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“And a huge percentage of drug overdoses occur because drugs are illegal.”

Every time a story like this comes out the libertarians start talking pure BS about legalizing drugs to save lives. It won’t work...you will have a generation of addicts and deaths in 2 years...it’s a deadly fantasy!!

Drug use has historically gone up post criminalization. Most libertarians do believe at the margin that drug legalization/decriminialization will save lives but its primarily about whether or not the government has the right to regulate this (especially at the federal level), whether giving non-violent people a criminal record is a good idea since you basically permanently pidgeon hole them into the criminal world forever, whether or not giving violent gangs a lot of money is a good idea, and whether we as a society want to pay upwards of $100B a year for courts, enforcement, and incarceration of non-violent offenders. Add on an increased police state, etc - The war on drugs has failed as badly as alcohol prohibition did. If someone wants drugs today, they'll get them - more than half of drug deaths today are already legal prescription and OTC drugs.

This in general though is like #20 on the list of things to get to, though, and is fairly low priority (although a decent # of people put MJ as a higher priority). Personally, my drug of choice is a 6pk of beer on the weekend.

Every time a story like this comes out the libertarians start talking pure BS about legalizing drugs to save lives.

It ain't about saving lives, it's about repudiating Tyranny.

"Small government conservatives" can't legitimately support an ever-expanding police state, with ever-expanding powers that trample Constitutional rights. Just because some weak people want to destroy their lives doesn't mean you put them in prison for owning the wrong plant, chemical, medicine, or liquid spirits. That is Tyranny which fully negates any self-righteous impulses. If they commit a real crime, fine.

No knock warrants—illegal surveillance—a police state—you're right: libertarians aren't willing to sell out our minimal government principles in the name of expediency and nanny-state Tyranny, unlike some so-called "conservatives". It's authoritarians like that who are shoveling the "pure BS"...

I guess we're lucky we have the WaPo to keep us hysterically informed about the need to perpetuate the phony "War on Drugs".

Education, not legislation, is the answer. Authoritarian shortcuts which trample the Constitution are not a legitimate expression of "concern"...