LEGALIZE DRUGS? FAR OUT, DUDE . . .

I'M A DEVOUT capitalist. My belief in the free market is second only
to my faith in the Holy Trinity. But I draw the line at drugs.

Over recent days, some savvy people have exploited both the weakened
economy and the deadly violence on our Mexican border to yet again
push for the legalization of narcotics.

The argument goes like this:

It's the illegal nature of the drug trade that causes the carnage.
Thus, if we treat controlled substances just like any other commodity
and regulate them in accordance with existing laws of commerce, we'll
eliminate the extreme profit motive. And, presumably, the mayhem.

One Ivy type has even opined that legalizing drugs is the patriotic
thing to do. Jeffrey Miron, a senior lecturer in economics at
Harvard, writes that "it is impossible to reconcile respect for
individual liberty with drug prohibition."

So we can solve the drug problem if we "just say no" to wholesale
restrictions on their production, use and transfer. By eliminating
the black market, we can let people exercise their constitutional
right to get stoned, all the while benefiting from increased tax
revenues and removing the social stigma of addiction.

Pay attention to that last part. Because once we legalize drugs, I
guarantee we'll substantially increase the probability that casual
users, or those who never smoked a blunt or tapped a vein in their
lives, will take that first step on the journey to a life in chaos. I
think most readers have some personal knowledge among their own
friends and families about that.

I can hear the derisive comments, see the rolled eyes, anticipate the
oh-so-ration- al arguments from those who advocate an end to what
they call "prohibition."

It's usually the weekend pot smokers and once-a-month Ecstasy
consumers who have the most to say on the topic. Listen, they argue,
marijuana has few harmful physical effects. (On that, they may have a
point, although it's quite clearly a way into the drug culture.)

They also argue that moderate use has been known to help glaucoma and
cancer sufferers. This is the humanitarian slant, the one that gains
the most traction with average Americans who may be squeamish about
legalizing all drugs but who don't think pot is such a big deal.
State Rep. Mark Cohen has tapped into the sentiment with a bill that
would allow the medical use of marijuana in Pennsylvania.

With all due respect to Rep. Cohen, this is a red herring.

The active chemicals in cannabis are just as effective when
administered in pill form as they are when inhaled. It's just that
you can't get high from that little pill. You connect the dots.

Actually, the whole issue of medical marijuana is a red herring. The
real reason we need to keep drugs illegal - and stigmatized - is that
this is one of the few effective ways of preventing a tsunami of
abuse from sweeping this nation.

If you think the drug problem is bad now, and if you think the
decades-long war has been ineffective, imagine what would happen if
we dismantled one of the only barriers between potential users and
their lethal desires: the law.

The federal Controlled Substances Act and related state laws may not
be perfect, but at the very least they make it much more difficult
for people to start using. Call it fear of the consequences, call it
inconvenience, call it the shame factor, but the fact that some drugs
are illegal is an undeniably powerful deterrent to those who would
otherwise indulge their curiosity. So why make it easier for them?

And then, you have that whole messy morality thing. Our intrepid
Harvard economist may believe that our basic rights are being
violated when the state prevents us from medicating at will, but
there are a lot of things we might want to do that don't qualify for
constitutional protection, like having sex with an allegedly
consenting minor. Or selling our bodies for profit is another.

THE REASON for what Jeffrey Miron calls our "puritanical" policies is
grounded in the social contract. While some Americans (usually
libertarians) think that people should be allowed to do whatever they
want as long as they don't hurt anyone else, the truth is that there
are many activities which - by their very nature - undermine the
health of a society, even if it takes awhile to see the results. If
we want to live in a stable community, we have to deal with limits on
our desires (not to be confused with our "rights.")

Getting high, legally or not, is one of them. *