It’s time to declare victory in the drug war.
Our nation has spent billions of dollars combating the production and movement of drugs from smallest towns to the largest cities in our own country to villages in Southeast Asia and mountain hideaways in Columbia.
Because of the “War on Drugs,” law enforcement agencies across America have become dependent on Federal drug war money and our relationships with countries around the world have been ruined.
We’re building fences along our border with Mexico, both real and virtual, at a cost so high it’s impossible to calculate. Our Navy and Coast Guard waste their precious resources searching for semi-submersibles that move huge loads of drugs around those very fences, even while they are still under construction.
No matter what we do, the drug smugglers will find a way. No matter the risks they face, the huge profits are too great for these entrepreneurial criminals to pass up, so they will continue to come.
We’ve seen camouflaged young men shouldering huge backpacks of marijuana north through the unforgiving Sonoran desert. We don’t look at them. They have guns and we have hiking sticks.
The market dictates a floating rate for such dangerous journeys. It must be substantial for the risk is great. At the very least they face several years in prison. At the worst they might suffer a long, slow, painful death from dehydration should a rock turn and they break an ankle, or a rattler finds its mark, or their water runs out. In spite of those very real dangers – still they come.
Mexican border cities, even small towns, have become war zones. Drug cartels are locked in combat over the rights to the huge amounts of wealth available just north of the fence. Now they’ve begun fighting their wars in our cities.
When they get past our Border Patrol, and they do, local law enforcement agencies in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas have to deal with the aftermath of their bloody deals gone bad. They negotiate with guns. There has been a marked increase in mistaken home invasions, resulting in tragedy for innocent families. Our emergency rooms are overstressed caring for the wounded – losers to the guns and the desert. The taxpayers of our Southwest border states have to pay the bill.
How long will it be before these criminals use their knowledge of how to defeat our border defenses to smuggle in a terrorist with a dirty bomb? Money is money to them. They deal in terror – decapitating enemies, dismembering Mexican cops, and terrorizing their own people. Would these same criminals help a terrorist cell with deep pockets? Of course they would.
They could easily take advantage of the civil unrest that would follow such an attack on Los Angeles, Phoenix, El Paso, Houston, or any major southwestern city.
You would think that we would have learned from the failure of our previous social engineering experiment called “Prohibition.” The lesson learned is based on simple capitalist economics: Make anything people want illegal and the criminals will make it available – at a price – a terrible price. We may find too late that it was a price that we did not want to pay - a price that we should not have paid.
It’s time to declare victory in the drug war. Let’s make drugs legal, tax them to the max, but make their price far cheaper than criminals will find profitable. Then we could use the proceeds from these legal drug sales – and the savings from the end of the drug war – to provide rehabilitation to those weak enough to still want to use the stuff.
Many believe we have a “moral imperative” to keep drugs illegal. With so many innocents suffering, where is the morality? Is punishing the perceived sin of drug use worth the cost we are now paying? What is the unknown, and surely much higher price, we will have to pay in the future, should we decide to continue on this honest, but misguided path?
To the victor go the spoils! Peace.
PDF 
Bob, as always, a well-written, well-thought-out post. It is hard to imagine how anyone can refute your logic. Unfortunately, facts and data may not be sufficient to influence the American public to support your plan. But, we can hope.
Hello Bob, it’s me again. Peace to you too.
This is an excellent article and a thought provoking one at that. I’ll make this quick because I have other opinions to voice later today.
Anyway,
I don’t think it’s time to declare the war on drugs over but, maybe it’s time to realign our defenses though. What if: With all the stimulas money that the border states, CA, AZ, NM and TX is receiving from Washington they privatize the drug war effort? That’s right! Army for Hire! This would create paramilitary type jobs, paid mercenaries or state militias if you will, for the highly trained soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Those folks are going to need jobs too you know, as soon as the current administration calls it quits and starts the withdrawal.
