We can have a war on drugs (which is absolutely unwinnable) or a war against the Jihadis, but it's nuts to think that we can have both.

Want a criticism of the Bush administration? Here's one: the blindness of the drug warriors is appalling, and has set us back dramatically in the real war.

I think that the punishment regime for drug crimes is insane. If I understand correctly, the punishment for dealing drugs (even a small amount) is as bad or worse than the punishment for murder. People's lives can be ruined simply by possesion of a small amount of illegal drugs. Why are we wasting prison space that should be for violent criminals on drug criminals?

On the flip side, as a parent, I want absolutely no societal message that says "hey, crack and meth are just another reasonable recreational choice!" The stuff ruins lives.

Come to think of it, that tends to be true of alcohol, too. Hmmmm. And gambling. And having a very large number of intimate partners. These things aren't illegal (although we criminalize actions related to these things, such as DUI--and drunk driving is a huge problem...)

Ack.

Do I have a perfect answer? I wish. Keep drugs illegal, and make the penalties mandantory rehabs (outpatient for the first offense or two, inpatient after that) rather than hardcore prison sentences?

In the months prior to 9-11, the
FBI had many more agents working drug
enforcement then counter-terrorism.
The FBI had more agents investigating a
brothel in New Orleans then working
on Al-Qaeda.

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