Issues I Want to See in 2008: Part 1

There will be plenty of issues that will be discussed in all phases of the 2008 elections. The War in Iraq should hold center stage with lesser satellites such as universal health-care, education and perhaps campaign reform in close orbit. As either Obama or Clinton gains ground sexism and racism will turn into minefields for the politically correct as they try to say, "I don't want anything that bleeds for seven days and doesn't die in the White House," in a nice way. Some of these issues I have strong feelings about and some of them I don't, but as my title up there in big bold letters demonstrates, I am not going to talk about the issues that will be discussed but rather the issues I would like to see that won't be touched.

Drug Legalization/Decriminalization- The War on Drugs began in earnest, and under said moniker, with Richard Nixon in 1969, and I cannot think of a better figure head for such a doomed and evil cause. Alcohol prohibition had long since demonstrated that keeping the people from the intoxicating substance they wanted lit the fuse on mushrooming crime and murder rates, but history was ignored and drug prohibition began. America had just seen an influx of all kinds of drugs in all kinds of new places. Regulation was lax and many of the drugs being used had been legal for quite some time. Drug use was moving from the ghettoes into the living rooms of suburbia and a huge and costly campaign was begun to stamp out drugs in America and destroy growers and smugglers abroad.

The market however has proven impossible to contain. It takes decades of dangerous, often corrupt/illegal undercover work to put the long arm of the law on any person of consequence in the drug world. Government agents must facilitate the movement of illegal drugs into the country to gain trust in paranoid drug organizations and build a body of evidence strong enough for extradition and conviction.

When the arrest is finally made the power vacuum is quickly filled and business goes on as usual. To date the American and international Law Enforcement body has not appreciably affected the availability or price of illegal drugs in the last 30 years despite millions and eventually billions spent each year.

"The amount of cocaine available in domestic drug markets appears to meet user demand in most markets, without observable shortfall."(it is later noted that a general drop in purity has been observed)

"The trafficking and abuse of methamphetamine--a leading drug threat in western states since the early 1990s--have gradually expanded eastward, reaching the point where the drug now impacts every region of the country, although to a much lesser extent in the Northeast Region."

"Overall marijuana production in Mexico--the principal source of foreign-produced marijuana to U.S. drug markets appears to be increasing."---" anecdotal reporting and cannabis eradication and marijuana seizure data all indicate that marijuana production in Canada has recently increased, perhaps significantly. Domestic marijuana production also appears to be increasing, according to law enforcement reporting..."

"MDMA is available in every region of the country, principally in large metropolitan areas."

"LSD trafficking and abuse have decreased sharply since 2000, and a resurgence does not appear likely in the near term."

-All quotes from www.DEA.gov

As you can see LSD is the only drug suffering in the prohibition climate, and that is probably due more to lack of demand than law enforcement action. Even multi-million dollar cocaine and heroin busts don't put a dent in supply. In fact if you ever have the chance to talk to someone who knows a little something about drug smuggling you will realize that most of the big busts by the vaunted DEA are actually sacrifice shipments to distract from larger shipments and operations. Every time you break up a smuggling ring or suppress a production site another one pops up. This is called the balloon effect. Press on one side of a balloon and the other simply inflates and absorbs the extra pressure, and we don't, and can't muster, a big enough weight to pop the balloon entirely.

On top of the complete lack of effectiveness the War consistently corrupts gov't officials and places innocents in the path of trigger happy gangsters and nervous cops. Undercover work frequently leads to illegal action on the part of officers and thousands of small time users have their lives destroyed because they possess a certain chemical. The "clear moral imperative" that drives the drug war puts police on a false pedestal and encourages abuse.

The purity, or lack thereof, of illicit drugs frequently leads to accidental overdoses and poisonings and poor synthesis processes means a drug user never knows exactly what he is buying. Many of the health problems associated with drugs are compounded and made difficult to handle because the drug itself is illegal. Seeking medical help for health problems associated with IV drug use or overdoses is often delayed or ignored to avoid the legal consequences of drug possession and use.

In addition to all of these pragmatic reasons we must consider the philosophical basis for the war on drugs. In theory it protects society from the corrupting influence of dangerous drugs. But don't we have the right to control what we put in our bodies and for what purposes we do so? It would seem to me that the rights to my body are guaranteed me by the Constitution.

Whoops, that got pretty long pretty fast. I will have to cover my next issue in a whole new article. Much Love.