Wednesday, July 18, 2012

calling babe ruth

I am a news addict.

I start my day with breakfast (or lunch. depending when I manage to roust myself from my bed) on the patio.  Accompanied by my former hometown newspaper.

At times I feel as if I am reading about a distant planet.  The current budgetary mud wrestling is the antithesis of my edenic existence.

What amazes me is that I have heard no one in The States take a serious look at what strikes me as one of the most obvious ways to cut governmental spending.  (For the moment, let's just assume that the revenues currently available to the various levels of American government are the only funds available.)

The president elect of Mexico recently made a comment that caused me to do a little research and to pull out my calculator.
 
The United States incarcerates more people than any other nation.  That is not necessarily a bad thing.  As a criminal defense attorney, I quickly learned I was glad Oregon had prisons.  There are some rather evil characters that need to be kept away from the rest of the public.  And prisons are a good place for them.

But the majority (or thereabouts, depending on the state) of inmates are not violent offenders.  They are prisoners of war in the War on Drugs.  People who have violated one or other drug law, and are imprisoned for no other reason.

When Peña Nieto suggested it might be time to look at legalizing drugs, he was not talking merely about Mexico.  After all, Mexico has allowed possession of small amounts of all types of drugs for three years (a hole in the dike). 

But the tens of thousands of Mexicans, who have died in the Mexican drug wars, have not died because of a Mexican drug problem.  They died because of an American drug problem.  The wars are about transportation routes to The States.

If all that sounds familiar, it should.  It is exactly the same type of gang wars and government-inflicted deaths that happened in The States during Prohibition.

And that is only one of the lessons of the 1920s we have forgotten.  Almost every argument used against legalizing the sale and manufacture of alcohol is now used against the legalization of illegal drugs.

I will also concede that those of us on the legalization side must concede other points.  Legalizing alcohol did not solve America's alcohol problems.  Alcohol is still the number one drug addiction in The States.  But no one seriously talks about going back to the days of Prohibition.

We have learned our lesson.  Or so we say.  For some reason, we cannot extrapolate the lessons we learned with alcohol to illegal drugs.

I once thought that it was because the number of alcohol users made the first Prohibition politically prohibitive.  If that is the case, time may be on the side of legalization.

According to a recent study, 47% of Americans over the age of 14 have tried at least one illegal drug during their lifetime.  The largest percentage, of course, is for marijuana.  But cocaine and hallucinogens were close behind.

But most Americans seen to dabble and then move on to alcohol as their drug of choice.  The same study shows that only 8% of Americans used drugs in the previous month.  If you strip out marijuana users, the number drops to 2%.

Recent polls have shown, for the first time, a majority of Americans are in favor of legalizing marijuana.  That wall has been eroding over the past decade with the approval of medical marijuana laws.  A reform that was far more political, than medical.

And that is undoubtedly where the breach will occur.

The question now is who will lead the charge?  It cannot be the Democrat Party.  The Republicans stole their law enforcement clothes back in the 1980s.  And they are now as vulnerable on crime and defense as the Republicans are on social security and medicare.

And the leadership, unfortunately, must start in Washington, DC.  When Congress nationalized the drug issue (in my opinion, without any constitutional authority), it took away the ability of the states to do what they are guaranteed under our federal system: to address local issues with creative solutions.

If drug legalization is to occur, it will never come from any politician who has admitted to using drugs in the past.  Anyone can see how that would play out politically.

It will need to come from someone who is squeaky clean on the drug issue, but who is also able to persuasively argue that any government program that is not working should be terminated.  And the War on Drugs seems to top that list.  Perhaps that is the reason a large group of libertarians and conservative Republicans have long opposed America's current drug policy.

There is tax money to be saved and political laurels to be burnished if the right leader will step up to the plate and hit a home run.

I just hope one is running for president this year.  If not, I am certain someone is warming up in the batter's box.
 

36 comments:

norm said...

Way way too much money in the industry of keeping people in steel cages to ever think about what your change in national policy would mandate. You're putting cops, social workers, judges, probation officers, jailers, and who knows, who else out of work.  It must be something like 5% of GNP, we can not have it! Keeping evil potheads in jail is for the public good-see the above... 

