A MODEST PROPOSAL: SHOULD WE LEGALIZE DRUGS?

Matters on our southern frontier are horrific. Mexico is fast on its way
to becoming a Narcostate. Illegal trade is rampant across the border,
Mexican narcotics come into the United States in exchange for illegal
guns. The balance of illegal trade is still in Mexico's favor to the
tune of billions every year.

America's hunger for addictive drugs never seems to be quenched, and
we blame it on the Mexican cartels which, in these days of free trade,
are doing no more than providing a supply to meet the demand.

And we are making it more profitable for them!

I am old enough to remember the sigh of relief that came with the
repeal of Prohibition -- which, in its way, was not much different from
our current policy on narcotics. By making liquor illegal in the Noble
Experiment of the 1920s and early 1930s, we made it more profitable
for our cartels -- we called them bootleggers -- to provide their
illegal product.

They took a risk to provide good quality booze imported from Canada or
Europe or a cheaper and possibly dangerous moonshine that they made
themselves. Because they could sell a product that was untaxed,
uninspected and noncompetitive, the profits were high.

I should not say "noncompetitive:" Prices were noncompetitive.

There was plenty of competition over territories. Our cartels -- we
called them "gangs" -- fought bitterly and bloodily over territory.
Much like the Mexican gangs of today. When repeal came, the killing
slowed down; the gangs reorganized and took up other occupations, some
even legitimate.

Some took their earnings and plowed them into distilleries, breweries,
gambling casinos and real estate. Others diversified into
prostitution, protection, the fixing of horse races and boxing
matches, labor rackets, the numbers and, of course, narcotics.

But the flow of blood slowed to a trickle. The big ticket item of
yesteryear became legal, taxed and regulated. The excessive profits
had been taken out of it.

Why not do something similar to narcotics? Starting with marijuana.
Decriminalize it! Tax it! Sell it through state stores. Provide
quality control and health inspections. Take the profit out of its
illegal use. Anyway, it's probably less dangerous to Americans than
liquor and cigarettes, both addictive, exceedingly harmful to our
health and dangerous to innocent bystanders.

Consider, first, the tremendous costs to America of illegal drug use.
And the toll in human life. The increasing cost of border control. The
constant building and maintenance of new "corrective" facilities --
which rarely correct anything. The cost to society of crimes committed
by addicts in need of the wherewithal to get a fix: burglaries and
other larcenies. The need for more cops. The loss of productivity. The
cost of rehabilitation. The cost of supporting the families of the
addicted. The corruption of police officials and prison guards.

Here, too, the deaths of innocent bystanders.

The list goes on and on.

If anything deserves a sort of cost-benefit analysis, this is it: The
costs and benefits of legalizing dope, as opposed to what we are doing
now.

There are those who wail, "But what about our children?"

Our children can easily get the stuff now, if they really want it. And
often even if they don't want it.

My recommendation: Sell the stuff through state stores or licensed
drug stores, but only to adults with identity cards. To buy harder
drugs, the purchaser must provide a card, signed by a doctor and the
police, stating that he/she is an addict.

For those offering drugs to a minor, regardless of whether for money
or not, severe penalties would be mandatory and enforced. (Let's clear
the prisons of minor offenders.)

You'd be surprised at how the crime rate will come down in North
America, as will the death rate from violent crime in Mexico. Illegal
border crossings might also decline. And revenues to our national and
state governments will increase!

Remove the profit motive! It's only common sense.