The
criminalization of drugs makes America more violent. People who supply illegal
drugs would be jailed if they went to court to defend their property rights against
other suppliers. Instead, they defend their rights with violence or the threat
of violence.
Latin
America has only eight percent of the world’s population. But mostly because of
America’s drug laws, Latin American nations have one-third of the world’s
homicides. Much of El Salvador is ruled by transnational criminal networks that
terrorize the population. Some people in the caravan now approaching America
are families trying to get away from the violence.
The
money used in the war on drugs has been unavailable for programs that could reduce
overdoses and infectious diseases. Drugs should be treated as medical problems,
not crimes.
Half
a million Americans are incarcerated because they’ve possessed drugs or sold it
peacefully to those who chose to buy it.
The
war is fought among the poor. Many potential black entrepreneurs end up tragically
as convicted felons. If children of the elite were being jailed in significant
numbers, the war on drugs would quickly be terminated.
The
drug war has done little good. But like the prohibition of alcohol in the
1920s, the war on drugs has done tremendous harm.