Via Doug Berman, Culture II has put together three posts that seek to present both sides of the never-ending war on drugs, together with an analysis of the cost this misbegotten war has on our society.
War on Drugs: The Collateral Damageby Radley Balko |
by David Freddoso |
War on Drugs: The Price Tagby Anita Bartholomew |
While these may not present exhaustive arguments on the subjects, and are certainly sufficiently value-laden to get the blood pumping in anyone who disagrees, they nonetheless provide an excellent presentation of the issues and arguments involved.
Having spent the better part of my legal career dealing with people who use and sell drugs, as well as those who don’t but are prosecuted nonetheless, I have long suffered from serious ambivalence on the subject of legalization. I see “truth” in all the arguments, and cannot conclude as easily as many others that mind-altering amd addictive drugs are sufficiently similar to alcohol that we can rely upon the comparison to predict the impact legalization will have on society, in general, and its members.
Marijuana, on the other hand, presents a markedly different issue than narcotics, and one that our government has resisted with inexplicably force. Not only has the government steadfastly denied its clear and conclusive medicinal use, to the detriment of so many who suffer, but its effort to villify it as the gateway to heroin, since that cult gem of propaganda, Reefer Madness, has been laughable to any but the most ignorant Luddite.
But this is not merely an issue of anti-drug religious ferver. As Anita Bartholomew posts:
The price of deploying an army of local, state and federal cops, prosecutors and guards to arrest, try and imprison the perpetrators of this non-scourge? Using data from 2000, Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron estimated it as $7.7 billion4 per year while a 2007 study, by public policy expert Jon Gettman, figured it closer to $10.7 billion 5 per year.
Most of that money is eaten up by law enforcement according to Miron, with $2.94 billion going to prosecution costs in 2000, and less than half a billion toward incarceration.
Add in the revenue we’d eventually gain if marijuana were regulated and taxed like alcohol and tobacco (from $6.2 billion to as much as $31.1 billion per year), and you’re talking real money.
The cost of this fool’s battle is crushing. It was bad before and, in the throes of our current economic status, is now ruinous. This is money that might otherwise buy food, education or housing (or bombs or bailouts of major corporatations), but is now flushed down the toilet, along with the hundreds of thousands of young people whose lives are destroyed by marijuana convictions.
Whether this will be the right time to revisit our government’s knee-jerk approach toward drugs on the whole, or at least marijuana as a subset, has yet to be seen. But it’s most assuredly an awfully good time to pursue the discussion and push hard for a rational approach.
With that in mind, perhaps this would be a good time to pull the popcorn out of the microwave and enjoy a movie.
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I assume that the numbers you quoted are for marijuana only. If so they appear to be in the right range.
Many communities consider federal grants for drug enforcement and fines for marijuana possession to be income that can be used for other purposes. They don’t process the fact that many federal grants require local matching funds and that the lions share of fine income goes to the state.
The net result is that the local taxpayers are paying more for public safety in order to hassle folk that are not a threat to anyones safety. My congressman who seemed like a very sensible fellow before he was elected now thinks he is doing us a big favor by helping use get more drug enforcement grants.
I guess we are a nation of numerical nincompoops.
Scott,
I was the chief of organized crime in Houston in the early 90’s. That role then was primarily supervising a team of lawyers prosecuting drug mules and large cocaine busts made by DEA and the other local and state agencies, along with the so called task forces that usually made a mess. Along with trying my share of those cases. (What a waste of years of my life)
I realized then that the “war” was futile. Heroin was the big threat in the 80’s and was replaced by cocaine and then crack. Now my old friends tell me that Meth is the new cocaine. Not to say that crack isn’t still dominant in the intercity. Something new and deadly will probably replace them.
I remember saying then and still believe it, that the only two solutions were legalization or military eradication on a major scale. Obviously the 2nd option isn’t politically viable and would have repercussions far beyond my kin, so the 1st is the better option. However, the political courage to adopt that position isn’t there yet.
I guess we will have to be satisfied with small steps in the right direction, ie. making small quantities of crack and meth misdemeanors, drug courts diverting addicts for treatment, more treatment facilities, tickets instead of arrests for marijuana, etc.
Ultimately (maybe not in our lifetime), the economics of the war will cause its collapse.
I understand that side. But I’ve also seen what heroin, coke, crack and meth does. There is no such thing as a recreational junkie.
You should see what pizza, cake, cookies and chocolate do to me.
Don’t you discard that which fails and try something else?
Absolutely, once there’s something better to try. But we try to avoid jumping from the frying pan into the fire.