Get Active Subscribe Support Us

THE DRUG WAR: A COSTLY, FUTILE FIGHT FOR AMERICANS

I have one issue with the article "Legalizing marijuana will ruin a great culture." That issue is not with the writer's stance on marijuana itself, as the writer recognizes the legitimacy of individual liberty and choice.  My issue, however, is the writer's inability to conceive the damage this unwinnable drug war has cost America.  This damage extends beyond physical destruction of property; beyond breaking the bank of Middle America; beyond the countless abuses of authority in order to obtain information.  In fact, the everlasting consequence is the social repercussions.  While I agree that the subculture has benefitted many businessmen and businesswomen ready to capitalize on the marketability of this culture, any true reformist will tell you that the money has not been worth it.

The money from this subculture is not worth more than 700,000 arrests in 2006 alone.  It is not worth splitting countless families and perpetuating the overpopulated prison system; it is not worth cuffing cancer patients to wheelchairs.  Any true reformist will tell you sustaining the appearance of acceptance is not worth disenfranchising those who actually accept a culture.  The appearance of promoting individual liberty is not the same as actually having individual liberty.

I beg the reader to look past the gimmicks of the marijuana counterculture and to realize that there are real consequences for real people.  These people are no different from you and I.  The 700,000 non-violent offenders do not deserve the fate they received.  It is our responsibility not only to assure that the culture remains intact, but that the patients who need this medicine and the non-violent offenders who choose it as an alternative to alcohol are not imprisoned because of this senseless drug war we continue to wage.

Brendon Rivard

President of NORML