One War Too Many

By any sane measure the war on drugs has been lost. It never could have been won without taking steps abhorrent to the voters of the United States.

The profit in the sale of illegal narcotics is just too high for people to ignore. I believe that the only rational plan is to concede defeat, legalize narcotics, regulate them, tax them and treat them.

Denmark, France and Canada are heading down this path. None of those countries are in flames, and we can safely conclude that legalization need not result in mass chaos.

Marijuana should be treated much like alcohol. Certainly cocaine and heroin should be treated as heroin is treated in Denmark - a serious problem, but one that can be managed and where once it is out in the daylight is easier to address and treat.

The resources saved in prison sentences, dismantling networks of smugglers and converting peasant growers into ordinary citizens, would at a stroke reduce the US budget, help secure our boarders and help eliminate the unpleasant dichotomy of legislating morality while promoting freedom. Socially, an amnesty for non-violent drug offenders would be a popular measure. If combined with serious efforts at rehabilitation and prevention paid for with taxation we could see real reductions in drug use among the US population.

I suggest we use these resources to make sure we have good outcomes in Iraq and to avoid proliferation in North Korea, Syria and Iran.

Eliminating the collateral damage in the drug war would allow us to conclude that war and focus our efforts on where they are truly needed - defeating emerging threats and protecting ourselves and our allies from fanatic extremists. The civil wars of Columbia and the narco-trafficking in Afghanistan would come to a swift halt, allowing development aid to shore up and stabilize those regions of the planet, promoting industry and commerce in critical regions closely tied to the US's long term strategic interest.

The war on drugs is a war the US can no longer afford.

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/statistics.html