This would help create and keep jobs in the military support industries like weapons manufacturing, tactics instruction and security services too and while we’re cleaning up the border drug problem, we’d need build more prison to house these scumbags, again, more jobs in the construction and security industries! Just think of the possiblities! We could also use the prison labor (US and foreign),because they aren’t enemy combatants, they’re criminals, because, drugs and murder is still illegal in America, to repair the infastructure of the country and to build that fence using the same jobs that no one wants to do anyway because it’s hard labor, This all would be possible as long as the ACLU didn’t think we were being to hard on these dirty scumbags. Oh and one last thing, while we’re building that fence, we need to put some oneway gates in it too. Ones that open from the US side only because, once we make it rough on criminals here in America instead of a house on easy street, that gate will get alot of use.
And remember this too, the communities and cities in the border states will still need to get over the “Not In My Backyard” mentality that everybody whines about when something new or controversal is suggested but, hey, you can clean up alot of drugs and enhance a lot of neighborhoods with a trillion dollars. That’s trillion with a “T”.
Let’s hear from ya!
Cheers,
I love it. We could give the contract to Blackwater, I mean Ze, their new name. They’re real professionals. I’d feel real safe knowing their trigger fingers are getting itchy. As long as they only shot people who look Hispanic I’d be safe. Of course a lot of the drug smugglers are Gringos; what the heck, shoot them all and let God sort them out. We could even have Blackwater invade Mexico to take on the scum on their own territory. That would send a message to the world! They might charge overtime though.
This is getting me excited. I’m headed out to the shooting range.
But, you know, I still think it would be simpler to make drugs legal. That way we could get to take in taxes instead of paying money out to Xe, and we could back off on taxing the Wall Street banker types so much.
Bob, you are too smart to make a proposal like this. Do we make all drugs illegal…heroin, cocaine, meth, marijuana, etc? Should we make the drugs legal and cheaper so more people will use drugs (and they will) just so we can collect taxes to rehabilitate the increased numbers of users? Do we add drug addled drivers to the legions of drunk drivers who are already on the roads? Two wrongs don’t make a right. Do we complicate the anti-drug policies of companies like the one I worked for that put those policies in place to help create a safe work environment? Companies like mine had/have to toe the line on invasion of privacy issues related to drug testing with illegal drugs. Can you imagine how tough that would get if the drugs are legal? You are right when you state that no matter what we do, the drug smugglers will find a way. Mexican drug dealers will continue to produce drugs cheaper than we do, just like they produce everything else cheaper than we do. So now, do we make a line for the drug dealers to come through, and continue to fight the smugglers along the borders who are bringing in those terrorists you mention, illegal aliens, sex slaves, and god only knows what else? I forgot, we could tax the drug dealers who are coming through the drug line…and then they would go back to sneaking across the borders!. This country has had a war on drugs for a good reason…but Barney Frank would be proud of you.
How many ATF agents spend time busting up illegal moonshine stills these days? Impaired drivers will be driving, inpaired workers will come to work, whether their drug of choice is legal or illegal. Are you suggesting a return to prohibition?
The point of legalization is not to sell drugs cheaper than criminals can, but to make them cheap enough so the penalties for having illegal drugs are not worth the risk, thus taking away the criminals market. It works for alcohol and cigarettes, and it will work for other drugs.
You hint that some drugs are too awful to allow; that is a subjective evaluation, and it infringes on the personal freedom of other Americans. I’d think you’d be opposed to such government intervention. Here in Arizona, conservative legislators think it’s an infrigement of privacy to have red-light and speed cameras.
Conservatives are getting really good at saying ideas won’t work, but not presenting constructive alternatives. Lets have some new ideas.
I’m told I’m a neo-conservative, and I did present a constructive alternative to your plan…without suggesting that we re-enter prohibition for alcohol. Don’t legalize drugs. This neo-conservative’s opinion is that it is a radical proposal with a much bigger downside than the alleged upside you suggest.
It is indeed a radical proposal. The old methods have failed completely, and at great cost; time for a completely new approach.
Bob – very thought provoking article. While this conversation is as old as history itself, with mind altering substances being prevalent throughout times, it presents a moral dilemma that many prefer to see the “safe” side of the conversation by holding tight to drugs being illegal and pointing to the consequences as just how bad drugs are.
