War on Drugs

OK, so here it is, my favorite piece thus far! Radley Balko's "The Drug War's Collateral Damange" gives a good history lesson on the "war on drugs," a term coined by President Richard Nixon in 1971. In his article, Balko argues that said war "militarizes our police, enriches our enemies, undermines our laws and condemns our sick to suffering." I couldn't agree with him more. Nixon argued that the American people must accept collateral damage in the drug war to improve society. Unfortunately, we've sacrificed everything, but have seen virtually no positive results. I'll give you a hint as to how well the war on drugs is going. The government can't keep illegal narcotics out of buildings surrounded by armed guards, barbed wire, and twenty-foot high fences in which every person or piece of mail entering the facility is scanned and searched. Yes, drugs are even a reality inside prison. 

Billions of dollars have been thrown at the war on drugs. Where has all this money gone? Well, our tax dollars have funded thousands of new SWAT teams, civil wars in Mexico, disaster in Colombia, environmental degradation in Ecuador, anti-Americanism all over South America. The drug war has also served as the Taliban's greatest financial supporter and recruiter. If that isn't enough for you, Steven Duke, a professor at Yale University Law School claimed that the Fourth Amendment has been "virtually repealed by court decisions, most of which involve drug searches." Large amounts of cash can now be confiscated on suspicion of drug involvement. A greater percentage of Americans are in prison than ever, with over ten percent of inmates imprisoned on non-violent drug charges (trafficking or possession). Murder rates? Higher than ever. 

Moreover, as Balko points out, it is just as easy now to get an illegal high as it was in 1919 or 1971, maybe even easier. Even if the drug war were successful, would it be worth the costs? I don't think so. We might as well legalize and tax drugs. Much as I despise it, we have to pay for the welfare state somehow.