WAR ON DRUGS IMPORTANT TO NATION'S FUTURE, AND WORTH EVERY DIME SPENT

"A lot of good has come from drugs. I think 'Penny Lane' is worth 10
dead kids. 'Dark Side of the Moon' is worth 100 dead kids. Because a
lot of kids wouldn't even be born if it weren't for that album, so it
evens out." - Bill Maher

Jeffery Miron is a senior lecturer in economics at Harvard
University. It certainly seems lately that when someone associated
with Harvard speaks we all should listen, since Harvard knows what's
best for America.

In a recent article for CNN Politics.Com, "Legalize drugs to stop
violence," Miron makes the argument that "Escalation (in the war on
drugs) is the wrong response." And it's not just marijuana he wants
to see decriminalized; Miron wants "legalization for all drugs."

Among his many points of debate, Miron says, "Prohibition is a drain
on the public purse," claiming that instead of the millions of
dollars the U.S. government spends each year on the "war on drugs,"
monies could be regained by legalization, regulation and taxation.

As with any opinion I offer, 90 percent of my argument comes from
experience in working with at-risk kids. My apologies; I'm neither
educated enough nor in a position lofty enough to base my opinions on
simply theories and philosophies. I read a lot. But nothing could
come close to the education I've received from what I've seen for
myself. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't use statistics to
support my positions.

I'm sure there are thousands who share Miron's views, although I'm
equally sure of mine for different reasons. As far as the public
purse statement goes, I wonder how that plays into the state of drug
usage among the young and its impact on education. There are few
teachers who teach at the middle and high school levels who have not
witnessed a student who once showed promise turn into a Hyde-like
figure whose interest in academics has been replaced with
indifference, thanks to drugs.

As reported in Journal Watch Psychiatry in 2007, 44 percent of high
school seniors reported using marijuana. Between 1992 and 2006,
marijuana usage increased 4 percent to 7 percent among
eighth-graders. As also reported, 49.6 percent of seniors reported
they could obtain amphetamines easily, 47.1 percent could get cocaine
and 25.1 percent felt they could score crystal meth just as easily.

Miron says prohibition harms public health by denying marijuana to
"patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma and other conditions."
Interesting, considering that more recent and in-depth research
reports that "marijuana has more cancer-causing agents than is found
in tobacco smoke." Furthermore, other findings are showing drug
usage, in particular marijuana, may have serious negative impacts on
an adolescent's sexual development.

The good professor also compares today's drug war to Prohibition
during the Great Depression, citing, "Violence was common in the
alcohol industry when it was banned during Prohibition, but not
before and not after." In America today, 50 percent of homicides and
40 percent of assaults are alcohol-related. According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, "The leading cause (of death) for
teens and young adults is auto accidents related to alcohol." I guess
it depends on where one goes looking for violence.

I looked up Miron's bio. Part of it says, "His area of expertise is
the economics of libertarianism, with particular emphasis on the
economics of illegal drugs." So what it appears to come down to is
Miron wants to take money from the drug dealers' pockets and put it
in the pockets of the politicians. Please don't embarrass me and ask
me whom I would trust more.

As with any public debate, especially when the debate has to do with
vice, all arguments that focus on the impact on younger generations
tend to get lost.

Any war America has fought usually is to preserve the future of the
nation. I would argue that the war on drugs has every bit as much to
do with this nation's future and is worth every dime.