Drug laws constitute an initiation of force and are therefore unethical according those who define acts of aggression as unethical, such as libertarians. Libertarian theory would posit that such unethical regulation will have a detrimental impact on society versus allowing unregulated voluntary association. A blue-ribbon commission composed of police officers, academics, and politicians assembled by the Police Foundation of Britain concluded that Britain's War on Drugs "produces more harm than it prevents." They also call for reducing acts of state-sponsored aggression against cannabis, LSD, and ecstasy users: ======================================================================= http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/2000-03/30/158l-033000-idx.html ======================================================================= EXCERPT OF ARTICLE British Commission Concludes Tough Drug Law 'Produces More Harm' By T. R. Reid Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday, March 30, 2000; Page A14 LONDON, March 29 -- The swinging '60s were lively and creative years in this country as Britain exported cultural phenomena that caught on around the world--the Beatles, the miniskirt, etc. But the freewheeling decade also had its dark side. There was an explosion in drug use, and by 1971 the government reported that Britain had nearly 3,000 known drug addicts, an alarming figure to officials. This disturbing news led to a tough new criminal statute, the Misuse of Drugs Act, which triggered an American-style war on drugs. The result? Over the three decades since the law was passed, drug offenses have risen tenfold; the number of known addicts now tops 43,000. Britain has the toughest drug laws in Western Europe--and the fastest rate of growth in drug use. To figure out why the law failed to meet its goals, the national Police Foundation set up a blue-ribbon commission of police officers, academics and politicians to conduct a two-year study of British drug policy. The group's report, "Drugs and the Law," came out this week and concluded that the 1971 law is actually too tough, at least on such "soft" drugs as marijuana and the psychedelic substances LSD and ecstasy. "The present law," the commission concluded, "produces more harm than it prevents." Most drug crimes in Britain involve marijuana--about 80,000 of the 115,000 drug cases each year. But polls show that most Britons consider marijuana--or "cannabis," as it is known here--less dangerous than tobacco. The tough stance on marijuana, therefore, has made people distrust drug laws in general because it focuses on a drug they don't think is dangerous, thus undermining "credibility, respect for law and the police, and accurate education messages," the study says. [...] READ THE FULL WASHINGTON POST REPORT: ======================================================================= http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/2000-03/30/158l-033000-idx.html ======================================================================= ------------------------------------------------------------ GODDARD'S JOURNAL: http://www.erols.com/igoddard/journal.htm ____________________________________________________________
