Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, columnist William F. Buckley and former Secretary of State George Shultz have all denounced the drug war as an infringement on individual freedom and choice. But the small cadre of new GOP drug reformers like Campbell and Johnson represent a new phenomenon. I am a traditional Republican in that I value smaller government, limited government, and the drug war seems the opposite of that. But what really persuades me, candidly, is the pragmatics of it. I was full of optimism, even though flower growers in my district were furious.
Interdiction is a losing game.
Extermination of the drug crop is a losing game. Campbell began to rethink his drug-policy position almost by accident. I became convinced that the drug war as we know it now is a dead end. Then we've got to take away the incentive for violence, for getting the money to buy drugs or for fighting over turf to sell it. The Democrats, of course, have their drug reformers.