A recent column on jury duty -- my first actual trial in more than 20 years of summonses to the Circuit Court of Baltimore City -- prompted a letter from reader Tom Ryugo about the decriminalization of heroin and cocaine. As you'll see, it's kind of hard to argue with this common-sense take. I've had this discussion with many people, including the former New York cop you runs an organization devoted to decriminalization, and the famous Baltimore attorney Bill Murphy. I can't make up my mind about it. Perhaps I should. . . . My fear is that legalization will lead to more use. I don't think the death penalty is a deterrent to murder, but I think the threat of incarceration and a life of addiction and misery is a deterrent to people who might be tempted to move from reefer to heroin or coke. I dunno. Perhaps I should write more about this and think it through.
Here's what Tom wrote:
The late Milton Friedman once said that as a young man during Prohibition, he regularly had drinks at speakeasies and felt no shame at doing so. Of course, Friedman had plenty of company. When then President Herbert Hoover attended a Yankees game, the entire crowd booed and yelled "We want beer!".
Friedman, a stauch advocate of drug legalization, would no doubt have found plenty to compare the War on Drugs with Prohibition. Plenty of celebrities like Babe Ruth openly flaunted their disregard for the law. Just as today, Hollywood is full of people who partake in illegal drug use. Good grief, Amy Winehouse just won a Grammy despite being in and out of rehab. Meanwhile, millions of Americans experiment with multiple illegal chemicals. Friedman often pointed out that drugs are a problem because they are illegal - outlawing drugs only makes them more expensive which means it's profitable for criminals to deal them, etc. It was the same for Al Capone in 1930 as it is for the Bloods and Crips today.
That's why I say that as grubby and ugly as many drugs are - like the heroin scored by the defendant whose trial you had to judge - it's pointless and counterproductive to outlaw them. People who want drugs are going to get them just as people who want sex from prostitutes or gambling fixes will find them and people who wanted ethanol 80 years ago managed to acquire it. The best thing the government can do is set up systems to minimize the damage.
The drug warriors will proclaim that heroin, ecstacy, roofies, etc are different - they're somehow more dangerous either because of overdoses, infections, sexual assaults, etc. And they're full of it. How different are they really from the gut-rot like Thunderbird, Wild Iris Rose, and Night Train sold to skid-row drunks at corner stores in the inner cities? Winos passed out from too much Thunderbird are as dirty and depressing as strung-out junkies.
Besides which, how much does it cost to send people to prison? Estimates range from $50,000 to $150,000 per year. Multiplied by hundreds of thousands and we're spending an awful lot of money locking people behind bars. Which would be fine if they were all murderers, rapists, and armed robbers who hurt other people but drug dealers and users mostly hurt themselves. Except when they're defending their stashes which wouldn't be worth defending if they weren't illegal and therefore valuable.
I would also add that I use the same arguments regarding abortion and guns. Many conservatives want to ban abortions but loosen or eliminate restrictions on gun ownership. Many liberals want to ban guns but loosen or eliminate restrictions on abortions. Both sides will claim that a ban that they oppose will be ineffective, dangerous, and a waste of money. And they're both right. Banning abortion will only send desperate women and girls to back-alleys and Mexican "clinics." Sending people to prison over abortion will only take up space that should be for murderers, rapists, and armed robbers. Likewise, banning guns will only create a market for black market guns--- and staunch gun advocates like Chuck Norris would likely flaunt the law. Sending gun owners to prison will also only occupy space for murderers, rapists, and armed robbers.
16-02-2008, 11:11
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