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Drug policy: a debate we must have : Comments
By Dominic Perrottet, published 9/5/2012If the drug problem is getting worse, why isn't harm minimisation to blame?
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The legislation most relevant to the War on Drugs was the Harrison Tax Act of 1914 almost a hundred years ago. One would imagine that America would have changed tactics as the proliferation of narcotics has only increased during this fruitless war.
The USA who talks so much about the evils of narcotics is one of the biggest traders as it uses it in times of war to finance covert operations. Vietnam and Cambodia come to mind but the most ironic and cynical use of drugs is in Afghanistan where the Taliban had almost eradicated the cultivation of heroin until the American troops arrived on the scene and ignored the farmers cultivating the crops again.
Most countries in the world today permit the manufacture and distribution of cigarettes and alcohol which they tax to such a degree they take the place of the drug pusher. Both of these drugs are no less damaging to the health then those that are considered illegal.
All drugs should be legalized. Firstly it would dispose of the mobster element and would cut heavily into their profits which in turn would lose them considerable political power. The state would be able to raise revenue through taxation and still sell the drugs at a lower price. The tax revenue would go towards education, hospitalization and rehab. It has been proved without a doubt that a stupid law will be ignored especially when it attacks a person’s responsibility over themselves.
A definition of insanity is to try the same solution to a problem over and over again and expect a different outcome.