Free Republic

From certain precincts on the left, notably Barney Frank, to certain precincts on the right, notably the editorial page of National Review, we are witnessing a new push to end the so-called war on drugs and legalize drug use, starting with marijuana. Indeed, Ron Paul, Barney Frank's co-sponsor in the latest legislative effort, said recently he would go so far as to legalize heroin. It's a bad idea. My friends at National Review begin their case by stating the illegalization of drugs has "curtailed personal freedom, created a violent black market and filled our prisons." But the legalization of drugs,...

Bad Trip kills the government's anti-drug buzz. A Reason interview    October 6, 2004 Tripped Up Joel Miller's Bad Trip kills the government's anti-drug buzz. A Reason interview Jeremy Lott Joel Miller's first book, Bad Trip: How the War Against Drugs is Destroying America, is a devastating examination of government anti-drug policies. Publishers Weekly calls the book a "well-researched, bitingly written account," and "a formidable challenge to the reigning prohibitionist orthodoxy." Miller, a former aide for the California legislature, is a veteran of several now-defunct online startups (including the libertarian e-zine Real Mensch) and the former commentary editor at WorldNetDaily.com....

<p>For those who oppose the federal government's disastrous war on drugs, there are many things to dislike about the Bush Administration, not the least of which is its shameless—and dangerous—use of the war on terror to prop up the failed drug war and the accompanying $18 billion dollar bureaucracy. And there is no indication that four more years of a Bush presidency will offer anything but more of the same.</p>

The old failures of new and improved anti-drug education I’m at the February 2001 Teens at the Table conference, a feel-good event sponsored by a coalition of Los Angeles youth organizations and high schools. It’s designed to boost self-esteem and teach teenagers how to make smart decisions. In one of the sessions, a group of students is about to learn how easy it is to stay off drugs. It doesn’t require anything as lame as red ribbons or "Just Say No" chants. It just takes knowing what constitutes a healthy decision -- one that is all your own -- coupled...

NEW SPECIAL TO AIR JULY 30 AT 10 PM EST ON ABC How many wars can America fight? Now that we're at war against terrorism, can we afford to also fight a drug wars in Afghanistan, Colombia, and against millions of our own people? Is it wise to fight on two fronts? Should drugs be legalized? John Stossel asks whether some of the world's biggest problems stem not from the drugs themselves, but from the prohibition of drugs, in an ABC News special, "War on Drugs, A War On Ourselves With John Stossel." Stossel interviews drug sellers and users, farmers...

The administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Asa Hutchinson, told a Senate subcommittee Wednesday that reducing the demand for illicit drugs in the United States will weaken the financial structure that supports terrorist groups. "There is a great concern about the connection, and overwhelming evidence of the connection between the terrorists' activities and drug trafficking activities," he said. Hutchinson, a former federal prosecutor and U.S. Representative from Arkansas, detailed an elaborate network of terrorist organizations providing protection and transportation for narcotics traffickers, and even direct involvement in drug distribution. "There is multi-source information that Osama bin Laden, himself, has been...