John Calypso said...

"The United States incarcerates more people than any other nation. "

It seems that the legal and prison industries thrive on illegal drugs. The lawyers are a powerful lobby - WHY would they want to kill that cash cow?  Drugs are too big a business to look the other way on.

Of course I am in total agreement with you and Felipe on this one - but much like being a libertarian, legal drugs is a pipe dream.

Felipe Zapata said...

Amen.

Tancho said...

Now you have to explain why intelligent people with sound ideas like yours don't run for president?
Nevermind....as Emily would say we all know the reasons.....follow the money, until the financial benefit from the Large Jail corporation of America is removed, the war on drugs will continue.......
All we can do is carry on the less govmint is better idea and try to convince others.
Great post!

sparks said...

First allow the growing of industrial hemp

NW said...

Wow, okay open the floodgates, here it comes.... I struggle with this one from both sides. Working in the prison industry (Cash Cow, NOT, there are plenty of sex offenders, and in the female case, "identity thieves", to keep the prisons flowing for a good many centuries), the problem I see is Meth, (Cocaine and Heroin, yeah those too, but by a wide margin Meth) Meth is just NOT a drug that can be taken lightly or managed. It is not pot smokers we have in prison, it's meth heads that beat their kids and wives and steal every bit of ANYTHING they can get their grubby, lighter burnt hands on. Legalize meth and you got a real zombie/vampire movie happening. Legalize pot, big deal (other than production dollars that will not be going to Mexico) everyone who wants to smoke weed already does without much fanfare. On the other hand, I would like to quit sending our weed dollars south of the border so you retired guys can benefit from it. I say tax the stink out of marijuana and use those billions. I understand the lion share of growing is already done in the US and tearing up our public land, so give the bucks to the real farmers. My two pesos :)

Steve Cotton said...

I agree that meth addiction is not pretty.  But if meth users commit other crimes, prison awaits them, just as it does for people who commit crimes as a result of alcohol abuse.  Meth is available under drug Prohibition and there is little indication its use would grow beyond the less than1% of the population that uses it regularly.

Legalization is not a social panacea.  It will not fix the underlying cause why Americans, by far, regularly use more illegal drugs than any other nation.  But it will put an end to most of the drug-related violence.

Steve Cotton said...

The fact that industrial hemp is illegal under the current law is perhaps the best evidence of how silly the law is.

Steve Cotton said...

You are correct, Norm. Any reform would meet the same opposition that other spending cuts meet.  But it seems like low-hanging fruit to me.

Steve Cotton said...

Public opinion on marijuana has moved far enough that it may be the legalization target.  But it would be the first step.

I have never quite understood why so many Americans are fascinated with drugs.

Steve Cotton said...

I knew I would simply be preaching to the choir director.

Steve Cotton said...

Thanks, Tancho.  I had my stint as a candidate.  Never again!

NW said...

Legalization of alcohol did indeed stop the majority of distribution and gang related violence, but the usage goes on and increases.. If the usage of Meth increases, just a half % to 1.5% (according to your statistic) there will be over 4 million zombies running around at 3:00 AM........   RUN!!!
What killed the majority of opium usage (Laudanum being the scourge of the 17th and18th centuries) worldwide was not legalization, it was fighting it. Also, keep in mind that the greatest power on earth at that time, (the cartel if you will) did not want that to happen.

Steve Cotton said...

It is not a perfect solution and there are risks.  One of the risks is that we need to learn how to best live in a fallen world with grace and to see our neighbors as thirsty seekers.  I keep coming back to why Americans seek solace in drugs more often than other nationalities.

NW said...

Wow, as with most gvt agencies (Steve you know this too) perception is so much different than reality. I have worked in the prison industry in Oregon for over 11 yrs. I am in and out of every prison in the state and communicate with inmates daily. To date I have not met one inmate in for marijuana; that being possession, distribution, sales or anything. Inmates in for drugs are not in for pot, period. I am sure that cops write a LOT of tickets, and bust a lot of traffickers. Alas, the traffickers are Mexican and get deported; great money maker there.

