The War on (Some) Drugs

The War on (Some) Drugs

I meant to write this for 4/20 but I forgot. And no it’s not because I was smoking. Believe it or not, I’ve never even seen Marijuana in person. I just don’t have any interest in it and I really do think people shouldn’t smoke it. But I don’t think it should be illegal either. Not only that, I believe that all drugs should be legal including “hard” drugs like Cocaine and Heroine and even prescription drugs. They should all be completely legal. Before you jump down my throat (by “throat” I mean “comment box”) allow me to make my case.

Which is worse?

You have to ask yourself which is worse, a guy lighting up a joint after work to relax or the cops breaking in his door with guns drawn to take him to prison. Which of those activities is going to ruin that man’s life? The War on Drugs is more damaging to individuals and society as a whole than the “drug problem” ever will be. In fact I believe that our “drug problem” is largely caused by the war on drugs. Whenever the government carries out a war on something, they not only fail every single time but they usually cause more of that activity to occur. The War on Poverty causes more poverty by raising taxes and increasing the welfare-state. The War on Terror causes more terrorism because we go to other countries and occupy their holy-lands. No wonder they hate us. And the war on drugs causes more drugs to be sold and more violence to be committed because whenever something is illegal, it becomes very very profitable and only ruthless criminals are willing to participate in the trade.

To understand this, we really only have to look at The Prohibition of Alcohol. During the 1920’s and early 1930’s alcohol was an illegal drug and no one drank and the country was a better place. Wrong! People kept right on drinking. Only now, instead of being created in safe environments and sold in liquor stores, alcohol was created in dirty bathtubs and sold by notorious gangsters like Al Capone and Bugs Moran. All of the violence that Capone was famous for was due to the War on Alcohol. Can you see the similarities between The Prohibition of Alcohol and the War on Drugs that we have today?

Another similarity between Prohibition and todays War on Drugs is the creation of new and more dangerous alternatives. Back in the days of Prohibition, the consumption of hard liquors increased dramatically. Before Prohibition Americans consumed mostly beers and wine. Hard liquor, which can be more dangerous for someone with no self control, became more popular as a direct result of Prohibition. Hard liquor was more profitable for the violent thugs that sold alcohol. Similarly, today we now have one of the most dangerous drugs in history and it was invented as a direct result of the War on Drugs. I’m talking about Crack Cocaine. Crack wasn’t invented until the 1980’s. It was created because it’s cheaper, and easier to make than regular cocaine. It’s also incredibly addictive and much more damaging than cocaine and it wouldn’t exist today if cocaine wasn’t illegal.

Addressing your fears.

Most people are afraid that if all drugs were legalized, society would crumble. That simply wouldn’t be the case. Currently only around 1% of the population use hard drugs. According to a Zogby Poll, if hard drugs like Cocaine and Heroine were legalized guess how many people said they would try them. Around 1%. [LINK]

What does that tell us? Well it tells us that people who would use drugs if they were legalized are already using them anyway. In other words, The War on Drugs doesn’t work. It is a failure. How would society change if drugs were legalized? Not much. The people who are taking hard drugs now would continue taking them and very few new people would start. The only significant difference would be the fact that the police would stop ruining people’s lives by taking them to jail for a personal choice. More on that subject later.

As we have seen, hard drug use would not increase significantly. But what about softer drugs like Pot? Well what about it? Who cares if people smoke a joint or two? I’d rather be in the room with someone who was really high than a person who was really drunk. “But Mike, if Marijuana is legalized, people might drive while high!” The concept that people don’t grasp is that laws are meaningless and ineffectual. People are driving high right now regardless of the law. Alcohol is legal but driving drunk is not. People still do it. Alcohol actually makes some people violent too. Alcohol and Tobacco kill many many people every year. Marijuana kills nobody. No one has ever overdosed on Marijuana. Well actually there was one guy who overdosed on Marijuana but that’s because he was smuggling it in a balloon that he swallowed which broke open and killed him. But he wouldn’t have been smuggling it if it wasn’t illegal. Why are drugs like alcohol and tobacco legal but drugs like marijuana aren’t? Alcohol and tobacco are extremely dangerous; much more dangerous than Marijuana. From now on, the “War on Drugs” will be referred to as the “War on (Some) Drugs”.

The Principle of the Matter

The principle of the matter is this: it’s my body, my choice. Now, as I’ve said before, my personal choice is to not use illegal drugs. I do drink alcohol in moderation (I’ve never been drunk) and I do smoke cigars (only on special occasions). I personally like to be in control of myself at all times. Drug use is a victimless crime. Therefore it is not a crime. You may be thinking to yourself, “Victimless crime? Tell that to all the families that have been destroyed because of drug use!” But I would ask you to consider the many thousands of people who’s families have been destroyed because of alcohol use, tobacco use, or even parents who care too much about their jobs. In those cases we attribute the destruction of the family to a poor personal choice. Why should illegal drugs be any different? The cracked-out mother who neglects her kids is no different than the alcoholic father who beats his kids. The dead-beat pothead dad is no different than the workaholic mother who ignores the needs of her children. It’s all personal choice. Everything in moderation. Drinking is great unless you drink too much. Smoking a cigar can be a relaxing experience unless you over do it. And a job can be just as damaging to a family as cocaine if you allow it to get in the way.

I’m not saying drugs are good. Clearly they can be terrible. But I’ll ask my original question again. Which is worse? A guy coming home from work and smoking Marijuana to relax or the cops busting in his door with guns blazing and throwing him into a jail cell? Which is more likely to ruin his life? Why am I allowed to come home and take [my drug of choice] after work to relax but that man can’t? The fact that cops are raiding people’s homes to arrest them for victimless crimes is bad enough. It’s even worse when they screw it up. And boy do they screw it up! Just take a look at this map:

[Botched Paramilitary Police Raids]

It’s a Google map that shows instances of botched police raids that were carried out in connection with the war on drugs. I don’t have time to go into specific cases, that will come in future articles. But there are so many sad stories there. Stories of the police raiding the wrong house and killing the occupants or getting killed themselves. While drug addiction is a terrible tragedy, it is eclipsed by the atrocities that are committed in the name of the War on (Some) Drugs.

All of it is so unneccessary.

~ by donttreadonmike on April 21, 2008.