I read with a certain, sad detachment Froma Harrop’s encouragement to end the war on drugs and to decriminalize them all (Oct. 4). The routine and unremarkable nature of the essay’s appearance made her plea seem almost incidental, just another idea to consider along with one’s position on Benghazi, ISIS or the $10 minimum wage.
Harrop’s central idea, that the war on drugs has not only failed but represents a far greater burden on society than open access to psychoactive street drugs could ever pose, even struck me as long overdue.
You see, Americans have grown tired of so many other traditional challenges. Fewer and fewer men find fatherhood worth their time. Maintaining control of the nation’s borders and of whom we let in has exhausted us, poor dears.
And work? Only suckers work when SSDI checks and EBT cards can be had for the asking.
We’re too weary of leading the civilized world’s defense of freedom to marshal a meaningful response to the latest wave of Muslim fanatics. So, what’s the big deal about our abandonment of the messy struggle against street drugs and adding this minor retreat to the list of our other passive retrenchments?
Harrop seems to suggest that the only drawback to street drugs lies in their traditional and inconvenient criminalization by prudes and rustics who just can’t handle the real freedom to choose.
I can see the public school health posters now: “Kids, remember: Shoot up responsibly … practice safe snorting … friends don’t let friends share needles.”
Leonard Hoy, Greenwood
Send questions/comments to the editors.
