The War on Dregs

"Do you personally know anyone who would begin snorting copious amounts of cocaine just because it became legal?" 

The War on Dregs.

Not a typo.

In order to win the so-called ‘War on Drugs’, America must first wage a war on dregs.

Who are the dregs?

Short history:

“In June 1971, President Nixon declared a “war on drugs.” He dramatically increased the size and presence of federal drug control agencies, and pushed through measures such as mandatory sentencing and no-knock warrants” (A History of the Drug War)

Why?

“The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying. We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.” – John Erlichman

Full stop

So the ‘War on Drugs’ had zero to do with drugs and everything to do with dregs: politicians playing politics to remain in office, maintain their stranglehold on power while strangling people, their lives and their rights simultaneously.

Much has changed over 55 years. As with every government program – especially ‘Wars’ - the War on Drugs has grown exponentially into a government hydra, multi-agency, multi-branch labyrinths of bureaucratic red tape, billions in waste,fraud and unnecessary death. It can be accurately stated: The solution was worse than the problem. What has changed positively has been the American attitude. Marijuana has been legalized in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. Yet the assault on American citizens and others continues, with 700,000 people still arrested for marijuana offenses each year and almost 500,000 people still behind bars for nothing more than a drug law violation…All across the country, in liberal states and conservative ones, people made their voices heard: There’s no better time to end the ‘War on Drugs’. Laws, money, government force lost; free choice won.

Of course, all the Usual Suspects will rise in protest! “People will die!”, “What about the children?”, “Families will be torn apart!” Bulletin news: they already are despite all the laws, money and drug agents.

Consider the upsides.

Without the irresistible attraction to the illegal drug trades’ easy money in the billions, the crisis at the border would be nearly eliminated (except for the separate problem of illegal immigration). The importation of deadly IMF would be replaced with readily available and safer Medical grade. Cocaine, heroin, opium, morphine, marijuana prices (and profits) would plummet. The financial incentive to be an illicit dealer in an illegal substance would drop to zero.

“But surely, people will die! Overdoses won’t stop!” True. Nor will poor judgement and wrong choices stop. But decriminalizing drugs provides a logical basis to conclude the number of overdose deaths will be reduced significantly. No law, no amount of spending and no use of deadly force will compel a free people to make correct decisions. Government is not authorized to be the National Parent. It is government’s responsibility to “secure these rights”, our natural rights, leaving free people free to pursue their vision of life and happiness.

“It’s naïve to think like that! The problem is too complex!” Actually, it really is that simple. Do you personally know anyone who would begin snorting copious amounts of cocaine just because it became legal? Only when politics, power and money are incorporated do “complications” take over an otherwise reasonable conclusion. Eliminate the “Drug War” from the political stump. Legalize all drugs. Crime drops precipitously. Yes, some will die from their new ‘freedom to overdose’. But that’s happening now. All the laws and money and prisons aren’t working and haven’t worked for 55 years. If anything, the drug problem has been exacerbated by illegal immigration; drugs are even more available, crime and death from gang turf wars have skyrocketed. Recently, American tourists seeking medical treatment were killed by a Mexican cartel because they “looked like Haitian dealers”. All this because of the “War on Drugs”.

For 55 years it hasn’t been working and it’s not working now. If the President doesn’t act voluntarily, Congress should end the ‘war’ by cutting off funding for all federal departments and enforcement personnel engaged in drug interdiction. Both House and Senate need the vote to be sufficiently overwhelming to override even the consideration of a possible veto.

Let’s do it. Declare a truce between unconstitutional nanny state overreach and people free to make their own life decisions. Ending the War on Drugs is a major step toward peace, freedom and even a healthier country.


Brian Wilson [ send him mail], nationally ignored talk show host and occasional un-indicted co-contributor on Substack and numerous other popular platforms having recently released his fourth book, now busily scribbling #5. With his spare hour, he litters his blog with extraneous articles and his unique "Now For Something Completely Different" podcast, along with his weekly "The Two and Only", a chat fest with award-winning author and journalist, James Bovard. Otherwise, Brian is focused on splitting the atom using only a ball-peen hammer and competing in full-contact origami. All this originated from his technically challenged studios on the formerly pristine shores of a Great Unnamed Lake, allegedly in the Southeast.