[*BCM*] Drugs
John Hays
jjhays2 at gmail.com
Fri Sep 28 12:47:56 EDT 2007
I'm not sure what "shitstorm of misery" you think will follow. The
overwhelming majority of misery currently caused by drugs is the direct
result of their criminalization. The most obvious, and frankly, the most
evil side effect of drug prohibition is that it means the State utilizes
violence against people who engage in actions which are wholly
consensual and violate the rights of nobody. This is the starkest
example of deliberately inflicted misery I can think of: the violent
deprivation of liberty. The practical, organizational consequences of
the Drug War regarding the government are: billions upon billions of
dollars wasted, the militarization of the police force, and the gradual
erosion of the citizenry's right to privacy. The last is a necessary
consequence, because if the government is going to utilize violence
against people for engaging in 'victimless crimes' ('crimes' in which
nobody's rights are violated), then they can't rely on the usual
indicators of criminal behavior: a victim complaining to the police.
Instead, to catch people engaging in 'criminal behavior' in their own
homes, the government must necessarily expand its surveillance powers
and rely on dubious 'drug informants,' (read: career criminals) to rat
out nonviolent offenders.
Additionally, criminalization of drugs has other negative
consequences for society: it makes drugs more scarce, which raises
prices, and as I said before, induces some marginal drug users to
property theft to fund their habit. Drug laws also necessarily create a
'black market,' which is subject to control by criminal organizations,
and also endangers the lives of casual users who now have to interact
with such organizations for drugs. During Prohibition, the mob
controlled the black market in alcohol production and sales. As soon as
Prohibition was lifted, it became exponentially harder for the mob to
control a legal business, operating in full view of the law, with wildly
decentralized locations of production. Or to think of it another way:
what happens to a Colombian drug cartel's profits from the mass sale of
marijuana when it's perfectly legal to grow all the pot you would ever
want on your windowsill? They vanish.
Additionally, drug laws actually encourage the creation of new drugs
by making existing drugs artificially scarce.
But most importantly, I think, is the simple moral argument I put
forth originally. Punishing people for engaging on mutually consensual
behavior is fundamentally unjust. The only legitimate use of violence,
and the coercive deprivation of liberty by the police and judicial
system is undoubtedly violence, is to defend yourself from a violation
of your legitimately held rights. Since I have no legitimate ownership
of your own body, and you have none over mine, it would be wholly
illegitimate for me to utilize violence against you to prevent you from
engaging in whatever consensual behavior you desire.
For more about the harmful side effects of legal prohibition, I
encourage everyone to read Randy Barnett's paper here:
http://www.randybarnett.com/curing_the_law_.html
And for information about the militarization of the police, largely in
response to the Drug War, I encourage everyone to read Radley Balko's
paper "Overkill" here: http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6476
- John
thom3 at aol.com wrote:
> Ok, if I get your drift, you think drugs should all be legalized?
> Ok... but the shitstorm of misery that will follow? I'm not even
> going to lay it down on casinos.... nope not me...
>
> dude is an asshole and in jail (whoops made bail) where is should be.
> kudos to the superheros!
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Hays <jjhays2 at gmail.com>
> To: Boston Critical Mass <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
> Sent: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 12:06 pm
> Subject: Re: [*BCM*] Cyclist foils heist, Boston Phoenix 9/28
>
> While I strongly oppose all laws against the consensual growth,
> manufacture, distribution, possession and use of drugs of all kinds, and
> I fully agree that drug laws ruin lives, and that drug laws also
> necessarily increase the price of drugs, which can lead marginal drug
> users to theft -- all of that is COMPLETELY BESIDES THE POINT, absent
> further evidence, because there's currently no evidence that any of that
> applies to this asshole. I strongly disagree that most theft in the city
> is fueled by drug addiction, simply because there's far, far more
> property theft in the city than drug addicts can account for. As someone
> who lives in Allston, it's abundantly clear to me that drug addiction is
> rarely the underlying cause of property theft. College students, and
> young people in their 20s generally, are inveterate thieves, and you
> have lots of petty theft wherever large numbers of them congregate. They
> are also rarely drug addicts.
>
> Some people have minimized the severity of crime by scoffing at the
> importance of 'property' (conveniently forgetting the assault). While I
> think this is misguided for several reasons, I would just point out that
> the 'things' we legitimately acquire are the result of the product of
> hours of our own labor. If your $300 bike is stolen, and you worked at
> $10/hr job to raise the money to buy it, then you've lost more than a
> physical thing -- you've lost the 30+ hours of your own time that you
> invested into one pursuit over another, perhaps more enjoyable pursuit,
> in order to acquire it. That is, I think, no small crime.
>
> I have serious objections to the criminal 'justice' system, as well
> as the justice of deliberately inflicting unpleasantness onto people as
> retribution for a crime (as opposed to say, a framework designed around
> restitution to victims); but what I have no doubt about is that this
> bicycle thief has committed a grievous wrong, and I'm not going to
> lament his punishment too much.
>
> - John
>
>
>
> Paul Centro wrote:
> > It might have been interesting if someone had spoken to James Johnson,
> > the alleged perp, for his side of the story. While I do not know his
> > circumstances, let me suggest an alternative read for stories such as
> > this:
> >
> > -Drug addict in the throes of addiction needs money for a fix. John
> > Doe of Boston who has been unable to find steady employment due to
> > arrests in his youth for minor offenses finds himself in increasingly
> > desperate circumstances. What started out as recreational use of
> > cocaine has become a $50 a day methamphetamine addiction. "I'd like
> > to kick, but I cannot afford treatment and all of the subsidized slots
> > are filled," says Mr. Doe.
> >
> > "I'm really sorry about the bike, and you have to understand how
> > desperate I am, I'm looking at 2 years in jail due to prior
> > convictions. Running is the only choice I have right now."
> >
> > Is this so far fetched? I would argue that most of the property crime
> > in this city is perpetrated for just such reasons. Can we feel good
> > that this person was caught? What's to become of him? Jail at 40k+ a
> > year with no rehab or job training at worst, unable to work because of
> > a CORI that will follow him for the rest of his life and vote
> > dis-enfranchisement at best is what it looks like to me. All this for
> > a bike? I see no justice here.
> >
> > Make no mistake, we pay for folks to use drugs and crime is the method
> > of payment. Drug laws have a human cost and I think it's time for a
> > little empathy in place of punishment. I am disappointed that someone
> > involved with Critical Mass is so stoked at the result. If these
> > folks are unable to see beneath the surface of things, who is?
> >
> > Peter McNeff,
> > Jamaica Plain
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
> > are looking for what you sell.
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
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