By Howard Foster -
Conservatives should be realistic about the use of government power. The “war on drugs” was begun as a federal program to combat several prohibited substances which were then a problem. Marijuana was one of them, and the federal anti-drug law makes it a crime to possess it in any quantity. Every state basically followed up with their own drug bans.
We know marijuana has dangerous consequences when abused, but since when is the federal government supposed to protect us from ourselves? The consequence of this “war” is that most of the federal crimes prosecuted are drug offenses, and more than a third of those are for possession of marijuana (as opposed to selling it). We now know from Colorado that legalizing small amounts of marijuana does not lead to more crime. In fact, crime rates in Denver have fallen since that state legalized the drug.
Marijuana is probably no more addictive and harmful than alcohol. Of course, anything can be abused leading to horrendous consequences, including the use of government. Illinois spends a huge amount of resources prosecuting marijuana possession. Is it worth it?
I suspect we do so for a whole array of reasons including tradition, legislative laziness, and to build more prisons in depressed communities with high unemployment. This is a type of welfare. The whole system of incarceration, social service agencies after release, and unemployment benefits when ex-convicts cannot get work is perpetual welfare.
This war on drugs, at least marijuana, seems to be costing far more than the state was ever led to believe.
I have nothing to say about other controlled substances. But I would like to see some more conservatives support decriminalization of marijuana and question the actual cost of the “war.”
