In this video, National Drug Czar John Walters laments about the escalating violence surrounding the illegal cultivation and sale of marijuana, and the tenacity of Mexican drug cartels. He stresses that the people behind huge cannabis cash crops are not “Cheech and Chong” types, but are serious criminals, and that the general public (specifically baby-boomers) have too lackadaisical an attitude about drug use, marijuana in particular. The problem with this position is that the ENTIRE black market for marijuana, and indeed all illegal drugs, exists only because of their illicit status.
People have been using psychoactive substances, including tobacco and alcohol, for the whole of recorded history, and successful instances of prohibition are non-existant. It should be clear by this point that no amount of restriction through force can meaningfully reduce long-term usage rates, and that such attempts result not only in a massive drain of public funding and resources, but also the emergence of a criminal underworld devoted to meeting society’s unwavering demand. One need look no further than our own failed attempt at alcohol prohibition to see exactly this. It’s also worth noting that the problems associated with bootlegging and illegal alcohol production, trafficking, sale, and consumption were almost immediately relieved following the re-scheduling of alcohol.
It seems backwards to me that a society based on freedom and individual rights and liberty would seek to solve our substance abuse problems with outright restriction. Drug abuse is a significant problem for millions of Americans, but turning these individuals into criminals will do nothing to help their situation, or that of society. I would propose that instead of this illogical, unrealistic “war” on drugs, we focus our efforts on educating people about the real risks and effects of substance use, and rehabilitating those that have succumbed to addiction yet seek change, ensuring that citizens can make their own decisions about what they do with their own bodies. This would mean an honest, peer-reviewed scientific presentation of facts, without bias or outright deceit. The government’s job is to protect its citizens from external threats, not from themselves (and certainly not to push its own agenda through misinformation and the warping of facts). I should not be forced to rely on any judgment save my own about what best serves my personal well being.
In addition to wiping out the drug cartels (and putting a stop to much of the associated violence), the legalization of street drugs would free up significant monetary and law enforcement resources to be re focused in other areas. Unbiased educational and rehabilitation programs could be financed through taxes levied on substance sales, allowing users to be a drain on other users, as opposed to all taxpayers as a whole. If the problem can’t be made to go away through the barrel of a gun, then we need to re-evaluate the real effects on individuals and our communities, and act intelligently toward the reduction of these effects.
It’s time we stop throwing billions of dollars at a war on drugs when we are the creators and facilitators of the illegal drug market. It’s time we stop throwing those battling with abuse and dependency (conditions listed in the DSMIV alongside things like depression, schizophrenia, and other psychological disorders) in prison, instead of providing the assistance they need. It’s time for an honest appraisal of the motivations behind prohibition. I’m ashamed to live in a society where I can legally obtain alcohol, opiates, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, NDRIs, barbiturates, anaesthetics, and a host of other pharmecuticals in quantaties large enough to kill myself 100s of times over, without appreciable risk of legal recourse or social stigma, yet in many states I can be incarcerated at length for the use of something that grows in the ground.
