The Highs and Lows of the Drug Business
While not condoning or condemning the use of drugs in a recreational mode, it is clear to me that there is a significant market in this country for just such a use. And, as we all learned in school in our study of economics, where there is a demand, there will be a supply and there will be a profit made. This is the natural rule of a capitalistic society.The problem we face is that we pretend it is not so, and by doing that, we create a whole world of problems that plague us every day. We have forced the market to turn to illegal sources for the demanded products, creating a criminal enterprise that is clever, rich, and far more resourceful than the official drug enforcement agencies that are trying to control them. This criminal subset of our society wrecks havoc upon the populace and diverts resources that could go towards the treatment of other societal ills.
The solution is simple - decriminalize drug usage and create a legal supply chain that would allow the marketplace to function while providing a product that is free of harmful additives or adjuncts.
The arguments against this approach do not stand up under examination. Critics claim that such a move would foster addiction, breakdown society, and promote immorality. Bullshit pure and simple.
Addiction already exists and along with it comes crime to support a junkies habit; disease from shared needles and impure products; and regulation to societies lowest levels for indulging in illegal behavior. People will use these drugs whether they are legal or illegal. What we should be doing is to remove the criminal element from the supply chain, guarantee the quality of the product, minimize the medical complications related to usage, and promote better treatment options for those wishing to minimize or eliminate drug use from their day to day existence.
As for the breakdown of society one has to look no further than the nearest low income section of the closest city, or the barios of Mexico, Columbia, or Sao Paulo. Our society is broken now. Maintaining our present head-in-the-sand position merely ensures that it will remain so.
In this country, we have prison systems that are filled to overflowing and many of the occupants are there because of their participation in the drug system either as users, providers, or both. These are human warehouses that exist only to remove the unsightly from societal eyes. They do not operate as a positive change agent for us. Indeed, they function in the opposite manner - serving as training institutions for increased criminal activity. The cost to society to maintain these human cages is huge, and for the most part wasted.
Regarding the immorality of drug use, I charge that we maintain an indefensible and hypocritical position. We condemn marijuana use while celebrating beer consumption. We revile the junkie and subsidize the tobacco industry. We fund herbicidal spraying of thirdworld cash crops while funneling billions into the pockets of corrupt politicians around the world who then ensure that the "war on drugs" continues ineffectually so as to perpetuate the resulting cashflow. That is immoral.
One does not help change a person who has an irrational and unhealthy desire to over indulge in mind altering chemicals by denying them access. Someone else will be only too happy to supply them with an over priced and impure product. Such a problem must be dealt with by helping such a person address the underlying needs that drive them to such an escape. A sick society will encourage sick behavior and produce sick citizens. We are living in such a society.
I am not promoting an abstinence from drugs for I believe there is an appropriate time and place for these things, indeed a need for these things. What I am suggesting is that we take a realistic approach to societies needs and act responsibly with regard to them. We need to remove the criminal aspect from the drug business. We need to decriminalize the use of drugs. We need to provide high-quality and pure forms of drugs at reasonable prices for those who want them. We need to use the profits of those operations to fund functional treatment programs for those who wish to avail themselves of them.
We need to promote and enforce the concept of "appropriate usage" when it comes to drugs. This goes for all drugs and would include stiff penalties for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, the usage or trafficking of drugs in educational settings, the harming or harassing of any citizen by an intoxicated person.
The only reason this irrational system still exists is that it is in the vested interest of the powers that be to keep it that way. The only way it will change is when we as citizens get tired of the sick junkies, the drive-bys, the muggings and thefts, and decide to do something about it. My belief is that we need to change the basic premise rather than build another prison training school.
P.
Copyright ©2003-2007 Phaedrous
posted by Phaedrous @ 7:55 AM
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