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The Drug War’s Attack on Freedom

Sep 15 2008

The Drug War’s Attack on Freedom

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By MWC NEWS

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The Drug War’s Attack on Freedom
by Jacob G. Hornberger

Mackenzie Phillips, daughter of the founder of the Mamas and Papas pop group and a former star in the television sitcom “One Day at a Time,” was arrested last week and charged with possession of narcotics. The arrest took place while Phillips was going through the security screening at Los Angeles International Airport.

There are two things wrong with this picture.

First, aren’t those airport security checkpoints intended to stop terrorists and hijackers, not drug addicts? Why should airport gendarmes have the authority to take people into custody for possession of items that are unrelated to terrorism or hijacking?

More fundamentally, why should the government have the authority to punish any person for possession of drugs? Of course, that is the central moral challenge to the drug war itself.

Why shouldn’t a person be free to possess or ingest any substance, no matter how harmful? Isn’t that a necessary part of the concept of individual freedom. If the government can send an adult to his room for ingesting non-approved substances, how can people in that society honestly be considered free?

Why shouldn’t the state simply leave people like Mackenzie Phillips alone? Sure, the woman seems to have a drug problem. According to the Associated Press, back in 1982 she lost her job at “One Day at a Time” because of drug-related charges. But isn’t that her business? What business does the state have punishing her for a drug addiction?

Why not just punish those people who violate the rights of others and leave everyone else alone? Isn’t that what we do with people who ingest alcohol?

Meanwhile, the bodies of 24 men were recently found outside Mexico City, victims of the latest battles between rival drug gangs. In other parts of Mexico, 17 other people were killed last week, some of whom had been decapitated. According to the Reforma newspaper, 3,148 people have been killed in drug-related violence just this year.

Arrests of drug addicts, gang wars, and murders and executions. Just another week in the life of the 30-year-old war on drugs. With no end in sight.

Isn’t it time to bring all this abuse, death, and destruction to a stop? Isn’t it time to simply repeal the drug war?

Jacob Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation.

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Comments (1)

1. 15-09-2008 17:24

The Unbelievable War on Drugs

They know that history and science is against this War on Drugs. So they do their best to intimidate and make people fear. Fear is the only tool they have, because
they are running out of scienrific nor political argument to continuo this war that has cause trillions of dollars and have not given us much results.

In any other business they would have been out of business. If they would have spended all of this money in public health and treatment we would have not have the half of
the problems we have now with drugs. We wouldN'T have people shooting dope under xpressway and leaving their syringes behind because they are affraid that the cops
are going to bust them for posession of resedue for only carring a syringe. We would have been doing research about the best use for marijuana and what it
ails people.

Drugs have efficacy or else people wouldn't
be doing them and if they get in trouble with using or changing them too much, they could go to treatment. Instead they have driven a whole system of people undergroud like they were rats. It is basically racist in nature and disigned to disfranchise parts of our community and keep them unemployed, with out civil rights, the right to vote and be full participants of our community. The hawks creat a fear that this people are imoral and not decent. What is worse is that we have to double check ALL of this
statistics and guesstimates because they are questionable of the scientific method. The hawks wants to keep us in this war and they are outright lieing.

The Drug Free Workplace statistics have been lieing all the time. They were mearly guesstimates created by wishful
thinking individuals who believe that working marijuana users would be stealing from their employers. Creating fear for
employers and creating all of those drug test industry. Lies lies and more lies. We must complain, it is none of my employers business what I do after work and I will not embarress them on purpose. All it has been massive misinformation in the name of puritan believes and at the sake of numerous
people who can not find work because arrest and frequently false positive test.

Guest

franco33139ca@hotmail.comNOSPAM! ">Carlos

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