Pubdate: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 Source: Daily Targum (NJ Edu) Copyright: 2003 Daily Targum Contact: http://www.dailytargum.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/715 Author: Michael Roberts LECTURER SPEAKS ON AMERICAN DRUG POLICY University Philosophy Professor Douglas Husak attended Tuesday's Philosophy Club meeting to speak about American drug policy. Husak opened the lecture with a statistic. Approximately 130,000 people in the United States are currently serving jail time for drug related crimes. This number is on the rise despite legislation limiting the possession of specific drugs, he said. One can conclude that, Husak said, "Laws are counterproductive and ineffective." According to Husak, if a drug were decriminalized, possession of the drug would bear no penalty. Husak said he feels that the government has been unable to supply a legitimate reason for the criminalization of drugs and therefore they should be decriminalized. Possible reasons that drugs remain illegal include the health and safety of children, the health of the general welfare, the correlation between drugs and antisocial behavior segueing into crime, and morality issues, Husak said. Husak attempted to refute each of these reasons. "Marijuana, the most popularly used illicit drug, has never been proven to have long term side effects." Drugs do not cause people to commit crimes, Husak said. If the country would legalize and regulate drugs then prices should drop considerably, he said, and the lower price would ensure that no person would kill or steal in order to satisfy a physical addiction. Husak also suggested that the American penal system is racist toward arresting minority drug violators. "Eighty to 90 million people have admitted to using an illicit drug for recreational purposes in this country," Husak said. Since the government cannot possibly arrest everybody, only some of the violators will get arrested. On average Caucasian people use just as many drugs as Hispanics and blacks do, said Husak, but the minority races are much more likely to be arrested, convicted and receive harsher penalties, he said. At one point, someone asked if purchasing illegal drugs was unpatriotic. Husak explained that local demand would not have to support foreign imported drugs if the country could legally produce a domestic supply. In an attempt to illustrate the possibilities of a domestic supply Husak said that, "50 percent of all marijuana used by Americans is domestically grown." Lasting over an hour and an half, the forum was a "source of inspiration and knowledge," said John van Schaick, a Rutgers College first-year student. "We need more discussion like this one in order for people to learn the truth about drugs and their consequences," van Schaick said. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens