Prohibition and the Drug War

I believe it was Confuscius that said, “A society of prohibitions becomes a society of vices”, or something similar. The more we fight against something we don’t like but doesn’t actually harm us, the more widespread this behavior becomes.

PopulistAmerica published an excellent article today by the late Harry Browne, adapted from his work “The Great Libertarian Offer”.

“Until the early 1900s, the federal government did little to regulate or control the sale or use of alcohol or drugs - except for taxing alcohol.

There always will be people who are susceptible to addiction, and who take a big risk by consuming any alcohol, drugs, or tobacco. But when there’s no money to be made pushing those items on school grounds and street corners, fewer of the susceptible get hooked.

Just as today, alcohol and drugs were food for tragedy - bringing hardship and ruin to those addicted, and often to their families as well. But before government regulation, the circle of tragedy reached no further than the addict and his immediate family.”

The article goes on at some length about the connections between the enforcement of Prohibition and the growth of crime, and it’s really an excellent article, but I think that in his diplomacy Browne has missed the main point behind Prohibition and the Drug War.

That is, in my opinion, key to understanding why a failed drug policy continues to thrive, decades after it was shown to be a failure.

The drug war continues because it is the easiest and most expeditious means to institute the military style policing and political-governmental policies that facilitate the police state.

That is, the drug war is an easy excuse and ready means to wage war on the American public.

When we are all frightened about the dealer who may be living next door, the Godless, soulless, murderous junkie dealer who could be JUST NEXT DOOR, ready to molest your daughters and addict your sons - or vice versa - when we fear those around us, we are all to happy to support attacks on civil and human rights, and the erosion of freedoms and openness. Then dealers, now terrorists, if we are scared of an unknown threat that could be anywhere, any time, we are compliant.

The War on Drugs accounts for over half of all arrests in the United States in a given year, more than all violent crime combined - say it again - more than all violent crime combined. The War on Drugs excuses the highest imprisonment rate in the world, extravagant police investments into military vehicles and tactics like urban assault vehicles and SWAT teams, Gestapo tactics like no-knock warrants and nighttime raids, and all the other trappings and table dressing of a police state.

If not for the War on Drugs, the United States government could not justify its incarceration rate, its military policing and corrections investments, its spy tactics, and its outright attacks on individual privacy and autonomy. It could not justify its use of our public education systems as indoctrination systems for good-little-citizen behavior, its court systems for excusing official lies while punishing the innocent.

Over 25% of American states now allow Medical Cannabis (I really dislike the term marijuana), several more are debating doing so, and some of them are also considering decriminalization schemes, while a few major cities have already made cannabis the lowest priority for their officers. Public acceptance of Medical Cannabis is at an all-time high, as medical studies are producing positive results after being unable to study cannabis for many decades, and a large portion of the public - just about everyone I speak to, honestly - rightly believe that alcohol and nicotine are more harmful than cannabis.

It seems like cannabis has a tailwind and is making great strides towards achieving public acceptance after a 70-year reign of lies about a very useful product.

Good thing the Great Satan came up with a new public enemy #1 to keep us all scared and compliant, fearful of the unknown threat - Terrists. If not for the new fear to slot in as “DRUGGGZZZZZ!!!!” is slowly extracted, our (and I use the term “our” lightly) government might actually be put in the position to explain its outright violent aggression against civil society, peace, human rights, and personal choice.