If someone had shown staunchly conservative Republican me a glimpse into the future of the ultra-liberal school I would be attending in a couple of years, I would have dropped dead right there. Yes, I have come a
looooong way.
I was very much into keeping drugs illegal...amongst other things.
I hated associating with people who I knew did drugs, and that was
a lot of people because I went to a wealthy school.
To be totally honest, I have
no idea how I came to my current feelings about drugs from what I used to think. I don't do drugs, and I don't hang out much with people who do drugs (not intentional, but I guess it's because people subconsciously seek out companions who are similar to themselves). My hypothesis is that I realized that people who do drugs, for the most part, are just normal people. Then maybe it developed more when I began identifying myself more and more as a libertarian.
It's kind of like trying to explain how I became an environmentalist or even got interested in politics in the first place...I have theories, but I sure as hell don't even know how that all started.
When I became a libertarian, the president of the
Western Libertarians, and finally, especially, the president of
WWU Students for Sensible Drug Policy, people would think my choice was funny because I don't do drugs. I don't even smoke marijuana.
I'll sometimes be talking with a friend, and the fact that I'm either the president of WWU SSDP or a drug policy activist in general will come up, and my friend will tell me how he or she also believes in legalizing drugs. I will then tell them about the club and ask them if they're interested in coming to meetings. Sadly, one of the most common replies is, "Sorry, I don't think I'm interested in really becoming involved. I don't do drugs."
Well, I don't do drugs either.
Others ask me why I'm so passionate about this issue when I don't do drugs. Sure, I am a big believer in personal freedoms. If you want to smoke crack, inject meth, etc., it's none of my business, unless you are planning on negatively affecting a third party. But why is the War on Drugs one of the biggest things I'm concerned about? (The other things being unnecessary military intervention and climate change.)
If the only concern dealing with the War on Drugs was only about personal freedoms, then it wouldn't be so high on my priority list.
Fortunately,
DrugPolicy.org lists amost all of the reasons why I am so passionate about this subject on its "Drug War Statistics" page.
"Amount spent annually in the U.S. on the war on drugs: More than $51,000,000,000"
Cost is another reason. This is one reason why I can't believe most Republicans are resistant to legalization. Not only less government, but it would cut spending. What should I expect though? That's hypocrisy for ya.
"Tax revenue that drug legalization would yield annually, if currently-illegal drugs were taxed at rates comparable to those on alcohol and tobacco: $46.7 billion"
"Estimated annual revenue that California would raise if it taxed and regulated the sale of marijuana: $1,400,000,000"
C'mon Republicans, think of all the debt that would pay off! Democrats, think of all the social services that could pay for!
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that syringe access programs lower HIV incidence who inject drugs by: 80 percent"
"One-third of all AIDS cases in the U.S. have been caused by syringe sharing: 354,000 people"
For some reason, I wasn't aware of this issue until a few weeks ago. Please don't say, "it's their fault for getting AIDS because of their drug use." Supposedly needle-sharing happens a lot more when the government is more strict since users are afraid of getting clean ones because of fear of being arrested.
"Fraction of people incarcerated for a drug offense in state prison that are black or Hispanic, although these groups use and sell drugs at similar rates as whites: 2/3"
This is one of the huge reasons why I am a big advocate for legalization. Keep in mind that the U.S. is dominated by white people. I don't like resorting to emotions or name-calling, but if you support keeping drugs illegal, you should carry a sign on you that has the word "RACIST" in neon lights. I guess you could also choose "IGNORANT" or plain "STUPID."
"Number of people arrested for a marijuana law violation in 2012: 749,825
- Number of those charged with marijuana law violations who were arrested for possession only: 658,231 (88 percent)"
"Number of Americans incarcerated in 2011 in federal, state and local prisons and jails: 2,266,800 or 1 in every 99.1 adults, the highest incarceration rate in the world"
"Number of students who have lost federal financial aid eligibility because of a drug conviction: 200,000+"
Students lose their financial aid if they are caught with any drug. I've read a lot of stories about cops who witness nonviolent marijuana smokers sometimes being in jail for longer than rapists and murderers are. Don't even get me started on our prison system. I think Family Guy's "Dial Meg for Murder" did a great job illustrating this. People's lives are ruined after going through all of this - number of years lost, trouble with finding jobs, going to a school that will accept them, etc.
"Number of people killed in Mexico's drug war since 2006: 70,000+"
This is the number one reason why this is a huge deal to me. There is so much gang violence, which of course results in death, even for innocent civilians, because of the War on Drugs. What if I told you that drug cartels are the ones helping to make sure that drugs remain illegal? I seriously can't get why anybody would still be not for legalizing drugs after learning about this. If you're dumb enough, you can tell me that all of these people are dying - being murdered, caught in crossfire, etc. - for other reasons. I really think, literally, if someone was to tell me they are still for upholding our current drug policy after reading or hearing this fact, I would start tearing up. I'm actually getting a bit emotional right now...
Other reasons why I'm for legalization:
Prohibition doesn't work.
Like I mentioned briefly in my
Hempfest post, a store owner from D.C. was telling the audience how there was a synthetic substitute for marijuana that the police force and military would want to buy from his place. In
this video, Milton Friedman claims that crack cocaine would not have existed if it weren't for drug prohibition. There are many substances out there that are
legal, which were made to be a substitute for banned drugs.
Without regulation, who knows what the hell dealers and other people are putting into the drugs, possibly increasing the likelihood of sickness and death.
You know what I find "funny?" When people list some of these reasons for why they are against marijuana prohibition, but then won't even consider legalizing other drugs. I'll save that rant for another post.
Marijuana and MDMA have been found to have medicinal benefits. If people should choose to use those to help heal whatever they have, they should have the right to do so.
So yes, now you know why I have become an activist. I can't morally ignore policies that send people away to jail for something that doesn't harm others, is racially-discriminating, and is the cause of tens of thousands of deaths.
Hopefully, you can, if you haven't already, educate yourself on why the drug war is not working and what we can do to finally end this prohibition and all the grief it causes.
I didn't go too much into detail for a reason. I want you to look at the reports and studies for yourself. Here are some useful links:
http://www.drugpolicy.org/
One thing I can't understand is how people can just ignore this issue as if it doesn't pertain to them. I guess it goes for pretty much every issue out there. Sure, I am an environmentalist, but I can very easily list off people who are more into that sort of activism than I am. I've come to realize that what makes me angry is when people say, "I do believe in legalization, but I don't want to get involved because I don't do drugs." It's a misunderstanding happening here - if you are involved with drug policy activism, then it must mean you do drugs. Let's get more people out there who are willing to show their faces to the world and say, "I don't participate in any drug activity, but I want to educate others on what all the War on Drugs has done to innocent people and get the government to finally end prohibition after decades of needlessly pursuing nonviolent users."
If you have any questions to ask, more useful websites for people to check out, etc., please comment.
EDIT: Check out
this post - and add to the conversation!
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