A War We Can Win

Solving the drug problem is like winning a war. It takes a determination that it is in the national interest and the collective resolve to win. The fight against the drug underworld in the US has been styled a "War on Drugs." It may be called a war but it is not being fought like one (unless you count Vietnam). Our current approach only reinforces failure--we need a new battle plan. I suggest we remove the profits from the drug trade by converting drugs from a criminal issue to a medical problem. We should decriminalize the controlled use of drugs with the government providing registered addicts their drug of choice at a price that would not force them into a life of crime. The operative word here is "registered." Strict controls would be imposed, requiring a medical diagnosis as part of the registration procedure to minimize the likelihood of casual users or young people using the system as a way to a cheap high. Treatment and counseling should be offered but not required. The registered addict concept would be coupled with draconian enforcement of the laws against drug pushers and importers. This should get the drug pushers out of the schoolyards since why should they risk imprisonment to hook someone on a drug that subsequently will be provided by the government at a reasonable price. The pusher should disappear as a role model for impressionable youth and the pandemic of drug-related crime would end. People who are bound and determined to kill themselves with drugs would be allowed to do so in a humane manner that minimizes the impact on society. After all, they would do so anyway but at great cost to everyone. Eventually the current group of addicts would die off and presumably would not be replaced as there would be no profit motive to promote the use of drugs. Yes, the system would be abused, but it would be a vast improvement over what we have now. People in line for their daily drugs would become objects of scorn and pity. Under such a system, hard drugs would be relegated to the same category of problem as alcohol but not nearly so big. Remember the idea is not to legalize drugs but to decriminalize the controlled use of drugs. Drugs would still be illegal to possess or consume anywhere other than at government clinics. The irony of such a proposal is that it would cause organized crime and the religious right to join together to defeat it, albeit for different reasons. We can win the war against drugs if we want to bad enough!