On The Issues: Drug Issues

Until a national sales tax system can be implemented, we must take steps to remedy deficiencies in the existing system that makes it difficult for Senior Citizens to obtain medication. This includes allowing those over 65 years of age to deduct 100% of their medical and drug expenses. Other cost-saving techniques include the import of low-cost drugs from overseas.

The federal government has no constitutional provision to regulate or restrict the freedom of people to have access to medical care, supplies or treatments. I advocate a reduction in the FDAs scope of power as it has been the federal agency primarily responsible for prohibiting beneficial products, treatments, and technologies here in the United States that are freely available in much of the rest of the civilized world.

War on Drugs

Drug prohibition does more to make Americans unsafe than any other factor. Just as alcohol prohibition gave us Al Capone and the mafia, drug prohibition has given us the Crips, the Bloods and drive-by shootings. Consider the historical evidence: America's murder rate rose nearly 70% during alcohol prohibition, but returned to its previous levels after prohibition ended. Now, since the War on Drugs began, America's murder rates have doubled. The cause/effect relationship is clear. Prohibition is putting innocent lives at risk.

What's more, drug prohibition also inflates the cost of drugs, leading users to steal to support their high priced habits. It is estimated that drug addicts commit 25% of all auto thefts, 40% of robberies and assaults, and 50% of burglaries and larcenies. Prohibition puts your property at risk. Finally, nearly one half of all police resources are devoted to stopping drug trafficking, instead of preventing violent crime. The bottom line? By ending drug prohibition Libertarians would double the resources available for crime prevention, and significantly reduce the number of violent criminals at work in your neighborhood.

But if drugs were legalized, wouldn't there be millions more drug addicts? Like you, I want to live in a society where people are healthy and productive, not destroying their lives with addictive drugs. All of the hard drugs were legal before 1914, and there were few addicts. Studies show that even addicts can be productive, and also that they do not engage in crime when they can get their drugs inexpensively. We have addicts today despite drug criminalization. Let's decriminalize drugs so we stop the violence and get help to those who need it.

The Impact of the Drug War

The federal government estimates the direct costs associated with the Drug War was estimated at $45.5 billion in 2005. Costs have escalated over the past few years and it should be factored in that this does not include indirect costs. As a basis of comparison, the total cost in 1998 including indirect expenses was $143.4 billion annually.

Quick facts illustrating the impact of the "drug war":

During 2006 the total Federal, State, and local adult correctional population — incarcerated or in the community - grew by 159,500 persons to over 7.2 million. The growth of 2.3% during the year was about the same as the average annual increase in the correctional population since 1995 (2.5%). About 3.2% of the U.S. adult population, or 1 in every 31 adults, were incarcerated or on probation or parole at yearend 2006.
The Department of Justice reported that by Sept. 30, 2006, federal prisons held a total of 176,268 inmates, of whom 93,751 (53%) were drug offenders. By comparison in 2000 federal prisons held 131,739 total inmates of whom 74,276 (56%) were drug offenders, and in 1995 federal prisons held a total of 88,658 inmates of whom 52,782 (60%) were drug offenders.
In 2006, drug law violators comprised 19.6% of all adults serving time in State prisons - 249,400 out of 1,274,600 State prison inmates.
According to the US Justice Department, 27.9% of drug offenders in state prisons are serving time for possession; 69.4% are serving time for trafficking offenses; and 2.7% are in for "other."

Law enforcement officers could focus on other more serious crimes if they were not focused on the 'drug war.' As an example of the effort involved, there were 1,889,810 drug arrests in 2006.

