COURT AIDS LOSS OF WAR ON DRUGS

The Supreme Court should take a cue from the banner that inspired
their decision to limit free speech. It might do them some good to
take a few bong hits for Jesus. Before sacrificing more civil
liberties at the altar of the drug war, they should ask themselves,
what would Jesus do? Zero tolerance is decidedly un-Christian.
Morally, the drug war is wrong. On a practical level, the drug war is
an abject failure.

There were 786,545 marijuana arrests in 2005, the majority for simple
possession. America is one of the few Western countries that punishes
citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis, yet lifetime use of
marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any European country.

Thanks to the war on some drugs, the Constitution is increasingly
irrelevant and land of the free now has the highest incarceration rate
in the world. The drug war has failed to keep drugs out of prisons,
much less schools. The Supreme Court should prioritize protecting
civil liberties over perpetuating drug war failure.

ROBERT SHARPE

Policy analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy