Jun 29 2009
A 9 year old casualty in the war on drugs
How many nine year old lives is a drug addict’s life worth?
This is an example of the (non-monitary, well, at least if you don’t count police and other expenses) costs of our “War on Drugs.” A nine year old girl was shot because her father was selling marijuana. How many people would have died had the pot he was selling been legal?
Pharmacists and liquor store owners don’t shoot each other over territory. They compete in a healthy and legal marketplace. How many nine year olds’ lives is saving a potential addict from addiction worth?
That is, of course, assuming that criminalization of drugs reduces addiction. To the contrary, any comparison of European (especially Dutch) statistics on addiction with those of the U.S. will show that prohibition increases addiction. Our “War on Drugs” has sparked drug wars, both between armed guerillas around the world and between our own children across the country, which have had very real casualties. It’s time we take a look at the true effects of our policies on drugs.
