It's time to legalize drugs
by Klaus Rohrich
Friday, April 7, 2006
We're all familiar with the image of burned out prostitutes (or in liberal parlance, sex trade workers), strung out on crack or heroin and turning tricks just to get their next fix. It's a problem that we've had now for over a century (these drugs weren't illegal at one time) and there's no debating the fact that the problem is getting progressively worse in terms of the human toll, as illicit drugs ruin people's lives.
There are estimates that the illegal drug trade generates hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue, primarily for organized gangs of criminals with a hierarchy that ranges from the kingpins living in places like Colombia, Southeast Asia or Afghanistan to common street dealers who distribute these illegal substances to the human wrecks that comprise their customer base. The need for drugs is so strong among those addicted, that they will do nearly anything to get their next fix. And that's the crux of the problem presented by keeping drugs illegal.
Cocaine and Heroin are derivatives of common agricultural products that grow wild in their native habitats and are not costly to cultivate. Neither is the labor involved in harvesting or even refining. The high cost of the end product at the street level reflects the risk taken in smuggling, the many layers of criminals who profit from it and the greed of the criminal element involved in it.
Legalization would accomplish two things. First, it would make the drugs readily available, eliminating the criminal element from the trade and thereby reducing the incidence of crime. Second, it would present an opportunity for governments to create a new revenue stream, the proceeds of which could go to research and treatment of drug addiction.
With the government controlling the sale of these substances, presumably the price would drop, as the supply chain would be greatly shortened. In addition the risk of poisoning users by diluting the drugs with toxic substances, such as strychnine, would be eliminated, as the government would be able to control the quality and purity of the drug.
This is not an unprecedented method of reducing crime, as the Volstead Act prohibited the sale and consumption of alcohol in the United States from 1920 to 1933. Needless to say, the greatest supporters of prohibition were the bootleggers that illegally imported alcohol from Canada or Europe during this time. It also vastly increased the incidence of violent crime as rival gangs of bootleggers fought over control of a very lucrative trade, much in the same way that rival gangs today are fighting each other over the drug trade.
Legalizing drugs would go a long way of taking addicts off the streets and adding them to the mainstream. It would reduce crime as addicts would not be forced to steal or rob to feed a $100-$200 per day habit, as their habit could easily be supported on a fraction of that amount. It would reduce the incidence of diseases such as HIV AIDS, as users would not have to share needles, because the purchase of their government dealt drugs would include clean syringes.
Aside from the idea of the government turning into a dope dealer being repugnant, it's not as if there isn't a precedent. After deciding to repeal the Volstead Act in 1933 and legalize booze, the world didn't come to an end and the entire country didn't turn into alcoholics. In the last 30 years the government has moved into gambling, first with state lotteries and then with so-called "charity" casinos, finally ending up with casinos located on aboriginal lands and operated by aboriginals, who of course are giving the government a substantial piece of the action. The government will eventually control prostitution, as it could present a significant revenue stream for them while legalization would put the so-called sex trade workers at a much lower risk of disease or violence.
I do not for one-minute doubt that any politician who makes a serious campaign for the legalization of drugs is very likely to get whacked, as the biggest opponents of legalization would be the drug cartels. But let's face it, the war on drugs was lost years ago and the government's drug-busting armies are just going through the motions. Legalization is the only answer that makes good, rational sense.
Klaus Rohrich is an author and columnist for Canada Free Press. He can be reached at [email protected] You can read your Letters to the Editor here.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/klaus040706.htm
by Klaus Rohrich
Friday, April 7, 2006
We're all familiar with the image of burned out prostitutes (or in liberal parlance, sex trade workers), strung out on crack or heroin and turning tricks just to get their next fix. It's a problem that we've had now for over a century (these drugs weren't illegal at one time) and there's no debating the fact that the problem is getting progressively worse in terms of the human toll, as illicit drugs ruin people's lives.
There are estimates that the illegal drug trade generates hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue, primarily for organized gangs of criminals with a hierarchy that ranges from the kingpins living in places like Colombia, Southeast Asia or Afghanistan to common street dealers who distribute these illegal substances to the human wrecks that comprise their customer base. The need for drugs is so strong among those addicted, that they will do nearly anything to get their next fix. And that's the crux of the problem presented by keeping drugs illegal.
Cocaine and Heroin are derivatives of common agricultural products that grow wild in their native habitats and are not costly to cultivate. Neither is the labor involved in harvesting or even refining. The high cost of the end product at the street level reflects the risk taken in smuggling, the many layers of criminals who profit from it and the greed of the criminal element involved in it.
Legalization would accomplish two things. First, it would make the drugs readily available, eliminating the criminal element from the trade and thereby reducing the incidence of crime. Second, it would present an opportunity for governments to create a new revenue stream, the proceeds of which could go to research and treatment of drug addiction.
With the government controlling the sale of these substances, presumably the price would drop, as the supply chain would be greatly shortened. In addition the risk of poisoning users by diluting the drugs with toxic substances, such as strychnine, would be eliminated, as the government would be able to control the quality and purity of the drug.
This is not an unprecedented method of reducing crime, as the Volstead Act prohibited the sale and consumption of alcohol in the United States from 1920 to 1933. Needless to say, the greatest supporters of prohibition were the bootleggers that illegally imported alcohol from Canada or Europe during this time. It also vastly increased the incidence of violent crime as rival gangs of bootleggers fought over control of a very lucrative trade, much in the same way that rival gangs today are fighting each other over the drug trade.
Legalizing drugs would go a long way of taking addicts off the streets and adding them to the mainstream. It would reduce crime as addicts would not be forced to steal or rob to feed a $100-$200 per day habit, as their habit could easily be supported on a fraction of that amount. It would reduce the incidence of diseases such as HIV AIDS, as users would not have to share needles, because the purchase of their government dealt drugs would include clean syringes.
Aside from the idea of the government turning into a dope dealer being repugnant, it's not as if there isn't a precedent. After deciding to repeal the Volstead Act in 1933 and legalize booze, the world didn't come to an end and the entire country didn't turn into alcoholics. In the last 30 years the government has moved into gambling, first with state lotteries and then with so-called "charity" casinos, finally ending up with casinos located on aboriginal lands and operated by aboriginals, who of course are giving the government a substantial piece of the action. The government will eventually control prostitution, as it could present a significant revenue stream for them while legalization would put the so-called sex trade workers at a much lower risk of disease or violence.
I do not for one-minute doubt that any politician who makes a serious campaign for the legalization of drugs is very likely to get whacked, as the biggest opponents of legalization would be the drug cartels. But let's face it, the war on drugs was lost years ago and the government's drug-busting armies are just going through the motions. Legalization is the only answer that makes good, rational sense.
Klaus Rohrich is an author and columnist for Canada Free Press. He can be reached at [email protected] You can read your Letters to the Editor here.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/klaus040706.htm
