Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation and Reefer Madness, has a nice editorial in the NYT today about the federal government's ridiculous zealotry on marijuana.  Here's one of those rare issues, along with the death penalty, where I can split my loathing nearly equally between Democrats and Republicans. 

There's no defending the drug war.  I've never read a coherent defense of our anti-drug policies--for the most part, they just stick to "Drugs are bad.  Therefore, banning drugs is good."  Never mind that the laws just don't work.  Never mind that criminalization makes treatment secondary at best, irrelevant at worst.  Never mind that billions and billions of dollars have been spent fighting a losing battle.  Never mind that drug laws increase the profit margin by artificially inflating the prices due to legal risks, resulting in more money for dealers and suppliers.  Never mind that drug laws increase the violence associated with supplying drugs due to the inherent shadiness of the black market.  Never mind that minorities, especially blacks, are way disproportionately punished.

We seem to be fundamentally incapable of having a real national discussion about drug laws. 

Bah. 

9:08:36 AM    comment []