More on the Was on Drugs in the WSJ.

It seems more and more people are coming to the same, sane conclusion about the war on drugs that I did over 20 years ago. Today, in the Wall Street Journal there are pro and con columns about decriminalizing drugs. Unfortunately, the Journal is not free on line, so I won't link to it, but if you can read it for free somehow check it out.

Writing on the side of sanity is Yale Law School professor Steven B. Duke. The most interesting thing he brings to the table her is this:

A most impressive experiment has been underway in Portugal since 2001, when that country decriminalized the possession and personal use of all psychotropic drugs. According to a study just published by the Cato Institute, "judged by virtually every metric," the Portuguese decriminalization "has been a resounding success." Contrary to the prognostications of prohibitionists, the numbers of Portuguese drug users has not increased since decriminalization. Indeed, the percentage of the population who has ever used these drugs is lower in Portugal than virtually anywhere else in the European Union and is far below the percentage of users in the U.S.. One explanation for this startling fact is that decriminalization has both freed up funds for drug treatment and, by lifting the threat of criminal charges, encouraged drug abusers to seek that treatment.

Writing for the side of continued immoral stupidity is, SURPRISE, Bush's drug Czar, the guy who thought busting medical marijuana sellers in California was a good use of your tax dollars (but, I'm sure, wants to see your taxes cut!). It would be silly to think you would get any intelligent thought from an 8 year member of w's administration, but look at this quote, from the middle of an otherwise idiotic babble about how we can't make drugs legal:

What are the indelible lessons? In the process of making the drug problem much smaller, we learned the importance of education -- not principally teaching the young about the health dangers of specific drugs, but teaching young and old about the disease of addiction. We know that the disease begins with the use of addictive drugs and that those drugs change the brain -- they create craving, impair judgment and lead to withdrawal or a feeling of illness in absence of the drug. Science has helped us see that we need to help those who are addicted particularly when they do not want our help -- every family of an addict or alcoholic knows that denial is a terrible part of this disease.

So, President Obama, since you are looking for ways to save the taxpayers some money, why not look at the war on drugs.