The Failed Drug War

Some 30 years after after Ronald Reagan declared drugs “public enemy NO. 1″ and almost 40 years after Nixon’s own Shafer Commission found nothing wrong with personal cannabis use, this country finds itself in yet another counter-productive war (as if we don’t have enough of them).   I am going to assume you already have an opinion on the “War on Drugs” so I will cut right to the most pressing issues and skip background and the basics.

Most importantly is the issue that kids need to be protected from drugs.   Organizations like Partnership for a Drug Free America and the D.E.A would have you believe that strict prohibition and and punishment is the means to this end, nothing can be further from the truth.  The reality is that the winners of prohibition are the DRUG DEALERS!  How, you ask?  It is deadly simple.  Because marijuana is an illegal drug with strict punishment for even small possession, drug dealers make a fortune selling a plant that is easy to grow and difficult to detect.  Prohibition directly affects the marijuana supply by keeping it relatively low so that dealers can charge far more than it costs to grow.

If marijuana was taxed and regulated it would actually make it less accessible to those under 21 because as of today dealers don’t check ID’s.  At least with regulation the drugs are off the street and age control is implemented.  Furthermore the safety of users is heightened because not only will marijuana be harder to get for those underage but there would be testing to make sure that marijuana does not have other drugs or pesticides in it.  Today dealers don’t tell you if the marijuana is laced with other drugs and nothing stops them from doing this.

I encourage everyone to do their own research.  Intellect and being informed are your best weapons in today’s world.

Here’s a place to start: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bal-marijuanaletter0208,0,1337622.story