Drugs are bad – no matter how you look at it. They are mind altering and can cause long term damage to the user and tragic consequences for those around the user at times. This is a fact that is hard to argue. I do not support their use, and do not use myself, outside of the wonderful grape juice that has been cared for in barrels for months until it can be bottled and purchased.
The reality of the situation is that drugs are here to stay. There is a current market for illegal mind altering substances and it will be there whether drugs are legal or illegal. The question is how best to manage the drugs and at what cost to society. The current system of fighting the “War on Drugs” is creating an underground economy which rewards the trafficking of drugs and costs billions of dollars trying to prevent the flow of drugs. Here are some points on the current system.
• The access to illegal drugs is more prevalent to minors than the purchase of alcohol. This creates a situation where youth are using early and becoming addicted. As youth get sucked into the drug trade and begin to deal as a means to support their habit, who do you think they will begin to sell to? It’s not like the cookie dough sale in 3rd grade where they call Aunt Betty to see how many tubs she’ll commit to. No – minors will target and sell to their peers.
• Drugs are a huge industry – completely unregulated and UNTAXED. We are spending billions to stop drugs while we could tax drugs and spend the taxes on rehabilitation and education. California’s number one crop is marijuana. Grapes in all their forms are second!
• Trafficking is destroying governments, communities and the environment. Mexico is at risk as a result of the recent cartel violence across the nation and especially at the border with the cartels fighting for control of communities.
With the legalization of drugs, the profit for the traffickers and dealers is cut out and this will reduce the associated violence and cost of the war on drugs. Regulating the production, distribution and sale of drugs will eliminate the tiered dealer network and users will not have “dealing” as a way to support their habit.
This legalization would also change the criminalization of use. Currently we imprison users taking them out of society and out of potential tax paying employment, place their family on welfare and support their existence while imprisoned. Why? Because they failed a drug test as part of their probation – so lock them up as a threat to society!
The argument can go on and on, and changing the status quo of the current prohibition is something that is highly unlikely in the near (or distant) future. But we can change our stance and aggression toward the issue. Drugs are not good for a person and for society – but they will always exist. The question we need to look at is “What is the cost of criminalization of the use and purchase of drugs”. There is evidence throughout Europe that the legalization and regulation of drugs is a successful alternative to our “War on Drugs”.
Thanks Bob for the excellent look into this issue.
I agree drugs are bad. I shared a couple of joints once an it made me dizzy, so I just watched my friends act stupid and think they were brilliant; very entertaining, briefly.
One thing I left out was the huge amounts of money being made importing automatic weapons into Mexico from the U.S. The Second Amendment allows for easy purchase of these weapons by Americans. Many, if not most, (they make lousy hunting rifles) make their way to Mexico in the backpacks of those southbound mules(drug smugglers) where they are sold/traded for drugs, at a huge profit no doubt. There they are used by the cartel’s child-soldiers to kill each other, the police, the military and unlucky bystanders.
Recent plans to beef up our military presence on the border are no doubt a good idea, but not even remotely a long term solution.
I found it fascinating to learn today that a conservative, Judge Jim Gray, and a one-time Republican candidate for Congress, has written a very good book, “Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed …”, which supports Bob’s premise. If you are interested, check out the Judge and his advice at: http://www.judgejimgray.com/ Better yet, buy the book and do a book review for Just One Opinion.
Right on, Bob! All in this family have long believed that the ultimate solution would be to legalize drugs and tax them. My preferred drugs have always been scotch and wine. I tried pot a couple of times many years ago, did not like it and went back to alcohol….in moderation, of course! When I think of the waste of resources in conducting the War on Drugs!!
One of the comments states that there will likely be more impaired people on the road if drugs are legalized. I wonder, though, if this will actually prove out. How many drug-impaired drivers are presently on the road? Plenty, but mostly under the radar.
How many lives would be ruined by legalization? Probably as many as have been ruined by alcohol. It’s sad, but can be handled.
So, let’s stop moralizing about drugs, spending huge amounts of money and manpower and LEGALIZE!