Drug Laws and Liberalization

If drugs destroy lives and productivity, as we are told, and this is what we are concerned about, why not let it run its course? A person who decides to use drugs is not an innocent victim. They have made the choices they have made and should live with the consequences. We seem to completely forget about the concept of liberty when it comes to drug use. Snowboarding is an example of something that is dangerous but imagine the outrage that would be expressed if the government decided to ban it. Think about how easily you would dismiss the claims about the dangers. What if the government said that snowboarding was too fun and was ruining the productivity of the country? You would most likely respond by saying something like “I have the right ro snowboard.” If you are willing to accept the dangers then why should the government decide that it’s too dangerous for you? Comparing snowboarding to drug use is not a one to one comparison, but I can not think of any right more fundamental than to decide what to put in your own body. If we replace the prohibition in question with almost anything else besides drugs, people immediately recognize the inherent flaw in the idea and the infringement upon their liberty. The answer to dangerous substances is education about the dangers of their use and treatment for addicts, not incarceration. If people choose to accept these dangers, that is their choice and we shouldn’t punish them for it beyond the natural consequences that might occur. Both Barack Obama and George W. Bush have admitted to smoking marijuana in their lifetime. It did not destroy their lives or their political careers, yet if they had been caught it certainly would have. These future presidents were simply lucky that they weren’t c...

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...training, education, and drug treatment programs. Credit would be earned for participating in these programs and would help toward early release.

While these acts are not the answer to our nations drug delima they are certainly a good place to start.

There is no easy solution to drug liberalization in the United States but we can look to our mistakes in the past and try to move forward. Clearly, the prohibition and the war on drugs has done absolutely nothing to help. Instead it has cost our nation trillions of dollars and has resulted in extremely violent and powerful gangs. We are begining to realize the irrationality of current drug laws and are looking for a change. It is not certain what form changes will come in but any policy advancements that help save money, clean up our prisons, and increase the well being of our citizens are a step in the right

direction.