Drug War

A Tilting Domino

by Rich Schwartzman June 22, 2012

In the 1960s and ‘70s, the war hawks screeched that there was a domino effect in Southeast Asia, that if Vietnam fell to the communists, so too would Thailand, the Philippines, and other countries in the region. North Vietnam won — despite the 58,000 American lives and the untold Vietnamese lives lost in that fiasco — but South Vietnam ...

Twelve Victims of the Drug War

by Laurence M. Vance June 18, 2012

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 37,792 people died from drug overdoses in 2010. That exceeds the number of Americans killed in car accidents (35,080). It was the second year in a row that drug deaths outnumbered traffic fatalities. The majority of those deaths were caused, not by heroin or cocaine, but by prescription opioid painkillers such ...

The War on Drugs: Cui Bono?

by Laurence M. Vance May 17, 2012

Cui bono, a maxim of Cassius quoted by Cicero meaning “who benefits?” or “to whose advantage?” is a useful principle when investigating political assassinations, conspiracy theories, mysterious deaths — and the war on drugs. The war on drugs, which actually began in the United States before World War I with the passage of a series of federal anti-narcotics laws, was ...

When Will Obama Evolve on the Drug War?

by Sheldon Richman May 16, 2012

Much is made of how President Obama’s position on same-sex marriage has “evolved” to an endorsement of legalization. One hopes his position on the atrocity called the “war on drugs” is evolving. It’s not really a war on drugs. It’s a war on people, most of whom have committed no violence or other aggression against person or property. Those who ...

HR 1983: Good Idea, Wrong Reason

by Rich Schwartzman May 2, 2012

The world is changing its view on drug laws and drug use — at least, most people and many countries are doing just that. Here in the States, recent polls indicate 50 percent of people favor full legalization of marijuana, while 80 percent advocate medical marijuana use. The federal government is lagging behind, however. Portugal decriminalized the use of all ...

An Unlikely Ally

by Rich Schwartzman March 19, 2012

It’s unlikely that anyone would confuse Pat Robertson with Walter Cronkite. While both are known as broadcasters, Robertson — an evangelical Christian and host of The 700 Club on the Christian Broadcasting Network — is a controversial commentator in the conservative religious right. Cronkite, during his stint as anchor for the CBS Evening News, had ...

Who Benefits from the War on Drugs?

by Tim Kelly February 23, 2012

Libertarians are absolutely correct about the war on drugs. Governments should have no say in what an adult ingests or consumes. And therefore all laws regulating or restricting the production, sale, or use of any drug or substance should be repealed. Libertarians are also correct in pointing out the drug war’s disastrous consequences. Drug prohibition has ...

Three Views on the Drug War

by Laurence M. Vance January 10, 2012

One of the most important things the Republican congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul said as a guest on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno recently was what he said during his backstage interview after the show was over. The first thing Representative Paul was asked was a question submitted by a Jay Leno Facebook fan: “Are you ...

Drug-Sentencing Disparities

by Laurence M. Vance November 22, 2011

As many as 12,000 inmates in federal prison could soon be released early including 1,800 who are eligible for immediate release thanks to the U.S. Sentencing Commissions vote earlier this year to provide retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act that was passed by Congress last year. The new policy took effect on November1. Does that mean that murderers and ...

Drug Testing for Welfare Benefits

by Laurence M. Vance November 15, 2011

Lawmakers in dozens of states are considering proposals to require drug testing of welfare recipients. In these days of budget tightening, states are looking for ways to balance their budgets without raising taxes. The drug-testing requirements are supposed to save the states money, since they will cause some families to be prohibited from receiving welfare benefits. The proposed measures seem ...

Endless Evil: The Drug Wars Continuing Collateral Damage, Part 2

by Radley Balko September 15, 2011

Part 1 | Part 2 “The Fourth Amendment has been virtually repealed by court decisions,” Yale law professor Steven Duke told Wired magazine in 2000, “most of which involve drug searches.” The rise of no-knock raids and SWAT teams is one example (discussed in part one of this series), but there are others. James Bovard once wrote, for example, of the almost comically ...

The War on Drugs Is Senseless

by Laurence M. Vance August 23, 2011

The war on drugs is a failure. It has failed to prevent drug abuse. It has failed to keep drugs out of the hands of addicts. It has failed to keep drugs away from teenagers. It has failed to reduce the demand for drugs. It has failed to stop the violence associated with drug trafficking. It has failed to ...