i i i McQuilkin is fondof disputing theclaimthatyoucannotlegislatemorality.While
thismay debated,whatdoesseem impossible legislatevice.TheWaron be to be is to
Drugsbeganwith Nixon 1971andcanonly described oneofthemost in be as
significantwar failures history.A in fewglaring examplesoffailurearethatsince
1980 over1000%increases federalanti-drugspendingandincarcerationsfordrug- in
relatedoffenseshaveled morethan a1000% rise fataloverdoses. Moreover, to in [1]
theU.S. prison population sawa500 percent increasefrom1977 2017, and to “it is
widelyacceptedthat thelaws andpoliciesof thecriminal justicesystem andnot it is
increases crimethatexplain in this What oftenneeded phenomenon.”[2] is by the
government scarepopulationsandpushagendasarebogeymen.TheDrug War to is
no exceptionwith Chineseopiumdens thelate1800s, thereefermadnessofthe in
1930s, Columbian to drugcartelsandU.S.streetgangs the 90s, and in 1970s–
Mexican cartelsandpharmaceutical companies the 2000s. end,the in [3] In the
majorityofoverdosesarenotfrombannedstreet drugsbut ompharmaceuticaland fr
over-the-counterdrugs. TheDrug War,muchlikeProhibition, tried legislatevice [4] to
and, doing in so, only created dangerous conditions and questionable incarcerations
forbuyers,notdecreasingbut rathercorruptinganddistortingsupply and demand.
i i i i i i i i i i Although many decry the legalization of street drugs and predictdire
consequences, kely,giventhe statistics,thatthe negativeresultswould itisli be far
lesscatastrophicthanalcoholor prescriptiondrugs arenow. Relievingtheprisonsof
asignificantamountofoffenders servingtimefor non-violentdrugpossession
