Prohibition did not work for alcohol, it is certainly not working for drugs. We must stop this ridiculous war on drugs that's hurting innocent people
The war on drugs gets worse every day. More people are hurt, innocent people are being imprisioned and their property stolen by the drug warriors.
The war on drugs at the federal level is unconstitutional. It took an ammendment to the constitution to institute alcohol prohibition in the 20's. There's no reason why drugs should not require one.
The war has escalated since the crimes of September 11. Our government wants to make us believe that the drug trade is financing terrorism, but like everything in politics this is not an easy statement to make. The fact is that if drugs were not illegal their price would not be high enough to finance anything, let alone terrorism. Some people estimate that the price of drugs like Mariuana and Cocaine is thousands of times larger than they would be under a free market. Certainly the drug lords in Colombia and elsewhere jump for joy everytime a new drug war cry occurs in Washington: smugglers will always find a way, but their margins have just been increased
This war is eroding our civil liberties. It has made us all suspects subject to searches and seizures with little or no legal recourse. Things as simple as using legal tender to do business can tag you for investigation.
Drugs can, for some people, be a serious problem. But a medical one. As such it requires a medical solution, not a political one. Many otherwise law abiding Americans use drugs every day, a majority of Americans has tried drugs at one time or another in our lives. Are we criminals? Of course not!
I don't like the social problems that drugs can cause. But I prefer them 1000% to the alternative police state that we have built trying unsuccessfully to stop them.
The Libertarian Party favors the legalization of drugs. But please don't misinterpret us. We are not a bunch of potheads looking for a good time. We are just honest enough to realize that the side effects of trying to stop drugs through our government cannot work and can only hurt us as it tries.
Roberto Leibman
email: statesenate@leibman.net
web: http://www.leibman.net/statesenate2004