THE WAR ON DRUGS IS A WAR ON COMMON SENSE

Just Say No ... More

When America declared a war on poverty in the 1960s, it was believed
that more assistance by the federal government would lead to
eradicating the problem. What we got instead was bigger government
and an army of dependents for whom welfare became not merely a
helping hand but a way of life. And today, even though the government
has done little to actually help the poor and has even made things
worse, many still believe the war on poverty must continue by
offering even more of the welfare that helps to perpetuate it.

When America declared a war on terror at the beginning of the 21st
century, it was believed that massive intervention in the Middle East
by the federal government would lead to eradicating the problem. What
we got instead was bigger government both home and abroad and a new
army of terrorists for whom the U.S. invasion of Iraq was their
primary reason for joining Al-Qaeda. And today, even though
government actually did nothing to stop the growth of global
terrorism and even made things worse, many still believe the war on
terror must continue by offering even more of the intervention that
helps to perpetuate it.

And it is this same mindless, reckless, and fruitless government
repetition that perpetuates America's war on drugs. Since beginning
the war on drugs in the 1970s and escalating our efforts in the '80s,
this battle has done virtually nothing to reduce drug use and has in
fact created more battles. Writes Ethan Nadelmann in The Wall Street
Journal, "Consider the consequences of drug prohibition today:
500,000 people incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails for nonviolent
drug-law violations; 1.8 million drug arrests last year; tens of
billions of taxpayer dollars expended annually to fund a drug war
that 76 percent of Americans say has failed; millions now marked for
life as former drug felons."

Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, concludes,
"All this, and much more, are the consequences not of drugs per se
but of prohibitionist policies that have failed for too long and that
can never succeed in an open society."

In the case of marijuana use, it is hard to imagine how the benefits,
if there are any, of punishing pot smokers outweigh the cost of doing
so. In my own experience, I don't think I've ever had a conversation
with a police officer who actually believes the war on drugs is
sensible or successful on any level. It's a waste of time for law
enforcement, a waste of money for the taxpayer, and a waste of
dignity, reputation, and possibly freedom by those who choose to use
a drug that arguably is no worse than alcohol.

As with our wars on poverty and terrorism, instead of looking at the
tragic results of the drug war, we praise the good intentions. Do I
honestly believe that many good, decent, patriotic Americans think
welfare will actually help the poor? Sure, they do and so do many of
our government leaders. Do I honestly believe many good, decent,
patriotic Americans think our efforts in Iraq might actually reduce
terrorism? Of course they do, and so do many of our government
leaders. Likewise, when welfare is criticized as counterproductive,
the critics are typically accused of being against the poor. When our
interventionist foreign policy is criticized as counterproductive,
the critics are typically accused of being against the troops, if not
their country.

Both are arguments that skirt the primary issue and refuse to address
the root problem.

Those who believe the war on drugs is counterproductive are no more
anti-sobriety than welfare critics are anti-poor or war critics are
anti-American. The war on drugs is a bust - an abysmal failure that
does nothing to solve the problem and does much to create others. The
war on drugs is impossible to win, not because America hasn't fought
it hard enough or needs to fight harder, but because good intentions
are no match for the immutable realities of human nature.

Or as Nadelmann writes, "The Americans who voted in 1933 to repeal
prohibition differed greatly in their reasons for overturning the
system. But almost all agreed that the evils of failed suppression
far outweighed the evils of alcohol consumption."

Hopefully - finally - Americans can now agree that our many, endless
wars against common sense will give us common cause to find more
uncommon solutions.