LIBERTARIANS' FORUM EXAMINES THE WAR ON DRUGS

The War on Drugs is an unconstitutional and wasteful policy, according to
Keith Halderman, who spoke at the UMBC Libertarians' War on Drugs Forum
last week.

Halderman, a graduate student at American University who has written
extensively on drugs in American society and in particular the War on
Drugs, cited ineffectiveness, hypocrisy and violation of civil liberties in
his critique of the United States' domestic drug policy.

The Libertarians had also arranged for a speaker in support of the War on
Drugs, according to Rich Goldman, club president. Bill Hocker, Public
Information Officer of the Baltimore Drug Enforcement Agency was supposed
to speak at the forum as well but had to go out of town on business.

Halderman, speaking opposite an empty podium, addressed a series of basic
questions about the War on Drugs. His essential argument was one of
effectiveness. "It doesn't keep people from using drugs," he said.

Halderman noted first that there is "no democracy" in U.S. drug policy, as
the classification of drugs is entirely in the hands of the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). He argued that the FDA approves for medical use
substances that are potentially far more harmful than, for example,
marijuana. Marijuana is classified as "schedule one," the most dangerous
and heavily restricted level of controlled substance.

The War on Drugs is an important issue for the Libertarians. "We think the
war on drugs epitomizes what happens when government strays from its proper
role of protecting individuals life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, and
starts dictating to individuals their life, liberty and pursuit of
happiness," said Goldman.

"Libertarianism is about living your life, your way, without interference,
so long as you respect the equal rights of others," he explained.

Halderman also said that the War on Drugs benefits "special interests,"
ranging from the pharmaceutical industry, which makes money off of legal
substances, to newspapers, which Halderman says reap the benefits of
running sensationalist stories about drugs.

Halderman frequently cited prohibition of alcohol in the early twentieth
century as an example of why the War on Drugs should be ended. The
prohibition of drugs only increases their use, he said. Now-illegal drugs
could instead be sold along with alcohol under controlled circumstances. "I
think that the alcohol model is perfectly serviceable for any of these
drugs," Halderman said.

Legalization of drugs, Halderman argued, would also free countless
government resources for more important tasks. He noted that on the day
before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the number of FBI agents engaged
in fighting drug crimes numbered in the thousands, while only several
hundred were doing anti-terrorism work.

Himself a Libertarian, Halderman stressed the importance of allowing
citizens to make their own lifestyle choices. "We each have a right to
decide our own vices," he said.

Many in the audience seemed to agree with Halderman. One student had a
bleak view of the future of the War on Drugs. "Until it benefits the
government [for drugs] to be legal, it's not going to be legal," she said.

The forum is held every semester by the Libertarians, said Goldman, as a
way of involving the campus with an interesting and relevant subject. "It's
much more entertaining and popular than, say, stable monetary policies,"
Goldman said. "Not everyone may agree with us on all the issues, but if we
can show them where we already agree, hopefully they'll hear us out more on
other issues."

Goldman estimated turnout around twenty, and felt this was a success. "For
an event at UMBC, I think that's pretty good," he said.