It seems that hardly any time goes by without news of a drug raid somewhere in Volusia County.
Drug busts have been a lead story on this Web site as recently as June 19, when 10 suspected drug dealers were rounded up.
After watching drug busts for a number of decades, it is hard not to wonder if the war on drugs is yielding any benefit. Maybe we should end it.
It is hard to find a hotter topic that Smyrnans have such definite opinions on that the legalization of drugs.When Councilman Jack Grasty was asked what he thought of legalizing drugs the councilman sternly replied, “Definitely not because of their severe effect. They are so dangerous.”
When asked the same question Keith and Jenny Draper both agreed that drugs should not be legalized. They agreed that legalization would cause usage to go up and make the problem worse.
Walter Johnson, well known owner of Settle Wilder Funeral Home, has said on several occasions that he thought drugs should be legalized.
Alice Benedict, wife of former Volusia County Council member Joe Benedict From Samsula, said, "That is a tough question I would like to think about it before offering an opinion.”
Looking at the arguments against legalizing drugs you start with the natural hesitation to legalize anything that can be so destructive to life as well as character.
Most people would agree that if the drugs don’t kill you over time they will definitely turn you into a loser. Most people who take drugs over an extended period of time will end up leading a life of great “underachievement'' even if they don’t kill themselves.
It is straightforward economics that legalization of the drugs will lower their cost and thus lead to more usage. The lower the cost the more will be demanded.
A third sound argument against legalization is that once drugs are legalized some people will jump to the conclusion that they are really not harmful. It is OK to take them because they are legal.
If we look at these powerful factors arguing that drugs should not be legalized the question looks like a “slam dunk.” How could anyone possibly support the legalization of drugs?
In response to that question, the noted economist Milton Friedman asked the question, “Who is really benefiting from the war on drugs and who is victimized by it?"
Some of the beneficiaries are drug lords and pushers, narcotic squads, crime dramas on TV and in books and maybe some innocent people are being spared being exposed to dangerous drugs.
However, one very most significant group of people who are suffering from the war on drugs is the innocent people who have no intention of taking them.
These people are subjected to extreme violence by people trying to rob their money to buy drugs; they are subjected to being hassled when law enforcement mistakes them for drug dealers; they have to pay higher taxes to cover the war on drugs. I have personally been stopped twice to see if I was part of some evil drug plot.
Other factors include the huge flow of cash to underworld type characters. Some South and Middle American countries are destabilized because unscrupulous drug lords have gained such power by selling illegal drugs. They can afford more arms than the police.
Terrorists are funded with drug money.
The point being that if drugs were legal the price would be a fraction of what it is now and the drug business would dry up. That is why the dealers will fight any attempt to legalize drugs. Right now the high price of drugs and their profitability makes it almost impossible to fight them or keep people from dealing them.
Presidents Nixon and Carter put together commissions to study the drug legalization issue and both commissions recommended that some degree of legalization be adopted. The proposals died in congress.
Looking for answers from Holland where they have partially legalized the use of marijuana, it is hard to get any definite answers.
Craig Reinarman, a Dutch national, writes that partial legalization of marijuana has been a success. That the drug problem in Holland is a lot less than the United States. They have fewer marijuana users among teens and fewer heroine addicts among adults.
Other observers such as Congressman John Mica and former drug czar Gen Barry McCaffree say that the Dutch legalization of drugs is a disaster.
The problem does not have an obvious answer.
Most Americans are against legalization. I think that I personally would be better off without the war on drugs.