Politics and Dharma

Even if you think you know everything about how the War on Drugs has unfolded, you really ought to read this article in the newest Rolling Stone magazine: How America Lost the War on Drugs.

In a blistering overview of 40 years of failed policy, Ben Wallace-Wells examines the evolving federal efforts from the perspective of presidents, congress, and the parade of drug czars. Repeatedly, we are shown how failed efforts are repeated on escalating scales, while successful efforts are whittled back if not ignored. We are shown in clear detail how our drug interdiction policies have single-handedly created a huge black market of violent gangs of traffickers in Mexico and South America.

Most embarrasingly, the misguided focus on cannabis has consistently been the downfall of federal drug war policy from the beginning. Efforts to use public media to spook or otherwise encourage teens from smoking dope were tried repeatedly, with consistently minimal results. The federal raids on medi-pot growers and patients were viewed — even by many at the Federal level — as excessive and unnecessary. All the while, drug trafficking in cocaine and meth continued unabated and rarely targeted.

What surprised me most in this report was the number of times the White House started to do the right thing. Out of all of the techniques used to reduce overall drug use, the only thing that showed any reliable and consistent promise was drug treatment. Military interdiction, user-level busts, and televised propaganda were consistently shown to be ineffective at reducing drug use. Attempts at the federal level to shift the focus of action away from incarceration and towards effective treatment programs were repeatedly blocked or unfunded. Who knew?

I hope that this article brings out a new line of debate in the presidential election in such a way that whoever takes office is encouraged to learn the mistakes of history and end cannabis prohibition.