"Legalize drugs to stop violence"

[Darren Dirt]

by Jeffrey Miron (Harvard economics)
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/24/miron.legalization.drugs/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

A well-articulated, detailed commentary addressing common issues and objections point-by-point... too bad he didn't mention the history of the specific drugs and when/why they were first prohibited, but that's covered pretty well in other works on the subject, including the very accessible "A Drug War Carol" found here.

[Mr. Analog]

I say we legalize violence to stop drugs.

[Thorin]

I say we legalize violence to stop drugs.

I thought we did that already?  Aren't there soldiers legitimately gunning down drug dealers and dropping bombs on cartel houses?

[Darren Dirt]

I thought we did that already?  Aren't there soldiers legitimately gunning down drug dealers and dropping bombs on cartel houses?

Depends on how you define "legitimately" -- if by that you mean "legal"ly then sure, but don't make it right though, since countless times them "tips" be wrong and them houses containing "drug baddies" are actually the homes of 80 year old grandmothers...

[Thorin]

Defined: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=legitimately

Clearly, I was using the word "legitimately" as a synonym for "legally", not for "morally right".

Before debating whether we should be fighting drugs harder or not, though, I suggest we all read Freakonomics and then debate whether we should legalize abortions worldwide.

Now, as to the article, I understand and perhaps even agree with most of the writer's opinions.  I have difficulty reconciling the concept of making all drugs legal, though.  Some drugs are so addictive that you're hooked after the second hit - such addiction will cause the ruination of a person's life, just like addiction to slot machines or VLTs or alcohol will.  The difference between the slot machines/VLTs/alcohol and these nearly-instantly-hooked drugs is the length of time it takes to get addicted, and the power of the addiction.

[Thorin]

Legalizing an illegal substance doesn't even necessarily remove the criminal element involved - cigarettes have long been smuggled across borders because there's so much money to be made on selling them illegally.  For a good read on this topic, read all about the dawning and distribution of Jin Ling cigarettes.

[Darren Dirt]

New York lawmakers apparently waking up to the reality of non-violent drug "criminals" not being equal to murderers and rapists...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032702834_pf.html

NEW YORK, March 27 -- Gov. David A. Paterson (D) and legislative leaders on Friday announced an agreement to roll back the state's strict, 36-year-old drug laws, including eliminating tough mandatory minimum sentences for first-time, nonviolent drug offenders.

"There's a broader trend picking up steam around the country to roll back the drug war," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group for alternative drug laws. Mandatory sentences, that led to burgeoning prison populations and a spurt of building of new prisons, he said, "happened as a result of the drug war hysteria."

The changes in New York, which must be finalized by votes in the State Assembly and Senate, would repeal most mandatory minimum sentences for first-time, nonviolent drug offenders and give judges broader discretion over sentencing.

On the economic side, New York, like most states, is grappling with a huge budget deficit and a deteriorating financial picture, and years of research and experience has shown that it costs far less to give a nonviolent drug offender treatment than to keep him locked in prison.

As a cost-saving move, Paterson has proposed closing four minimum-security prisons as the prison population has declined, and repealing the Rockefeller drug laws is likely to lead to even fewer inmates.

...even if it's all about saving money in these financially-troubling times...

Advocates for changes in drug law called Friday's announcement the culmination of years of work, including lobbying and public demonstrations. "We've been waiting 36 years for this," said Gabriel Sayegh of the Drug Policy Alliance, who was in Albany for the announcement.

...it's still the right thing to do

[Thorin]

I'd like to know what you think about criminal elements being involved in smuggling legal drugs such as cigarettes?  The state does not benefit from collecting taxes on them, there is still a propensity for violence by the criminal elements to protect their smuggling routes, and people are still using (and getting addicted to) said drugs.

The article I linked to before is about Jin Ling cigarettes being smuggled into Europe, but there are lots of cigarettes smuggled across the border on Indian Reserves that span the border of Canada and the US.  The problem is by no means localized to Europe.  And it's not limited to cigarettes, either.  There's still alcohol being smuggled around North America, although the brewers are working harder to prevent it than the tobacco industry.

[Mr. Analog]

Alls I know is I wanna smuggle some rocket propelled grenades into a persons face... legally and above board.

J/K

The "War on Drugs" is a cute way of saying "PROHIBITION", you know so we don't associate Johnny Weed-Smuggle with the Kennedy's.