The normally-astute Iain Murray seems to have a blind spot when it comes to the drug-legalization issue. He demonstrates it in a TechCentralStation article today. While I agree with him that the data is ambiguous, and with too many entangled factors to draw any firm conclusions, I take some umbrage at his last line:

The rest of us, however, will have to wait a while before “More Drugs, Less Crime” appears on the nation’s bookshelves.

I don’t ever expect to see a book titled “More Drugs, Less Crime,” at least not one that’s worth reading.

Of course, it’s a strawman, because those favoring drug decriminalization or legalization are not (necessarily) in favor of more drugs–I’m certainly not. We just want less expensive ones that don’t require crime to sustain habits, and that don’t provide incentive for turf wars between gangs heavily armed by high drug profits.

Such a book would actually be titled “Fewer Drug Laws, Less Crime.”