On the Issues

Until the FairTax system can be implemented, I support the restoration of 100% income tax reduction for drugs and medical expenses paid out by people 65 and older.
I oppose using the public school system to administer trug programs to which children are being subjected as a response to allegations that the children suffer from psychological problems such as attention deficit disorder.
I support allowing citizens to import prescription drugs from across our national borders.
I support the view that the Food and Drug Administration shouldn't ban unproven medical treatments and that any decisions on treatment be left to the patient and doctor. Any government involvement should be limited to passing non-binding judgments about efficacy or safety.
I oppose policies of the military regarding forced vaccination and shots, often with experimental drugs.
I support decriminalizing soft recreational drugs, such as marijuana, and those used for beneficial medicinal purposes. This will free up space in over-burdened prison systems and free up law enforcement officers to concentrate on more serious concerns. It will also create safe, legal channels of distribution.
I encourage the executive branches of federal and state governments to commute the sentences of those incarcerated soley based upon possession or sales of newly-legalized drugs providing they have been on good behavior while incarcerated.
Youths have the right to be protected from harmful drugs. I support state and local legislation making it a criminal offense to sell or supply drugs to any person under the legal drinking age.
I oppose proposed federal legislation to standardize testing and penalties for steroid use in professional sports; wasting taxpayer money on congressional hearing on drug use in the sports industry is not a Constitutional function of Congress.
While this approach will empower individuals with the choice of using these drugs or not, there is an associated responsiblity as well. I support harsher penalties with mandatory sentences for those found guilty of commiting crimes while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Sources for Quick Facts:

1 - Source: Glaze, Lauren E., and Bonczar, Thomas P., Bureau of Justice Statistics, Probation and Parole in the United States 2006 (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, December 2007), NCJ220218, p. 2.

2 - Source: Sabol, William J., PhD, Couture, Heather, and Harrison, Paige M., Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2006 (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, December 2007), NCJ219416, p. 26, Appendix Table 13; and Harrison, Paige M. & Allen J. Beck, PhD, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2005 (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, November 2006), p. 10, Table 14.

3 - Source: Sabol, William J., PhD, Couture, Heather, and Harrison, Paige M., Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2006 (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, December 2007), NCJ219416, p. 24, Appendix Table 9, and p. 25, Appendix Table 10.

4 - Mumola, Christopher J., and Karberg, Jennifer C., "Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004," (Washington, DC: US Dept. of Justice, Oct. 2006) (NCJ213530), p. 4.

