Digital Mind

Monday, March 09, 2009

A sane voice in the war on drugs

The war on drugs has been an abject failure. In America we imprison more people per capita than any other westernized country in the world. We have harsher restrictions (i.e. jail time) than almost any other country and where does it get us? We currently have the highest consumption rate of cocaine in the world. So much for harsh sentencing being a deterrent.

Here's my logic. Since the dawn of time humans (and animals for that matter) have been interested in getting inebriated either via drink or substance. We let people drink albeit with restrictions on public behavior and driving. I'm trying to figure out why that should be any different for somebody who is high. Anyone? Bueller?

It's time to stop being so draconian and face reality. The drug war is a bust. People still want to get high. It's going to happen no matter what our legislators say or do. Let's start treating it as a health issue which is the approach we should have been taking from the start.
This newspaper first argued for legalisation 20 years ago (see article). Reviewing the evidence again (see article), prohibition seems even more harmful, especially for the poor and weak of the world. Legalisation would not drive gangsters completely out of drugs; as with alcohol and cigarettes, there would be taxes to avoid and rules to subvert. Nor would it automatically cure failed states like Afghanistan. Our solution is a messy one; but a century of manifest failure argues for trying it.
How to stop the drug wars | The Economist

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