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Drugs Are De Facto Legal
by
Matt Giwer (c) 1994 2/19
This is not another rapid drug discussion. I will not
debate legalizing versus decriminalizing as the right term. I
have only one observation to start off this discussion.
If drugs were legalized I can not see any way I could tell
the difference.
Drugs are de facto legal. Drugs are de facto legal in the
sense that the worst you have to do is drive further than the
local drug store to get them. Of course after you arrive at the
right street corner there is not much selection or quality
control but it is available.
Given the governments propensity for taxing sins I can not
see the price of legal drugs would be that much less either.
Certainly the ability to drive to closer locations would make
some contribution to air quality but that is hard to notice these
days unless one lives in Southern California.
Every year the government announces it intercepts about 10%
of the drugs headed for this country. Granted there are
occasional shortages on the street but no one appears to be going
without their drug of choice. If the best the government can do
is a constant ten percent I do not see any progress to speak of.
Drugs are as good as legal save we have a meandering prison
population of the few small number that are convicted and
actually serve time. It is not as though it takes more than a
few days to replace those dealers on the streets. A few years
back the District of Columbia shut down one person responsible
for a quarter of the cocaine in the city. It took almost a week
for the city to recover. It was quite traumatic.
How would you tell between now and legal drugs? Please
think about your answer. People high on ever street corner? We
have drunk in public laws now that would certainly extend to
"drugged-up" in public just as DUInfluence of anything has
replaced DWIntoxicated.
Our children will start using it? Why? What gives you the
idea they can not get drugs now? If they can not they are
certainly not very well connected.
What is left? You will start using drugs? Are you so
poorly connected that you can not get them right now?
Face it. You want drugs you can get drugs. Anyone can get
drugs. What is the point of maintaining the facade of illegality
when there is no dirth of supply on the streets? When there is
no question that anyone can get any drug with a little effort
what is the possible justification for continuing to consider
drugs illegal?
Drugs are not legal in this country but they might as well
be legal. What possibly possesses us to continue the frantic
anti-drug crusade? What possible reason is there to continue
this charade?
The facts are obvious. There was a war on drugs and drugs
won. Surrender? Hell no! Even in the face of overwhelming
defeat and a market economy we shall continue on, valiantly.
Into the valley of death rode the six hundred.
It would be different were there a promise, a light at the
end of the tunnel, trackable success. We have nothing but the
prospect of continued failure promised us if we continue the same
thing.
Even if all the drug interdiction efforts were stopped we
have no reason to believe there would be an increase in drugs.
Consider we started a war on drugs nearly ten years ago and no
change. Let us at least stop wasting money on that failed war
and go back to what we had before.
Going back to what we had before is also questionable as we
have had almost everything before and whether we focus on dealers
or users is only a question of what year it is. It is not a
matter of either approach reducing drugs.
Presuming we need not deal with the end of the world or end
of civilization as we know it crowd we know of no reason to
believe the free and easy access to drugs would change anything.
If we have to deal with the doomsday types then we have no reason
go any further in this discussion. Nothing can be changed else
the end will come.
As we have nothing but supposition to argue against legal
drugs and as we have de facto legal drugs right now, there is no
conceivable reason to continue this charade of catching ten
percent of the drugs and dealers but not decreasing drug usage.
If what we are doing will not decrease drug usage then it is hard
to accept what we cease doing will increase drug usage.