The war on drugs
The war is doomed to fail,
The war will never be won,
The answer is to make peace, not war, with drugs
Drugs are too powerful, far superior, and insidious in their stealth;
Not to mention that they are simply inanimate objects that do not make war in return. Continuing to fight will not end the war.
The only rational approach is to make peace with drugs. Admit their superior power and tackle the demand instead of battling the endless supply. As long as there is demand for them, people will find them.
It is akin to outlawing chairs. It is impossible.
As long as people in every city, town, and outpost want to sit they will find, make, or buy chairs. As long as addicts want drugs, they will find them.
A billion dollars spent in Columbia will not guarantee one addict will stop. In fact, a lot of that money will end up in the drug dealers' hands. In 1999 the wife of an American Colonel battling the war on drugs in Columbia was found smuggling cocaine into the U.S. If a Colonel cannot stop his drug addicted wife how do they expect to stop all the other addicts?
Dirt poor kids in third world countries like Honduras sniff Elmers glue to get high. Dirt poor native Indian kids in 'first world' countries such as Canada sniff gas to get high. In both countries the children live in squalor. If there were no cocaine in the world these children would still be addicts. Is the 'war on drugs' for the benefit of addicts or the benefit of the people making money from this so-called war?
A small, not-for-profit group meeting in a church basement at an AA, NA, or other 12-step meeting in Pittsburgh, Saskatoon or San Diego is more effective at curbing addiction than $1 million spent on the war on drugs.
The struggle with drugs will only be won when the demand is reduced. An addict will go to the ends of the earth to find their fix. A recovering addict can walk freely knowing they do not need to or want to use. Addicts are sick people. They need help. Use the money to help addicts here and now. Treat them decently instead of like criminals. Put them in treatment, not jail. Use the billions to help the sick at home rather than fighting the drug lords in Columbia.
It is not high tech or sexy or movie-style dramatic but it works. Acknowledge the drugs' power and make peace with them. Admitting our limitations is the first step to over-coming our society's problem.
Jim Lade March 17, 2000
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