Friends of Brad Will

Op-Ed: A Failed War on Drugs

A Failed War on Drugs: Find a Path to Legalization
Published: April 1, 2009 in the New York Times

To the Editor:

Mexican Drug Cartel Violence Spills Over, Alarming U.S. (March 23, 2009)

Re “Drug Cartel Violence Spills Over From Mexico, Alarming U.S.” (“War Without Borders” series, front page, March 23):

The drug violence spilling over into the United States is fueled by the profits illegal drugs produce. Mexican drug cartels send us the drugs some Americans want to buy. We send them cash and weapons.

When drug suppliers compete for American market share or try to collect bad debts, violence is the inevitable result. All too often, Americans uninvolved in the drug trade are victims. The war on drugs
has failed.

The solution is obvious. We must find a path to legalization, as we did when we ended Prohibition. Legalization does not mean that we approve of drug use or that drugs now illegal are safe to use. But the
violence caused because drugs are illegal and the expense of law enforcement and incarceration outweigh the cost of managing drug use as a public health problem.

We do that now for smoking and alcohol. Why should these other drugs be treated differently, especially when the current strategy is so obviously failing?

Glen T. Cheney
Macungie, Pa., March 23, 2009