When the most successful people in an inner-city neighborhood are outlaws, the natural order of the community is inverted. The enormous profits generated by prohibition make a mockery of the work ethic and parental authority. Honesty, respect for private property, and all the other hallmarks of a civilized society are casualties of prohibition. We repealed the prohibition of alcohol because it produced crime, corruption, and social chaos. Now we are making the same mistakes and suffering the same consequences.
Drug prohibition is a classic example of throwing money at a problem.
President Clinton's drug czar has now formally announced that the War on Drugs will be endless. The federal government has usurped the power of states and communities to determine their own policies, and the prosecution of the drug war has caused federal law enforcement agencies to grow at the expense of state and local police. Most recently, the Clinton administration refuses to accept the decision of the people of Arizona and California to allow the medical use of marijuana, and is threatening to arrest doctors who abide by state law. The U.S. government has always seized on wars and emergencies to expand its own powers at the expense of states, individuals, and the Constitution. There was a time in this country when the government was only allowed to punish someone after he was convicted in a court of law.