A Slippery Slope

I was reading the news this morning when I saw the headline "Global War on Drugs Has Failed." The Global Commission on Drug Policy states that the war on drugs has not and cannot be won. It recommends that governments should end the criminalization of drug use and experiment with legal models that would undermine organized crime syndicates. Drug users, after all only harm themselves, right?

This sort of reasoning is an alarming slippery slope. We also have not (and probably will not) win the war on human trafficking or pornography. Should we also give up on those battles and attempt to "regulate" how people are sold or exploited? People are still killing each other too. Should murder be legalized? How about robbery? One may argue the above points by saying, "Well, these are not victimless crimes. Drug use is...."

So, drug users only harm themselves? I'm wondering what percentage of crimes are committed under the influence of drugs. I don't know the answer, but everyone has heard of crime (often violent) committed by someone who was high. Drug use takes a toll on families (just as alcohol abuse does). The drug user harms himself, his family, and sometimes others. There is no such thing as a victimless crime.

The commission states that governments have spent too much time and money hunting down criminals and incarcerating them. Drug addicts are a financial drain on governments regardless. Treatment facilities cost money too. Not to mention that most drug addicts are not productive members of society.

How about the organized crime angle? If drugs are legalized, won't that hurt organized crime? Last time I checked, garbage collection is perfectly legal, but that hasn't stopped organized crime from being involved...

I usually try to stay away from anything remotely political, but when I read a news story like this it's hard not to comment. Hopefully we'll decide to hold the line against illegal drugs, human trafficking, pornography (which no matter how you feel about your right to view it, often involves the exploitation of someone), and everything else that harms people. Just because we haven't won - and perhaps will not win, doesn't mean that we shouldn't keep fighting.