More headlines: Harry Browne on Drugs

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Only politicians pretend we’re winning insane War on Drugs

“I have never met anyone who believes we’re winning the insane War on Drugs. But politicians love to pretend that we are,” said Harry Browne. “Millions of Americans know that the Drug War is a cruel and brutal failure.” Browne pointed out that many of those armed criminals are drug dealers. “Only Libertarians want to end the nightmare of Prohibition - with its criminal gangs and drive-by shootings.”

“Besides,” argued Browne, “the Drug War has led to the trampling of the Bill of Rights. And that’s the central issue with both guns and drugs: the U.S. Senate has no business violating your constitutional rights, no matter how noble the cause.“ Browne concluded, ”On my first day in office, I will pardon all federal, non-violent drug and gun offenders. And during my term, I will lead the fight to end the insane War on Drugs, and to remove federal gun-control laws from the books.“

Source: Press Release “The Non-Sense of the Senate” May 20, 2000

Politicians apply drug laws to others and not themselves

Q: Do you think candidates should acknowledge past drug use? A: The worst kind of drug warriors in Congress say, “Put ‘em in prison for life and throw away the key” and then their son is caught with drugs and he gets off with a reduced sentence - that’s hypocrisy. If a Libertarian candidate is caught with marijuana, he says “Everybody should be free to do it,” so there’s no hypocrisy. He may not think it’s a best idea in the world, but people should be free to do it. Source: The Alan Colmes Show, WEBD NY 1050 AM Aug 26, 1999

Drug-related problems result from prohibition, not drugs

Companies like Seagram’s and Johnny Walker do not hire kids to enforce their territories. All of these things result from Prohibition and they have existed with prohibition throughout all of recorded history. Source: The Alan Colmes Show, WEBD NY 1050 AM Aug 26, 1999

Like 1920s Prohibition, govt intrudes on civil liberties

Our cities have become totally unsafe: drive-by shootings, children caught in the crossfire, kids carrying guns to school because they’re drug runners, all of these trappings of prohibition which we saw in the 1920s and we’re seeing all over again with the war on drugs. It’s not going to end so long as the government keeps intruding on our civil liberties, promising that if they just snoop enough in your bank account, if they just start reading your e-mail, that they can stop this drug flow. Source: Matt Drudge, ‘The Drudge Report,’ Fox News Jul 31, 1999

Re-legalizing drugs would end many social ills

Understandably, many Americans fear that ending the Drug War would produce hundreds of thousands of addicts, crack babies, children trying drugs, and other evils. But that’s what we have now. Relegalizing drugs would eliminate the criminal black market - ending the violence, the incentive to hook children, and the production of bad drugs that destroy people. And addicts could seek medical help openly and inexpensively -- instead of hiding their habits from the law. Source: http://www.harrybrowne2000.org/ “7 Ways” 5/16/99 Jul 13, 1998

We can’t win the Drug War; escalating makes it worse.

Nothing can win the Drug War, [so] it is constantly escalated -- destroying more of your liberties with asset forfeiture laws, drug-testing, and monitoring your financial transactions. This has caused too many Americans to disrespect the law itself. Despite these terrible costs, drug use continues unabated. Libertarians can see how much safer America will be without the nightmare of Prohibition -- just as the crime rate plummeted when alcohol Prohibition ended. Source: http://www.harrybrowne2000.org/ “7 Ways” 5/16/99 Jul 13, 1998

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