OPINION Piece by JD

Either the prohibition madness stops, or civilised society ceases to exist. That's the choice. It's not about potheads, it's about survival.

                                                                                                      
My starting position is one of anger, that any human being should presume to decide and judge what other human beings are allowed to put inside their bodies.

The War on Drugs is, first and foremost, immoral, and the fact that it is being waged by powerful agencies, who use their power to punish all dissenters, does not redeem it.


Further down the line, I get to thinking about the fact that Prohibition - whose expressed aims were to;

• safeguard public health;
• cleanse society;
• save humanity;
• protect young people;
• attack crime;
• compel respect for government and the rule of law; and
• make good use of resources)

Has in fact consistently:

• been the direct cause of the illness and death of millions;
• corrupted society (feeding on racism, promoting graft, and creating a situation where it is unclear which will shortly prevail - the secret-police state, or total anarchy - perhaps both);
• endangered humanity (drug-users and non-users alike);
• put young people (in particular) at risk;
• massively strengthened and enriched criminals;
• destroyed public confidence in the police, judiciary and government institutions generally; and
• completely wasted the resources (taxpayer cash) invested in it, as well as the human resources against which it has been waged.

However, it is hardly surprising that a War which was immoral and wrong-headed from the very beginning, should produce such evil and perverse results.
JD