Outstanding Editorial

In the Colorado Springs Gazette: Editorial: It’s Time for New Strategy in the Drug War

[…] After decades of an even worse failure in the drug war, it’s time for the government to rethink that war as well. […]

Besides failing to keep drugs off the street, the drug war is detrimental to our national security.

Many officials note that the illicit drug trade finances terrorism.

That’s a fair point, but it’s 180 degrees off course.

It blames drug users for all the money in the illegal drug trade, when prohibition is responsible for the huge amounts of money to be made selling drugs. […]

The way to get terrorists out of the drug trade is to take away the profit incentive.

The drug trade doesn’t finance terrorism, the drug war does. If the U.S. and other nations stop treating personal choices such as drug use as crimes, many problems would disappear. […]

We often hear about drug-related crime.

It should more accurately be called drug war-related crime. […]

After four decades of a failed drug war, isn’t it time to take a fresh look at what’s not working on that front?