Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Deep Thoughts... about the Drug War by Pete Guither In regulated markets, disputes are handled by lawyers. In the black market, disputes are handled by guns. I have no love for lawyers, but I'd rather get hit by a stray brief than a stray bullet. The entire philosophy behind SWAT-style drug raids is that the death of a mother, a child, or the family pet is an acceptable risk to prevent flushing. As anyone who has tried to quit smoking knows, dependence is hardest to overcome during difficult or stressful times. That must be why, when the government helps drug abusers quit, they arrest them and take away their job, possessions, and children. If I wanted to win the hearts and minds of farmers in Latin America and Afghanistan, I probably wouldn't start by destroying their fields and removing their only hope of feeding their families. Those massive drug seizures you read about in the paper affect traffickers much the same way a DVD shoplifter affects WalMart -- an annoyance, but part of the normal cost of doing business. No government in the world can compete with the black market in financial compensation for police officers. When a government uses military personnel, equipment, and tactics against its own citizens, is it time to call it a Civil War rather than a Drug War? The government is good at job creation. Every arrest of a drug dealer creates a new high-paying job opening. If you want to bring a community together, hold a pot-luck dinner. If you want to drive it apart, hold a drug war. Americans are generally pretty brave... although some are apparently terrified of people who listen to Pink Floyd and eat Cheetos. Even the characters played by Tommy Chong make more sense than most politicians. 12:36:12 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []