The 2016
election is getting more than interesting with some strange front runners, some
previously thought of front runners becoming has beens, and what appears to be
open discussion on what many people consider to be, a big problem. That is,
drugs and the so-called war on drugs. That war on drugs has been just as
effective as Elliot Ness was on his war on booze.
Being a
died-in-the-wool libertarian at heart, I’ve questioned why there has been a war
on drugs in the first place. Narcotics are not like alcohol in one respect. If
one drinks gin, vodka, whiskey, or beer and wine, one does not automatically
become an alcoholic. On the other hand, many of what have become illegal
“drugs” aren’t habit forming either. Getting ‘high’ shouldn’t be any more
illegal from a plant that one smokes or eats, than from one that is consumed as
a beverage.
The only product
from this war on drugs has been the creation of major criminal enterprises
making more money than anyone can imagine. Those profiting from the
distribution of illegal drugs have become warlords with immense power and
prestige, far surpassing the criminal element that thrived distributing illegal
alcohol.
Putting age
minimums on alcohol consumption only creates a ‘thrill’ situation for those
that haven’t reached that age plateau. That, of course can be seen in drunken
orgies at any college campus or high school after game party. I went to high
school on Guam during the early 1950s and, except for the military bases, the
civilian thirst parlors did not have age limitations on purchasing a drink with
alcoholic content.
When I was
fourteen, if I wanted a beer and had the money, I could buy one and drink it.
The local pubs had serious rules of conduct, though. If one misbehaved to the
point of being told to leave, that pub owner could make the ejection permanent,
and often did. On an Island only thirty-eight miles long, if one was stupid and
foolish, one ran out of places to imbibe. That was more efficient than any law
that said one couldn’t drink until one reached a certain age.
The war on drubs
has also created an entire class of hypocrisy within the law enforcement field.
Defense attorneys face prosecutors over some dumb-ass caught with a couple of
joints and, after court, snort some cocaine with their martinis while grilling
a steak. The cop on the beat snags a guy with a clay pipe and some residue and
goes home to smoke a joint or two after supper.
If a person
feels responsible for himself, that person should be able to enjoy a martini
without fear of arrest, snort a coke hit, or inject some black tar. It’s his
body, he would be responsible for the results. If he becomes a raving
alcoholic, his responsibility. If he becomes a drug addled fool, his
responsibility. Assault, theft, DUI, and other crimes should be prosecuted to
the fullest measure of the law, which should be reflected as a deterrent to
other users.
I know I don’t
get along with a drunken idiot or blithering druggie, but unless they get in my
face aggressively or threaten me in some other way, I just pass it off. It’s
their body, and it will be their hang over, or hospital bill.
It’s the
creation of major criminal elements that have been the true result of the war
on drugs. Massive areas of good agricultural land have been set aside for
growing the plants that turn into drugs. Entire police agencies have become
drug runners, governments getting their kick-backs from cartels, thrive with
under the table money. Think how much real food could be grown on the land in
South America dedicated to cocaine, or the land in Afghanistan dedicated to
poppies.
With the money
available because the drug is illegal, any farmer in a third world economy
would be foolish to grow corn when he could grow a poppy or coca plant. Most of
the drugs that are illegal today were not illegal prior to World War Two, and
the fear mongers, terrified that the war effort might be affected by drugs,
started this whole mess.
The repeal of
the ban on alcohol did not create a nation of alcoholics, and did force the
gangster element to move to different means of income. I think the time has
passed to let adults be adults and force the drug cartels to find another way
of making trillions of dollars.
Until next time, read good books and stay regular.
Will you join me on facebook from time to time?
Or Tweet with me, darlin’?
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