Thursday, January 4, 2007

Matthew Yglesias steps in it Over at his blog, Matthew Yglesias really comes up with a bizarre post: I guess this is something liberals and libertarians are supposed to agree about, but I consistently find it bizarre that there are some people who seem to think it would be a good idea if you could just walk into your local convenience store and pick up some heroin or crack along with your Fritos and Diet Coke. At times, people taking this line seem to argue that drug prohibition couldn't possibly be having any beneficial effects because, after all, you can still find heroin. Naturally enough, you don't see anyone proposing that the "war on mugging" be ended simply because mugging-prohibition has failed to actually eliminate the proscribed activity. ... OK, this is the standard ignorance that gets spouted by prohibitionists every day, but Matthew has a readership, and boy do they let him have it. Check out the comments. I only got through a portion, but they were overwhelmingly critical of his post. Here's a smattering... I can't believe Matt posted this garbage. [...] So we're all agreed that Matt was smoking the crack before he wrote this? [...] Wow, this is the worst post here since the broo-sketta post of a few years back. The straw man, the deliberate misstating of the de-reg argument...perfect! [...] wow. what a terrible post. Did someone slip you a mickey? [...] I will just ask why Matt thinks his local sheriff is better qualified to prescribe his medications than his doctor? Does Matt want to make alcohol and cigarettes just as illegal as marijuana? Does he think alcohol prohibition was a success and Repeal was a big mistake? Or has he ever, in fact, learned anything at all about psychoactive substances and why people use them? It's hard to believe he has, judging from this post. The whole comment thread is quite fascinating, and, while a few prohibition cheerleaders who show up, I am impressed with the knowledge of those refuting Yglesias. This is very encouraging -- it shows that there is a large base of informed people out there that will no longer be taken in by the propaganda. I've got to believe that this is a direct result of the increase of sources of real information (including, as a small part of it, this blog) over the past few years. Go over there and join in the fun. 2:31:13 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []