To continuously repeat a futile action is a definition of insanity.
A good example of such insanity is the so-called War on Drugs. At the coffee shop this week, a saddened Lucius Flatley apologized to the coffee drinkers for “beating a dead horse.” He said he realized the drug war “is an old topic, so heavy it sinks as soon as it is launched,” but his conscience demanded one more try.
“If facts matter,” he said, “even the most fervid DEA cop would give some thought to decriminalizing drugs. I realize that Congress is busy with each politician’s personal struggle to win the next election and that we can’t expect anything worthwhile from Washington – but I hope and pray that facts and figures on jails and prisons and crime will convince at least one or two of you folks that the war on drugs is a catastrophe, a ruination, a disaster.”
He presented the following facts concerning the effect of the drug war on prisons:
• When Ronald Reagan took office, 500,000 people were under lock and key in various U.S. penal institutions. Today, there are 2.3 million.
• Probation and parole enmeshes another 5 million in the criminal system.
• The United States has larger relative prison population than any nation in the world – seven times that of Europe. The U.S. has 743 prisoners per 100,000 people versus England with 154 per 100,000 and China 188 per 100,000.
• Two thirds of all prosecutions involve drug-related crime, and such criminals now comprise at least one third of the U.S. prison population – and as many as half on probation and parole.
• Prisoner costs have skyrocketed 1,200 percent in 30 years.
• Prison and enforcement costs are eroding taxes and, at the same time, stripping money from worthwhile purposes. In California, for example, education has dropped from 10 percent of the state budget to 7.5, while prison costs have increased from 3 percent to 11 percent.
• The taxpayer furnishes prisoners with clothing, shelter, food, medical care, religious facilities, TV – and don’t forget free dentists.
• Crime to obtain money for drug purchase is a direct result of extreme drug prices – prices solely because it is illegal. A gram of cocaine has a production cost of less than $2 and marijuana can be grown in the back yard for nothing more than sunlight and a little water.
• The United States spends $65 billion annually on illegal drug enforcement and punishment of one type or another – approximately the same amount spent on education.
• Drugs were common throughout U.S. history with essentially no drug-related social problems, until ambitious politicians looking for ways get ink made these substances illegal. The frosting was put on the cake by that master politician, Richard Nixon, who created the monster we have today known as the war on drugs.
Canceling the drug war should appeal to both Republicans and Democrats – Republicans because it would reduce taxes on the rich and Democrats because more poor people could afford them.
Devil’s Dictionary Quote of the Week
Drugs: Substances that produce the same effect as religion – but with worse side effects. Not to be confused with harmless substances such as alcohol or tobacco.
Rodney Quinn, a former Maine secretary of state, lives in Gorham. He can be reached at rquinn@maine.rr.com.
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