugs on
the black market. The availability of drugs is mostly unaffected by
prohibition. Prohibition succeeds only in artificially raising the market
price, thus distorting normal market forces.

Prohibition is a waste of tens of billions of taxpayer dollars.

Prohibition makes criminals rich.

Prohibition fosters violence in the streets as black market drug suppliers
fight over turf (markets made artificially lucrative by prohibition).
Prohibition causes juveniles to be excessively vulnerable to unwise drug
use. Black market drug dealers don't ask for identification to verify age.
Prohibition moves the illegal drug market toward drugs that are more
concentrated and more dangerous, that is, drugs that are easier to hide.
For example, from marijuana to crack and meth.

Prohibition destroys families (in ways far more harmful and far more
serious than drug use does). A pot-smoking mom gets a 10-year sentence, and
her two young children end up in foster homes.

Prohibition makes drug overdoses and poisonings more likely to occur. Black
market drug dealers have no incentive to truthfully label their products as
to content, concentration, purity, or dosage. Victims have no legal
recourse without exposing themselves to prosecution.

Prohibition teaches disrespect for the law and mistrust of the government.

Prohibition prevents use of marijuana in its traditional, beneficial
applications as an herbal remedy for treating insomnia, drug addiction,
appetite loss, depression, and other maladies, and in its modern
application as a treatment for the side effects of chemotherapy in cancer
patients. The same kind of thing is true of some other naturally derived
and chemically derived drugs that are currently illegal. (Meanwhile, big
corporations get rich marketing their patented, acceptable alternatives.)

Prohibition creates an agenda for interfering wrongly and unnecessarily in
the affairs of other nations, for example, sending military equipment and
advisors to Columbia.

Prohibition wastes the resources (money, time, and space) of the police,
the courts, and the prisons-resources that would be better devoted to
preventing and punishing real crimes that have real victims.

Prohibition represents America's most offensive human rights violation. Of
all the nations of the world, the U.S. has the highest percentage of its
people in prison, largely because of the government's so-called War on
Drugs. (It's really a war on an unpopular group of citizens.)

Prohibition creates an opportunity for government agents to use excessive
force and violence in their enforcement efforts.

Lastly, prohibition violates the "Live and Let Live" principle that forms
the basis of our moral/ethical code. Stated simply, if I choose to smoke
marijuana on my own time and on my own property, it's none of your
business, and it's none of the government's business.

That's the end of my list. Notice, please, that I am not advocating
unbridled or irresponsible drug use. Drugs should not be made freely and
legally available to minors. It should not be legal for people to drive or
operate machinery while intoxicated. People should not be absolved of
responsibility for their conduct while intoxicated, or for any adverse
consequences of their drug use.

I am simply advocating that people be given freedom and responsibility. I'm
advocating that we end the government's so-called War on Drugs. I'm
advocating that we make responsible drug use legal, and I'm saying that we
should start with marijuana.