Liberty Pen: Thomas Sowell: 'Why Drugs Should Be Legalized'

Source:Liberty Pen- Professor Thomas Sowell: no fan of the War on Drugs.

"Professor Sowell understood the economic and social dynamics of drug illegality more than 25 years ago."

From Liberty Pen

I'm not ready to legalize all narcotics in America even as a Liberal but we definitely need a new policy on how we deal with narcotics in America. And move away from criminalization and prohibition and to a system thats based around decriminalization.

Decriminalization would mean we would no longer arrest people and send them to jail or prison for simple possession or usage of narcotics. Meaning cocaine, heroin unless they commit other crimes while under the influence. But instead they would pay a fine for it and be stripped of those narcotics and addicts or people caught under the influence of cocaine, heroin or meth or addicts would instead be sent to drug rehab at their expense. Where they would stay until their doctor clears them and feels they have been rehabilitated and no longer want those narcotics.

We would save billions of tax dollars each year with an approach like this in law enforcement as well as with our corrections system. Instead of making criminals out of people who use narcotics we would get them the help that they need. And get them off of those narcotics.

As far as marijuana: again as I've blogged before we are talking about a drug that has similar side effects as alcohol or tobacco. That if anything people would be better off smoking and using marijuana rather than tobacco. But because of the influence that the alcohol and tobacco industries have on our politicians in this country, marijuana is illegal so we should legalize marijuana and regulate and tax it like alcohol.