Losing the War on Drugs

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The war on Drugs has been a long and bloody civil battle, one that many on both sides of the issue believe was over long ago. Despite law enforcement and government regulation of literally hundreds of mind-altering substances, with high punishments, the distribution, consumption and manufacture of these illicit drugs not only continues, but is flourishing.

In a recent article on the web, a former New York City Police Captain, Peter Christ, has a view on the issue that many wouldn't expect. Christ, the founding member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition or LEAP, believes that, "drug regulation and control is a better policy choice than prohibition to deal with serious drug problem in our society." Through his over 20 years of fighting the war on drugs firsthand, Christ has seen everything, and blames most of the drug related problems, theft and violence primarily, on the underground element that controls the illegal trade. In his opinion, "the only way to regulate anything is if it's legal," and the effort towards this would put control back in the hands of the government and take it from the gangsters and drug dealers.

Christ strongly stressed the fact that he does not advocate drug use, but also says that this is not a left vs. right wing issue, but a failed policy issue. In that sense he's very right. From the standpoint of someone who has grown up in the middle of this "war," the government does appear to be losing. If legalization is the only way to bring proper information and control of these substances to our streets and stop the violence, then this is a policy we should give a try. With LEAP's membership ranks including the likes of Noam Chomsky and Milton Freedman, it's not unlikely this issue is going to gain some publicity as well.