Sunday, September 9, 2012

Major Political Parties' Drug Policies Still the Same: Archaic

Despite a veritable avalanche of articles, books, and studies that show that the "War on Drugs" has been a failure, neither political party has addressed the issue in a presidential election year. To controversy-averse politicians, this is nothing new; witness the reluctance until recently of Republicans or Democrats to discuss Medicaid or Medicare, despite numerous studies showing that unless both systems are changed they will bankrupt the federal government.

The passage of the Harrison Act in 1914, that criminalized opium, has launched a hundred years' war that has only enriched drug criminals, distracted law enforcement from more serious, violent crime, and created outstanding investment opportunities for politically-connected investors in private prisons and prison suppliers.

A more humane policy, more consistent with conservative political principles that espouse limited government, would emphasize treatment over incarceration, and provide tax breaks and jobs for those willing to do the hard work of drug and alcohol treatment with the threat of more serious punishment for those that fail to take advantage of the more helpful and humane policies.

The other solution would be to make block grants to the states themselves to encourage them to come up with their own programs on a local level, using the vast network of charitable organizations such as the United Way and the Salvation Army, who are already doing outstanding work in the area, and limit federal intervention to major international traffickers, and limiting federal prosecutors powers to "pick-up" (take over) state drug prosecutions already in progress. Such developments would go a long way to helping communities gain control of their own crime problems at what would be a significantly more economical solution than currently exists.