I think that I’ve come a long way on this issue. For ever I have been the guy that says all drugs should be illegal and remain illegal. When I was asked about marijuana I remained adamant; “No way”!
Over the years I think that I’ve developed a new attitude, one more consistent with my Libertarian views and perhaps older age. I find myself in changing existing laws to allow the use of certain drugs and to decriminalize the use of others.
The case can be made in two ways:
- Each of us owns our own bodies. What we want to do with it or to it should be our decision. This is the Libertarian in me speaking.
- The cost is too high. We are spending too much time and money fighting a war we’ll never win. And. AND, when we imprison a kid for marijuana use we change his life for the worse forever.
As with all debates and discussions, there are two sides screaming, and neither of them stops to listen. To see that there are aspects of both sides, and yes, completely new points, that need to be incorporated into the solution. And this is the case with the Drug War debate and the opponents of my way of thinking.
I watch O’Reilly more than the other opinion stuff on cable. I think he’s more fair and center than flat-out Republicans like Hannity and wack jobs like Olbermann and Madow. Plus I get to see one of my favorite columnists, Charles Krauthammer. Last night O’Reilly had Krauthhammer on and they were discussing this very topic.
Like I said, normally I like these two guys but last night I think they missed a critical aspect to the debate. Namely, the decriminalization of a drug. That is, make it legal to use but illegal to sell or distribute. Go after the real danger to society, the pushers. We get the scum off the street AND we keep young kids oughta jail for gettin’ caught up with the wrong crowd.
