A Long Winless War

Over at Free New York “Five years of Prohibition have had, at least, this one benign effect: they have completely disposed of all the favorite arguments of the Prohibitionists. None of the great boons and usufructs that were to follow the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment has come to pass. There is not less drunkenness in the Republic, but more. (read more) .

One quick observation. When's the last time you heard someone call us a Republic? (out side of Libertarian circles)

Besides the points brought up in Endless War, several others can be made in ending this senseless war. One of which is the damage done to Central and South America, right now the governments of several countries are barely holding on due to the power of the cartels. These cartels are a direct result of our war on drugs, just as the Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition) gave birth to the mob, gangsters and the Kennedy’s.

Another reason, brought up mostly by economist, is by illegalizing drugs you have created a black market. This in turn attracks less then honest businessmen, being you needn't have a desire to obey the law. Some say that this is one reason drug related crimes are high, there is no legal process you can go through if you feel a "deal" has gone bad. In other words dealers and customers have no recourse but take the law into their own hands.

Also, this war artificially inflates the price of the drug, being it is more risky to produce and deliver. Related to this, is the supply continuously being reduced by seizure. With these high prices the users must find ways of getting the money, alas, carjackings, home invasions, ECT. With this in mind when’s the last time you saw a Wine-O rob a store? Never or rarely, could it be because the price of his "DRUG" is low due to it being legal? Therefore all he has to do is pick up a bunch of cans for his daily fix.

Now I'm not saying all drugs should be legalized all at once. I have several friends who have been in the "drug culture", okay more the several. But some you could even say have been "On the Bus" more then off. And with some of the stories I've been told and witnessed I'd be hesitant to legalize all drugs at once. But then looking at Amsterdam and other countries with liberal drug policies, it makes one wonder if legalizing most would be best. Or, in true "States Rights" form allow each State to decide.