Our 40-year "war on drugs" has had little impact on the problem, despite the tens of billions of dollars per year cost of policing, trying, jailing and burying those involved. We must take the profit motive out of the illegal drug trade by providing drugs to users at little or no expense. Such a program would cost a fraction of our failed policies, even if state or national drug rehabilitation programs accompanied the change. It is true that those who overdose from drug abuse today may continue to do so under the new plan. However, without the profit motive, it would certainly not take us 40 years to pass through that unfortunate time to a saner, cleaner and healthier new era.

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