THE WAR ON DRUGS HAS BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL

I am tired of the common misconceptions concerning the drug
legalization movement. Some seem to think that if one supports
legalization then he or she condones drug use. On the contrary, as a
supporter of legalization, I fully understand that drugs are addicting
and can be detrimental to one's health. Yet, what I have come to
realize is that the government's War on Drugs is actually worse than
drugs themselves.

Today's social engineers act as if they have divine power leading to
hopeless dreams of drugs being legislated out of existence.

If making heroin illegal was equivalent to annihilating its existence
then I wouldn't have much to complain about.

However, the truth remains that the legal status of a drug in
present-day America doesn't change its availability -- only the means
of transaction. Obviously, drugs are terrible; however, any claims to
their negative effects are extraneous seeing that the substance exists
regardless of its legal status.

This leads us to question the cost-benefit analysis of drug
legalization -- not whether they are good or bad.

Drug prohibition does nothing more than pass the torch and the profits
from law-abiding entrepreneurs to violent criminals.

What's worse is these illegitimate producers do not care about the
safety of their drugs and are subject to no sanitation checks.

This leads to, just as it has in the past, drug deaths caused solely
by adulteration and unknown potency.

These problems would not exist if drugs were produced in a legal
environment.

Drugs aren't cheap, but most consumers will stop at nothing to satisfy
their addictions. This leads to a rise in violent crime as addicts
resort to theft to pay artificially high prices.

These desperate acts are not a byproduct of drug use -- they come as a
direct consequence of the failed War on Drugs. If drugs were sold in a
competitive, open market then prices would fall to their natural cost.
At first, this may not seem desirable; however, it is important to
note that almost all user violence or theft is a result of desperate
attempts to pay for drugs.

Drug users will stop at nothing to consume what they desire, but in a
drug legal society most addicts would not be forced into theft to tame
their addictions.

The U.S. government plays a $30 billion zero-progress game called the
War on Drugs each year. It is important to realize that there is a
strong correlation between the amount of money spent on the War on
Drugs and the incentive to get into the illegal drug business.

Every time a local drug dealer is busted the cost of drugs rise. This
creates an irresistible incentive for newcomers to join the industry.

A never-ending supply of willing dealers ensures that every penny we
spend fighting drugs is a wasted one.

It is time for this country to return to the principles of the
Declaration of Independence. One man's rights extend to where
another's begin.

The government must end its attempts to protect us from
ourselves.

This restoration of liberty would save lives that would otherwise be
lost to desperate thieves, adulterated drugs and gang warfare while
saving police and court resources to fight true criminals who ought to
face swift justice.