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America's Number One Addiction: Drug Prohibition. Over
2.1 million incarcerated and growing every day.
by Bob Wiley
| America has less than five percent of the world's population and nearly 25 percent of the world's prisoners. Yes, here in the land of the free and home of the brave we have twenty five percent of all of the people who are behind bars throughout the world. Why should we have so many people behind bars? Who are these prisoners and why should America have so many? Our drug policy is the villain that feeds our prison monster. We incarcerate more people for drug related crimes than the European Union locks up for all offenses combined, and they have 150 million more citizens than the United States. We are a country addicted to drug prohibition and use this policy to feed our overflowing prison industry. Instead of using a medical treatment model to deal with people addicted to certain substances, we have chosen to use prisons and the judicial system as a solution. An honest observation would reveal that our solution is not working. If ours is a model of success, what would failure look like? |
Who are the people who support drug prohibition? Who can defend a policy that hands to the cartels, drug dealers and street gangs the regulatory tasks that should be controlled by our government? Despite billions of dollars spent by DEA and other enforcement agencies, the production, transportation, distribution, marketing, quality control and sale of marijuana, cocaine and heroin are controlled by the black market. The legislative act of prohibition provides the perfect economic environment for the black market to fill these rolls. There is no government oversight of purity, potency and quality of these illicit substances. No taxes are collected on their billions of profits. No license to sell is issued, and no proof of age is required for the buyer. As many teenagers will testify, it is much easier to purchase drugs than alcohol. No liquor store owner is willing to risk losing his liquor license for the minimal profits to be gained by selling alcohol to a minor. |
Prohibition is also the villain responsible for many turf battle drive-by shootings that kill not only rival dealers, but often innocent victims in the area. Some claim these deaths are due to drugs, but when have we ever heard of a shoot out between two rival Budweiser distributors? Any argument involving legitimate commerce over turf is simply settled when one of the distributors pulls out a contract to decide the matter. Under prohibition a drug dealer has no access to a legal remedy when he finds his distribution area has been invaded by a rival. Drug turf disputes have no choice but to be settled by the law of the jungle. Again, the legislative act of prohibition, rather than the drug, is responsible for this dilemma. Perhaps we like these "law of the jungle" solutions, as the weaker rivals are literally killed off by the stronger. Eventually though, law enforcement encounters these individuals, often with tragic results for those on both sides of the law. |
After decades in the trenches fighting the war on drugs, a cadre of law enforcement officers and judges are speaking out about the failures of prohibition. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) is providing a powerful voice to regain control of drugs in this country. http://www.leap.cc LEAP's message is that we can reduce the harms resulting from fighting the war on drugs and lessen the incidence of death, disease, crime and addiction by ultimately ending drug prohibition. The medical model of education, treatment, prevention and regulated distribution is much more effective than the judicial incarceration system of dealing with drugs and their impact on our society. |
One of LEAP's speakers, Howard Wooldridge, a retired Michigan lawman will be presenting a public forum at Centennial Hall, May 25 at 7pm. We invite the public to attend this free event and learn more about how drug prohibition has affected our society. We must to find a better way to keep drugs out of the hands of our children. |
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