Drug legalization – what reality says!

The recent decision by Attorney General Eric Holder that the Justice Department will not go after those states legalizing marijuana or prosecute many drug cases is an example of a total lack of understanding of the reality of drugs on the street. I agree with libertarians on many concerns but on this one I definitely dispute their support for legalization. I also disagree with Charlie Rangel (the Democratic Congressman from New York City) on most issues but in terms of drug legalization; I fully agree with his statement that “it is a death sentence for youth in the inner city”.

My conclusions are not based on some intellectual philosophy or theory but from the real world experience of working with at-risk youth to prevent drug abuse. I have seen the affect of marijuana as a ‘gateway drug” and the affect of thousands of youth not undergoing normal adolescence by being high during the teenage years.

My view is the same as that expressed by many law enforcement associations such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Sheriffs Association (who recently wrote a letter to the Justice Department chastising it for not even asking for their input) and by those working in community service programs that deal with drug abuse especially among youth. All are warning that legalization will make things worse because of one simple and plain reality – More access to drugs (legal or illegal) leads to more drugs on the street that, in turn, equates to more drug use and abuse.

This is a “well dah” reality. It’s interesting that many of the proponents of legalization are the well educated elites and academics who have the mistaken belief we can all use drugs just like alcohol in moderation and without serious consequences. That may well be true for some, especially in upper middle class environments. However, in environments with little family or social structures that practice and teach self- discipline and responsibility it is a simple consumer reality. By making more stuff available (whether legal or illegal) leads to using more stuff.

The argument that legalization will get crime out of the drug business is bogus on its face. Did legalizing alcohol reduce crime, the influence of the mob and alcoholism? Those same law enforcement organizations confront the premise that legalization will lower the crime associated with the drug trade as the elites contend, but instead, they maintain, will provide the opposite effect with increased violent drug induced crime and driving under the influence.

In the substance abuse prevention and rehabilitation world, stress is placed on the importance of modeling – having positive role models that practice self-discipline and responsibility. What kind of role model example is Attorney General Holder demonstrating by choosing to not prosecute existing laws and to, in essence, support drug use? Supporters of legalization also use the argument that by controlling the growing and selling of marijuana the states can gain needed revenue. It’s bad enough that the federal government and some states support the killing of children in the womb by providing abortion funding. All this just further shows the immoral expediency of this current administration’s policies.