Drug War Losses
Being completely behind the curve, I'll blog today about Raich v. Ashcroft and some related issues. A summary of the oral argument can be found here. I think this is an interesting case, although it has little to do with the actual drug aspects. It is a fabulous test case of the interstate commerce clause from what I've read.
However, I'm here to talk about the idiotic failed policy that is the War on (Some) Drugs. There's a lot of reasons why it's bad policy, the collateral damage done to the Constitution being chief among those. Despite all of the reasons why it's a bad idea, I can sum up for you in 5 words why it's doomed to fail.
People want to get high.
Unless you're willing to tolerate a far more draconian system for dealing with drug offenses, you're going to lose for that simple reason. When you can stop people from wanting a buzz, the anti-drug warriors have won. Based on the whole of recorded history, I just don't see it happening. So we'll keep pouring money into a giant waste of time and locking up people for smoking weed.
What irritates me now more than ever is the colossal waste of money the US spends on trying to combat illegal drugs. We have a southern border that is, for all practical purposes, undefended and we're locking up dope smokers. The resources of the federal government, while stupendously large, are not infinite. All the time and effort spent on combating drug trafficking can be more usefully spent on border security and combating terrorism.
That would require politicians to grow a spine and take a stand against a popular position. So I don't see that happening, either.
However, I'm here to talk about the idiotic failed policy that is the War on (Some) Drugs. There's a lot of reasons why it's bad policy, the collateral damage done to the Constitution being chief among those. Despite all of the reasons why it's a bad idea, I can sum up for you in 5 words why it's doomed to fail.
People want to get high.
Unless you're willing to tolerate a far more draconian system for dealing with drug offenses, you're going to lose for that simple reason. When you can stop people from wanting a buzz, the anti-drug warriors have won. Based on the whole of recorded history, I just don't see it happening. So we'll keep pouring money into a giant waste of time and locking up people for smoking weed.
What irritates me now more than ever is the colossal waste of money the US spends on trying to combat illegal drugs. We have a southern border that is, for all practical purposes, undefended and we're locking up dope smokers. The resources of the federal government, while stupendously large, are not infinite. All the time and effort spent on combating drug trafficking can be more usefully spent on border security and combating terrorism.
That would require politicians to grow a spine and take a stand against a popular position. So I don't see that happening, either.
posted by T at 1:52 PM
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