161 Illegal Drugs

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The simplest of all societal axioms is: for rules to work, people have to want to obey them. There is no better example of this fundamental concept than the failure of prohibition in the gangster-ridden 1930s, and now, the so-called “War on Drugs,” in all its abysmal failure, worse than a failure, it is a stake in the heart of our whole judicial system. 20 million Americans used illegal drugs last month, and that doesn't include marijuana. Approximately a quarter of the penal system in the United States is clogged with drug offenders.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Drug prohibition incites violence here, and especially abroad, because America essentially exports its prohibition violence to Mexico & other poor nations. Let’s face it, our country’s self-righteous attitude towards victimless crimes is unconscionable. If someone wants to risk ruining their life and going to prison for the feeling of euphoria and escape that comes from using drugs then nothing short of execution is going to “cure” the problem.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Who are the drug laws for anyway, the people who use them or the people who don’t? Telling 10s of millions of people that they all belong in jail should make you ill, and the fact that someone thinks these symptoms, plus all the criminality that goes along with illegal distribution, are acceptable, is appalling. Frankly, self-righteous moralizers are more abhorrent than the junkies.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Ignoring or intentionally violating an irrational law breeds contempt for all laws, and enforcing unjust laws adds suspicion that all enforcement is unjust. Simply stated, the drug laws in this country are eroding civility, not protecting it. The solution is simple: make drugs legal but regulated: people who want the recreational attributes of drugs can be assured of quality, safety, and price, which will monopolize 99% of the market. This is a case where a monopoly works towards the good of society.</p>