We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men.
The Declaration of Independence
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
The United States Constitution
After 227 years, the United States is much closer, but still a long way from it’s Ideal.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE is very clear. We…You and I… ALL MEN (as in ALL HUMANS, and not just Americans) have the unalienable right to do what makes us happy as long as we don’t deprive another person of their rights. This is a Truth, this is Nature’s law, this is God’s law.
This includes the right to use drugs.
AMMENDMENT I speaks directly to establishing Religion through Laws that attempt enforce “morals”. These laws violate the unalienable rights of all people. These laws are destined to fail.
Morals are behaviors that do not violate the rights of others, they only violate a religious (moral) doctrine. Morals vary between religions, they vary within religions. Morals have no place in Government, they are Religion. Even Jesus said “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.”
If you look at the results of prohibiting vices (enforcing morality), you will find that the cost to society is so much greater than the actual damages done by the vices themselves. Most of the examples that are given as the consequences of vices are actually the consequences of the prohibition of the vice.
Good examples of this are Gambling, Prohibition (of alcohol) and Prostitution ( in Nevada Counties). They were illegal, now they are legal. They were serious problems for society when they were illegal, now they are a major source of Revenue. Yes there are some problems, but they are generally minor and under control and equivalent to other problems facing society. (e.g. Cell phone users and sleepy drivers have comparable accident rates as DUI drivers.)
AMMENDMENT IX speaks directly to the unalienable rights listed in the Declaration of Independence.
I submit that the Supreme Court should find any law that violates a person’s Rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness to be Unconstitutional, (I need a better word than Unconstitutional.) no matter what the Constitution says. It is the duty of the Government to secure these unalienable rights for the people. The Constitution was incorporated to regulate our Government and secure these rights. It is the duty of The Supreme Court to regulate the laws our Government enforces, even if the Government attempts to Constitutionally circumvent these rights.
A dictatorship of the majority is still a dictatorship. Tyranny is Tyranny even if it is a Democratic Tyranny. Ask any minority member whether this is true. (Think “Jim Crow”.) To fine or incarcerate a drug user simply because he uses a drug violates his unalienable rights. You don’t punish many innocent people because you are afraid that one person will commit an real crime.
In terms of “The Drug Problem”: The actual drug problems will not worsen if drugs are legalized. Actual drug problems are similar to the problems of abuse of alcohol, tobacco, gambling, sex, guns, automobiles, inhalants, power and so on. The key word is abuse.
Contrary to the drug paranoia encouraged by politicians, the actual drug problems are similar to alcohol problems in that they affect only a very small portion of the population. The “average” drug user is no more a danger to society or to you than the “average” alcohol user, or the “average” cell phone user.
Just today I was reading in the newspaper about how the war on drugs is feeding insurgency and anti-American backlash in Bolivia. The same thing is happening in most of South America. (Does it surprise you that in South America, cocaine use is not a problem? Maybe the real problem is prohibition.)
If we repeal the prohibition on drugs, the major difference is that we will no longer be forced to suffer “The Prohibition Problem”. The Prohibition Problem includes: Neighborhoods under attack, turf wars, killings, crossfire, innocent victims, police death and injury, accidental overdoses, the spread of diseases, imprisonment, lost revenue, lost taxes, money for enforcement, money for gangs, money for drug cartels, money for terrorists.
I submit that instead of Prohibiting drugs, we need to Regulate drugs. Sell them only in liquor/drug stores. Require labeling of potency, overdose potential – LD 50 (dose at which 50% of users will die), addiction potential, addiction/overdose hot-line number, side effects, health risks, withdrawal symptoms, withdrawal risks, potential risks to society. In short, whatever information is necessary for a responsible adult to make an informed decision on whether to use a particular drug.
Eliminate the Millions of dollars wasted on the war on drugs. Redirect the Billions of dollars of drug money from the criminals and terrorists to U.S. farmers and corporations and to the U.S. economy. Our economy needs the money.
Tax drugs. Use the tax money for health and addiction treatment centers.
Prohibit public intoxication. Prohibit drug advertising except in the liquor/drug stores. Make it clear that if you choose to use drugs, you are expected to use drugs responsibly, that we will hold you responsible if you do not, but that we will help you if you need help.
If we end prohibition on drugs we will not only eliminate many of the drug problems, but more importantly, we will eliminate all of the drug prohibition problems.
But that’s just my opinion.