Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Investing

A New Handbook for Ending the Drug War

by October 31, 2023
October 31, 2023
A New Handbook for Ending the Drug War

Jeffrey A. Singer

Dr. Jeffrey A. Singer is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and works in the Department of Health Policy Studies.

Today, the Reason Foundation released the Drug Legalization Handbook, to which I contributed a chapter. The handbook is a guide for citizens and policymakers who seek a world in which governments no longer arbitrarily ban certain psychoactive substances and wage war on people who consume them.

A key word here is “arbitrarily.” For example, governments allow people to ingest alcohol. This dangerous, potentially addictive, psychoactive depressant can cause liver, heart, and brain damage, stomach and esophageal cancer, and, in some people, induce belligerent behavior. Yet governments put people in cages if they consume opioids—which causes none of those problems—unless they get a permission slip from another adult in the form of a doctor’s prescription. Governments allow people to consume psychostimulants like caffeine and nicotine but punish people for consuming stimulants like cocaine, methamphetamine, and other amphetamine derivatives unless they, too, receive permission from a doctor. Meanwhile, governments incarcerate doctors if their prescribing decisions deviate from government‐​imposed “guidelines.”

The drug war created a dangerous black market governed by the “iron law of prohibition”: the harder the law enforcement, the harder the drug. The “iron law” causes a never‐​ending cycle where more potent drugs emerge to replace older versions sold in the underground market. Heroin replaced prescription pain pills in the black market. Fentanyl replaced heroin. Now, fentanyl mixed with xylazine (“tranq”) has emerged on the scene, along with isotonitazine (“iso”), both of which are more potent than fentanyl. As a result, overdose deaths among people who use black‐​market drugs have skyrocketed.

Yet the drug war criminalizes individuals and organizations who want to prevent death and disease among people who use black‐​market drugs by providing them with harm‐​reduction tools.

The US government arm‐​twists other governments into joining its drug war, fueling corruption and destabilizing the governments of our hemispheric neighbors.

America’s war on some drugs has caused innocent people to die, destroyed families, corrupted institutions, destabilized the governments of neighboring countries, and, in the process, fueled the development of ever more dangerous drugs on the black market. It is the most destructive public policy in modern times.

The Drug Legalization Handbook, a joint project of the Reason Foundation, the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and the National Coalition for Drug Legalization, shows policymakers how to end the destruction.

The chapter that I contributed to the handbook discusses how drug war enforcers get in the way of providing proper therapy for drug dependence, an example of cops practicing medicine.

Cato Vice President for Research Jeffrey Miron and former Cato Research Associate Erin Partin contributed a chapter called “Taking Drugs Off The Schedule: Eliminating The Controlled Substances Act.”

I encourage people to obtain hard copies of the handbook from the Reason Foundation or download the PDF version and share it with their friends and colleagues.

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Unlock the Entrepreneurial Power of ADHD: Strategies and insights for maximising your unique strengths
next post
Don’t Let Terrorist Destruction Stop Creative Building

You may also like

As the United States Cracks Down on Fentanyl...

March 6, 2025

Who Will Report on Tariffs’ Unseen Costs?

May 31, 2024

Q&A with House Budget Committee Members

December 19, 2024

Electric Cars: Policy Beyond Capability?

April 28, 2023

Immigrants Have a Lower Incarceration Rate than Native-Born...

April 25, 2025

New Poll: Only 16% of Americans Support the...

May 31, 2023

Top 5 Reasons to End the US Department...

March 21, 2025

More States Move to Let Experienced Foreign Doctors...

March 14, 2024

FCC Investigates Radio Station Over Coverage of Immigration...

February 11, 2025

Trump Is Right: End FEMA

January 28, 2025

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • A Disappointing Supreme Court Decision Weakens Online First Amendment Protections

      June 27, 2025
    • Brazil’s Supreme Court Rewrites the Rules to Censor Online Speech

      June 27, 2025
    • Trump secures record-shattering $1.4B for political war chest; will be ‘dominant force’ for GOP in midterms

      June 27, 2025
    • Trump says ‘big, beautiful’ bill ‘must’ meet deadline as some Republicans waver

      June 27, 2025
    • Friday Feature: Savannah Legacy Academy

      June 27, 2025
    • The Supreme Court Is Right on Reading Opt-Outs, But That’s Not Enough

      June 27, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,329)
    • Investing (2,081)
    • Politics (15,837)
    • Stocks (3,174)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved