Pat Buchanan - Legalize Drugs

My friends when Pat Buchanan says legalize drugs, political support for the drug war has collapsed.

How does one win a drug war when millions of Americans who use recreational drugs are financing the cartels bribing, murdering and beheading to win the war and keep self-indulgent Americans supplied with drugs?

There are two sure ways to end this war swiftly: Milton's way and Mao's way. Mao Zedong's communists killed users and suppliers alike, as social parasites. Milton Friedman's way is to decriminalize drugs and call off the war.

When Richard Nixon declared the War on Drugs in 1972, Milton, writing in Newsweek, objected on ethical grounds:

"On ethical grounds, do we have the right to use the machinery of government to prevent an individual from becoming an alcoholic or a drug addict? For children, almost everyone would answer at least a qualified yes. But for responsible adults, I, for one, would answer no. Reason with the potential addict, yes. Tell him the consequences, yes. Pray for and with him, yes. But I believe that we have no right to use force, directly or indirectly, to prevent a fellow man from committing suicide, let alone from drinking alcohol or taking drugs."

"Am I my brother's keeper?'" asked Milton, answering, "No."

Americans are never going to adopt the Maoist solution. For the users of drugs are all too often classmates, colleagues, friends, even family. Indeed, our last three presidents did not deny using drugs.

Is Pat happy about it? No. But he says we have to make the best of some bad choices.
Which is the greater evil? Legalized narcotics for America's young or a failed state of 110,000 million on our southern border?
I have to admit that Pat Buchanan is the last person I thought would come out in favor of legalizing drugs.

Now I saw the Mexico situation coming twenty years ago when narco States started their inexorable march north. People said I was crazy. Well here we are. What Pat fails to get is that the march of the narco States does not end with Mexico. Guess what country is North of Mexico? In any case glad to have you aboard Pat. Better late than never.

Cross Posted at Power and Control

posted by Simon on 03.09.09 at 10:59 AM





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Dave's not here.

cc   ·  March 9, 2009 06:24 PM

I saw the Mao method in action this last fall on China. On the six o'clock news in a moderate sized city south of Beijing ("This just in!!") a taxi driver who had sold a marijuana joint to an undercover cop was shot in living (?) color seventy two hours after arrest.
The commentary was along the lines of: "He asked for it" and "serves him right".
Now before going off the deep end, do some research on the Opium Wars of the 19th century and how The Habit affected China.
Just sayin' that maybe they're on to something...

Good Ole Charlie   ·  March 9, 2009 06:25 PM

OK Charlie,

There are only about 25 million drug users in America. We know though arrest records who at least 15 million of them are.

If we rounded them up and started mudering 10,000 of them a day (the Germans had some good plans that could be researched - they kept excellent records) we could get rid of them in about 4 years. Then we go after the remaining 10 million or so and in another few years we will have killed off all the illegal drug users in America.

You sir have the beginnings of a workable plan.

I just love the idea of mass murder as the solution to our drug problems. But you know the world will be a better place with 25 million dead drug users. And wasn't that why the Germans killed their millions? To make the world a better place? I don't see why they still get such bad press.

==

BTW a lot of American fortunes were made supplying illegal opium to the Chinese. You might want to look up - China clipper opium - for the details. And what were those opium traders most afraid of? Legalization.

The vast majority of the social cost of drugs is their illegality. It makes piles of vegetables worth their weight in gold. Because - before it was made illegal heroin sold over the counter in America for the same price as aspirin.

===

http://www.ctrl.org/boodleboys/boddlesboys2.html

"If the trade is ever legalized, it will cease to be profitable from that time. The more difficulties that attend it, the better for you and us." -- Directors of Jardine-Matheson

Anonymous   ·  March 9, 2009 07:30 PM

Anonymous:

I would not target users, I would target dealers. This would be more efficient: as the supply diminishes (due to lack of sellers), the price goes up. Perhaps giving a motive to enter treatment...cold turkey is very unpleasant.
Targeting dealers would dry up moneys currently going to organized crime: not immediately, but eventually.
And we also have a horrible example to the populace of what happens when your habit is cut off...life becomes unpleasant.
OTOH in a legalized drug environment, like any other pleasant stimulus, recreational drugs tend to snow ball as the hits become less effective. So more and more drugs are consumed with a migration to more potent drugs to give it the Old Feeling.
A side effect of legalization would be to heavily tax legal recreational drugs. With a dollar a day tax flow on 25 million saps, over a year around 9-10 Billion is generated. The only problem is that the average lifetime of a daily user is less than two years...a diminishing resource.
As for the trade to China, the vast majority was opium from British controlled India carried in British merchant shipping. I recommend standard histories of China, especially by John K Fairbank and "Modern China" by Jonathan Spence. Details of the Opium War(s) referred to above can be found therein.

Good Ole Charlie   ·  March 9, 2009 08:48 PM

Charlie,

You schooling in economics is rather weak. Perhaps you need to be reschooled.

Targeting dealers and diminishing supply with inelastic demand simply increases profits drawing dealers into the market to replace those taken out.

It is rather amazing that people so poorly educated can pontificate with such certainty.

You might want to look at what these police officers have to say about the strategy of targeting dealers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LayaGk0TMDc

It doesn't work. See what Police Captain Peter Christ has to say at about 3 minutes into the video.

M. Simon   ·  March 9, 2009 09:03 PM

Another good one is six minutes into the video.

M. Simon   ·  March 9, 2009 09:05 PM

Captain Peter Christ again at 7:20 in describes what happens when you target dealers.

M. Simon   ·  March 9, 2009 09:07 PM

Why target anybody, you tyrants?

Brett   ·  March 10, 2009 08:02 AM

And as a side benefit, the Afghans get the freedom to leverage their most profitable cash crop, and end up with a thriving economy.

I think.

apotheosis   ·  March 10, 2009 09:53 AM

It is not often that I agree with Buchanan but he’s right on drugs. Prohibition has never worked.

But... legalizing drugs will effectively end the FDA except as a "certifying" authority. They would no longer have the authority to block the marketing of any drug.

I would adamantly oppose legalization if taxpayers were in any way responsible for drug-rehab costs or care for those who have lobotomized themselves with recreational drugs.

It would be fun to watch lawyers trying to sue drug cartels for damages.

Bram   ·  March 10, 2009 11:31 AM

Bram,

There are legal medicines that perform the same functions as illegal drugs. Would those people be lobotomizing themselves as well?

You are a victim of drug war propaganda.

Round Pegs In Round Holes

People take illegal drugs for the same reason they take legal drugs. They help.

M. Simon   ·  March 10, 2009 03:02 PM

No. I'm not a victim of anything except bad government. I could not care less if people I'm not related to take drugs to help or harm themselves.

I am paranoid about creating situations where more of my tax dollars will wasted - although it's hard to keep track of the current level of waste. Every other irresponsible member of society is being rewarded for his actions, why not abusers of newly legalized drugs.?

Bram   ·  March 11, 2009 11:05 AM

Bram,

A policy that has never worked in 100 years (opiate prohibition) is not a waste of your money? A policy that has never worked in 70 years (marijuana prohibition) is not a waste of your money?

You have funny ideas about what constitutes waste.

And prohibition is not protecting your relations from anything. It can't. Criminals will sell drugs to anyone. At least with legal suppliers we can make drugs as hard to get as tobacco or beer. Now they are easier to get. Because criminals don't check ID. They only check the green.

M. Simon   ·  March 12, 2009 03:39 AM

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