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This includes allowing those over 65 years of age to deduct 100% of their medical and drug expenses. Other cost-saving techniques include the import of low-cost drugs from overseas. The federal government has no constitutional provision to regulate or restrict the freedom of people to have access to medical care, supplies or treatments. I advocate a reduction in the FDAs scope of power as it has been the federal agency primarily responsible for prohibiting beneficial products, treatments, and technologies here in the United States that are freely available in much of the rest of the civilized world. War on Drugs Drug prohibition does more to make Americans unsafe than any other factor. Just as alcohol prohibition gave us Al Capone and the mafia, drug prohibition has given us the Crips, the Bloods and drive-by shootings. Consider the historical evidence: America's murder rate rose nearly 70% during alcohol prohibition, but returned to its previous levels after prohibition ended. Now, since the War on Drugs began, America's murder rates have doubled. The cause/effect relationship is clear. Prohibition is putting innocent lives at risk. What's more, drug prohibition also inflates the cost of drugs, leading users to steal to support their high priced habits. It is estimated that drug addicts commit 25% of all auto thefts, 40% of robberies and assaults, and 50% of burglaries and larcenies. Prohibition puts your property at risk. Finally, nearly one half of all police resources are devoted to stopping drug trafficking, instead of preventing violent crime. The bottom line? By ending drug prohibition Libertarians would double the resources available for crime prevention, and significantly reduce the number of violent criminals at work in your neighborhood. But if drugs were legalized, wouldn't there be millions more drug addicts? Like you, I want to live in a society where people are healthy and productive, not destroying their lives with addictive drugs. All of the hard drugs were legal before 1914, and there were few addicts. Studies show that even addicts can be productive, and also that they do not engage in crime when they can get their drugs inexpensively. We have addicts today despite drug criminalization. Let's decriminalize drugs so we stop the violence and get help to those who need it. The Impact of the Drug War The federal government estimates the direct costs associated with the Drug War was estimated at $45.5 billion in 2005. Costs have escalated over the past few years and it should be factored in that this does not include indirect costs. As a basis of comparison, the total cost in 1998 including indirect expenses was $143.4 billion annually. Quick facts illustrating the impact of the "drug war": During 2006 the total Federal, State, and local adult correctional population — incarcerated or in the community - grew by 159,500 persons to over 7.2 million. The growth of 2.3% during the year was about the same as the average annual increase in the correctional population since 1995 (2.5%). About 3.2% of the U.S. adult population, or 1 in every 31 adults, were incarcerated or on probation or parole at yearend 2006. The Department of Justice reported that by Sept. 30, 2006, federal prisons held a total of 176,268 inmates, of whom 93,751 (53%) were drug offenders. By comparison in 2000 federal prisons held 131,739 total inmates of whom 74,276 (56%) were drug offenders, and in 1995 federal prisons held a total of 88,658 inmates of whom 52,782 (60%) were drug offenders. In 2006, drug law violators comprised 19.6% of all adults serving time in State prisons - 249,400 out of 1,274,600 State prison inmates. According to the US Justice Department, 27.9% of drug offenders in state prisons are serving time for possession; 69.4% are serving time for trafficking offenses; and 2.7% are in for "other." Law enforcement officers could focus on other more serious crimes if they were not focused on the 'drug war.' As an example of the effort involved, there were 1,889,810 drug arrests in 2006. On the Issues Until the FairTax system can be implemented, I support the restoration of 100% income tax reduction for drugs and medical expenses paid out by people 65 and older. I oppose using the public school system to administer trug programs to which children are being subjected as a response to allegations that the children suffer from psychological problems such as attention deficit disorder. I support allowing citizens to import prescription drugs from across our national borders. I support the view that the Food and Drug Administration shouldn't ban unproven medical treatments and that any decisions on treatment be left to the patient and doctor. Any government involvement should be limited to passing non-binding judgments about efficacy or safety. I oppose policies of the military regarding forced vaccination and shots, often with experimental drugs. I support decriminalizing soft recreational drugs, such as marijuana, and those used for beneficial medicinal purposes. This will free up space in over-burdened prison systems and free up law enforcement officers to concentrate on more serious concerns. It will also create safe, legal channels of distribution. I encourage the executive branches of federal and state governments to commute the sentences of those incarcerated soley based upon possession or sales of newly-legalized drugs providing they have been on good behavior while incarcerated. Youths have the right to be protected from harmful drugs. I support state and local legislation making it a criminal offense to sell or supply drugs to any person under the legal drinking age. I oppose proposed federal legislation to standardize testing and penalties for steroid use in professional sports; wasting taxpayer money on congressional hearing on drug use in the sports industry is not a Constitutional function of Congress. While this approach will empower individuals with the choice of using these drugs or not, there is an associated responsiblity as well. I support harsher penalties with mandatory sentences for those found guilty of commiting crimes while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Sources for Quick Facts: 1 - Source: Glaze, Lauren E., and Bonczar, Thomas P., Bureau of Justice Statistics, Probation and Parole in the United States 2006 (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, December 2007), NCJ220218, p. 2. 2 - Source: Sabol, William J., PhD, Couture, Heather, and Harrison, Paige M., Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2006 (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, December 2007), NCJ219416, p. 26, Appendix Table 13; and Harrison, Paige M. & Allen J. Beck, PhD, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2005 (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, November 2006), p. 10, Table 14. 3 - Source: Sabol, William J., PhD, Couture, Heather, and Harrison, Paige M., Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2006 (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, December 2007), NCJ219416, p. 24, Appendix Table 9, and p. 25, Appendix Table 10. 4 - Mumola, Christopher J., and Karberg, Jennifer C., "Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004," (Washington, DC: US Dept. of Justice, Oct. 2006) (NCJ213530), p. 4.
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