Drugs, i.e. Dope: Part I

I can legally drink a gallon of Dewar’s Scotch Whiskey every day, destroy my liver, ferment my blood, pickle my brain and prematurely age every other organ in my body. I can legally eat a dozen Big Macs with fries a day, become obese, and die young in my own pool of fat and sodium. I can legally call myself a “thrill-seeker” and attempt to jump forty buses on my motorcycle, attempt to climb to the summit of man-killer Mt. Everest, or jump out of an airplane without a parachute. I can legally engage in all of these risky behaviors, but in America, I can’t legally smoke a joint.

I can legally ignore any symptoms I may be suffering, refuse to go to the doctor, refuse life-saving treatment and die miserably after a prolonged illness. I can legally drop out of high school and enter the workforce unable to read, write, or think. I can legally smoke four packs of cigarettes a day. I can legally engage in all of these risky behaviors because as a man, my life belongs to me. My body is mine to cherish and enjoy or to abuse and destroy. To argue that some drugs are illegal because they are a danger to the health of the user is a ridiculous argument given all of the risky behaviors that are legal in this country.

There is no place in the law, criminal or civil, that suffers questions of credibility more so than United States' drug law. The favorite drug of the politicians, alcohol, is legal. All of the others are illegal.

Or did you say these drugs are illegal to protect the children? A high school teacher for nearly 20 years, I think I have a few insights into what makes young people tick. What draws young people to experiment with drugs is not the promised high or the desire to escape reality, but rather, the mystery created by their illegal status. Teens are risk-takers. Forbidden fruit? It’s not the fruit that attracts them. It’s the “forbidden.”

Besides, protecting children is the responsibility of parents. Parents are responsible for teaching their kids to look both ways before crossing the street, “don’t talk to strangers,” and the dangers of unprotected sex. Parents, for the most part, teach their kids to avoid dangerous substances and with great success. I can’t remember the last time I read a story about some kids drinking Drano or Clorox. Parents can teach their kids about cocaine and crystal meth as well.

There’s no need [in fact it is a violation of our individual rights] to criminalize self-destructive behavior. Rather, adults should teach and model healthy behavior. As children grow into adulthood, their health choices are theirs to make. There is no legitimate role for government to play here. There is no crime.

Are all of these drug laws designed to protect us all from drug-crazed criminals looking for money to cover the cost of their next fix? Making these substances illegal is precisely the cause for all of the crime associated with drug use and the drug trade. If not for the illegality of marijuana, for example, the growing and selling of pot would probably remain far less profitable than tobacco and the government could tax the trade and consumption. The illegal drug business ruled over by thugs and assassins would disappear over night in favor of the new order: local farmers and public companies. Drug-crazed criminals looking for money to cover the cost of their next fix will be treated as all criminals should be…They’ll be arrested, tried, convicted, and punished for larceny. The crime is not the motive for the theft. The crime is the theft itself.