I keep reading things written by people whom I respect, alleging that the war on drugs is a failure. Those who say it is a failure point to the fact that the demand for illegal drugs seems to be ever-increasing, organized crime has taken over the production and distribution, and governments do not seem to be able to stop it, despite spending more and more money. Organized crime syndicates in Mexico seem to be more heavily armed than the Mexican military, and the criminals are operating successfully all over the U.S.
How do we reduce demand? Wouldn't the dropping of prohibitions just increase the number of people trying the drugs? They say we should treat marijuana like we do cigarettes and alcohol. It doesn't seem to me that the millions we spend on educating people about the dangers of cigarettes and alcohol has had much of a deterrent effect. The theory is that if police no longer have to bust people for drug use, they will be freed up to stop arms sales to organized crime. But, police still have to deal with people's behaviors in the neighborhoods where police are patrolling.
I think for an initial period, at least, child abuse and neglect would increase, thereby necessitating the hiring of more child welfare workers and bureaucrats. My own experience as a child welfare caseworker and county director of human services was that in at least 80% of child abuse and neglect cases, it was just a matter of time before I learned what drug(s) the parent or parents were abusing.
I'll try to keep an open mind to the suggestions and ideas people put forth to address this huge problem. Can you imagine the lines at the marijuana counter at Wal-Mart?
Oh great: I start to soften my stance on this drug war issue, and I walk by a t.v. set to hear Bill Ayres interviewed by Alan Colmes. Colmes asks Ayres why he dedicated his book to Sirhan Sirhan, and Ayres give him a rap about how the drug war is a "colossal failure," and all these people in our prisons should be in psychotherapy or drug treatment programs, instead of prisons. I do not want to be in the same chorus as the despicable Mr. Ayres.
4 comments:
Food for thought. I tend to not favor legalization, although I have a hard time explaining exactly why not. At least I'm not on Bill Ayres' side of the debate! ;P
When you look at all the damage done by a legal substance like alcohol it does make you wonder what to do.
Drug enforcement does create a huge burden for law enforcement. I guess we could look at it like a "hate crime". Just punish the bad behavior -- assaults, abuse, DUI's, whatever -- and don't worry about the cause.
Let's take reefer as an example. Yes, as soon as it's legalized, there's going to be an immediate spike in usage. Then, it will drop back down to about what it was before. A few people will switch from getting drunk to getting high. Some who are already chronic illegal users will become more dedicated. You'll see a little more social use.
By and large anybody who really wants to do drugs will do drugs illegally. On the other hand, legalization will not decrease the number of users at all.
I'd be happy if everybody quit drinking, smoking, and doing drugs, but I tend to think it should be an individual's decision. I also think that prohibition gives more power to the government.
I'm not in favor of legalizing drugs but I think saying the war is a failure is just Ayres' way of pushing the legalization route.
what works is a religious revival...
at least that's what worked in history.
But few churches bother to talk about it, except for AA type meetings where they sympathize with the sick.
In Oklahoma, the only church that actually saw addiction as a sin and worked with the druggies was the local assembly of God....I sent my druggies there...not to my own Catholic church, where all would be forgiven over and over again (read co enabler).
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