IN THE WAR ON DRUGS, EVERYONE'S A LOSER

I have a love/hate relationship with the War on Drugs.

It provides such a wealth of subject matter to write about that I
shudder to think what might happen if it were suddenly declared over.
I might be forced into writing about positive subjects instead.

The War on Drugs has had a profound effect on me. I used to be a proud
Republican, but the more I listened to law-and-order Republicans
chatter about the dire need for ever more enforcement of the
controlled-substance laws, the more Libertarian I became.

I'm still a registered Republican over at the courthouse, but in the
voting booth, the Republicans have lost me.

I never pass up an opportunity to write about the War on Drugs. Every
time the local drug warriors do anything, I perk right up because
invariably one of the warriors is going to say something that makes no
sense.

At the city council meeting a couple of weeks ago, our local regiment
of drug warriors got up to report on their operations for the last
three years. The chief of police - who I believe is a good cop and
citizen - told the council that waging war on drugs is difficult. The
warriors have rules to follow, the chief explained, and those rules
cause problems.

Now I know that the chief believes in the Constitution and the Bill of
Rights, but it scares me when a drug warrior wearing a badge and a gun
stands up at a public meeting and says that the document that makes us
Americans causes him problems.

You have to admit, though, the chief is exactly right. It would be so
much easier if the soldiers fighting the War on Drugs could break down
every door on every house in town and conduct searches. Imagine the
drugs they would find.

If drugs are as big a scourge as the warriors would have us believe,
they are going to need a convoy of trucks to haul all the illegal
substances away. Oh, and for the people without any drugs but who were
searched anyway, just try to remember that the Bill of Rights causes
too many problems to be of much value when it comes to waging the War
on Drugs.

The War on Drugs is confusing for the soldiers fighting it. The local
warriors made a bust here a couple of years ago, and they wanted to
keep it secret. I don't like secrets, especially when someone has been
thrown in jail. I wanted to know who was arrested and why the person
was arrested. The old undersheriff was reluctant to share that
information with the newspaper.

He explained that if word were to get out in the paper that a bust had
been made, then the other drug dealers would lay low and stop selling
drugs. If they're not selling drugs, it's just that much harder to
catch them.

You can see how confusing the War on Drugs is. The object of the war
is to stop the flow of drugs, but the drug warrior told me that the
soldiers can conduct the war much better if the enemy continues
selling drugs.

Do the warriors actually want to win the war?

If they don't want to win the war, it's time to cease operations,
reinstate our rights and try something different. I'm doing my part; I
vote Libertarian. Libertarians believe drugs should be legal.

If drugs were legal, our army of drug warriors could stand down and
save us huge amounts of money. The soldiers could return to police
work, serving and protecting us instead of suspecting us. Instead of
gangsters making a killing, legitimate business people could be making
a living.

If you're afraid that legalizing drugs would make them more available
than they are now, think again. Drugs are easy to find - ask any drug
warrior - yet the vast majority of people choose not to buy them.
There are better ways to spend time and money.

The War on Drugs is a resounding failure. Drugs still flow freely. The
War on Drugs has had some success, however. It has successfully
battled the Constitution and helped to quash our freedom.