Losing the War on Drugs

There’s a stereotype of opponents of our current drug laws that suggests such people just want to light up a joint – legally. That’s not very accurate. I personally don’t even use alcohol, and I rarely use over-the-counter, completely non-addictive pain killers. I’m leery about legalization, but I certainly think we need substantial reforms in the direction of education and rehabilitation as opposed to the current criminal penalties, especially for use and for non-violent offenders.

I’ve been sitting on this article by Jimmy Carter for some time. He comments on the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which itself includes some notable people. These aren’t folks who want to use drugs legally, and thus want to remove inconvenient laws. They are people who recognize the damage inflicted on people by the drug war itself.

I have not studied this issue enough myself to make specific recommendations. I believe I have followed it enough to realize that we are not making real progress.

When what we’re already doing isn’t working, it’s time to get serious about finding the alternatives. Aiming at reducing the demand seems a sensible general approach.