Illusion

Interesting lines in an OpEd by Ronald Fraser

Advertised as an effective drug control policy, America’s harsh drug laws only give the illusion of progress. […]
Perhaps the non-performing drug war programs are not really expected to deliver on their publicly stated goals, but continue because they serve a very different purpose.
They give the politically useful illusion of “controlling” crime and allow morally righteous members of society to impose their values on the actions of others. Instead of ending the drug war, each year Washington drug warriors issue a new round of optimistic forecasts to keep the illusion alive, to justify another round of funding from American taxpayers.