NW said...

 OOOOuch, yah had to throw the "neighbor" thing in there  :)   It kills me to see people look to an empty god for hope, which I too have done. I want to smash the golden calf to pieces, not just paint it a different color.

Cmoore said...

One of my old professor's (Milton Friedman) used some very similar arguments to support exactly your position.

Steve Cotton said...

And he was correct -- as he was about a lot of other policies.

Steve Cotton said...

I have been facilitating discussion on What's so Amazing About Grace the last six Sunday mornings.  Every time I go through the series, it makes me realize just how far short we continue to fall short of living a grace-full life.

Steve Cotton said...

When I was practicing there were quite a few growers that went to prison.  Of course, that was Clackamas County -- where we specialized in customized vice.  Maybe times have changed.

Andean said...

Maybe it's just a big deal in America, and not everywhere else. 
Mingling with so many nationalities, I don't see much of a difference as to what people find solace in, why would drugs be any different, and the list goes on. A human thing not an American one...

NW said...

 I'm guessing that was back in the day when the growers were still US citizens? That would be before my time in Corrections. The "growers" I hear about now get a free ticket south. As I said, I have not met one inmate incarcerated on a marijuana related crime to date. I asked around after I popped off this morning about it and one of my coworkers said he does now of a guy in Ontario on a ride for possession (a truck load). When were you in Clackamas? I thought you were employed in a mutual business for years?

NW said...

Sounds like Paul.

Andean said...

Would have to be enlightened as to who "Paul" is.

Steve Cotton said...

I am certain NW means the apostle.

Steve Cotton said...

NW -- I was in private practice in Clackamas County between 1979 and 1989.

Rick said...

Steve, you are spending too much time in your garden ;-)

Marijuana is legal here in California and many other states already. Right now you can drive around L.A. and see more cannabis dispensaries than MacDonalds or Seven Elevens.Most dispensaries are paying market rent, payroll and other legitimate taxes. This makes their product much more expensive than the illegal street product. So the underground continues robustly.

I feel that this softening of Pot laws might be lessening the consumption of alcohol and that would be good but that's just my guess.

A short time ago the L.A.P.D. did a test of driver skills under the influence of cannabis and could not prove it created dangerous driving. Much safer than alcohol. 

NW said...

Sorry Andean for the clear as mud, I was indeed referring to the apostle guy. He's the guy that
said, "the evil I do not want to do I keep doing" - Bottom line, Man,
(or your take"human thing") is an evil wretched mess that without grace is doomed.

And yes Steve, that was a tad before my time and also before cartels took over the US growing operations.

Steve Cotton said...

You put your finger on a very important point.  If illegal drugs are legalized, they need to be subject to free market forces.  If the government artificially increases prices through taxation, the cartels will not go away.  Unfortunately, we have developed a "tax the minority, as long as I am not part of that minority" mentality.  But that is for another discussion.

NW said...

Hehehe, I graduated high school in '79

Steve Cotton said...

It appears I have a good decade on you.  And a good decade it was.

Rick said...

They are just paying sales tax like anything else sold.

Steve Cotton said...

Nothing wrong with that.  But that still leaves the question unanswered: who is setting the artificially high price?  The state?

Rick said...

Not to belabor this issue but the legal pot stores can charge whatever they like.  The government is not involved with their operations and there is absolutely NO regulation. In most areas no permits to establish their business, no license except a City business license. This is a very "free market" and they are trying to make a profit.
The smugglers have much lower overhead. 

Rvhund said...

Let me add my two cents here.  The cartels have a very nice, lucrative trade now.  They are not about to give that up.  They will just adjust their product line just as the Mafia did after prohibition.  They went out of booze and into the drug trade.

I tremble to think of the next product they will bring on line.

Bob Gill
 

Steve Cotton said...

Without doubt, criminals will continue pandering to our vices.  The mistake is that government believes it can make us better.  And it never works.