Ted Galen Carpenter Writes :

” In an article over at CNN.com, I discuss a new study that confirms that the war on drugs is an expensive failure. That report from BMJ Open, an affiliate of the British Medical Journal, reaches the damning conclusion, supported by compelling evidence, that drug warriors have consistently failed to achieve their stated objectives.

Among other findings, the report documents that inflation-adjusted and purity-adjusted prices of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin have all decreased dramatically since 1990. That was true in such geographically distinct areas as Europe, the United States, and Australia. In other words, illegal drugs are plentiful and cheap around the world, and there is no indication that the trend is likely to change.

We need to recognize that our second fling with prohibition, this time with respect to such drugs as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin, hasn’t worked any better than the first. Indeed, the current version has led to even worse consequences. It is well past time to terminate the futile, disastrous war on drugs. The BMJ Open study gives an abundance of new evidence why the United States needs to set a good example and lead the world away from the folly of drug prohibition.”