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Drug czar-on Fox and Friends-noting failure of the drug war
This interview with the White House Director of National Drug Control Policy is noteworthy for two reasons.
First, it’s on FOX and Friends. And here is this Obama administration official receiving the most gracious hearing without the usual ephemera. So many Americans, across the political spectrum, wish to see more humane and effective drug policies. Amid so much polarization, the drug-culture-wars are quietly ending. That is good.
Second, note the anecdote about the dentist. Watch this space.
Author: Harold Pollack
Harold Pollack is Helen Ross Professor of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. He has served on three expert committees of the National Academies of Science. His recent research appears in such journals as Addiction, Journal of the American Medical Association, and American Journal of Public Health. He writes regularly on HIV prevention, crime and drug policy, health reform, and disability policy for American Prospect, tnr.com, and other news outlets. His essay, "Lessons from an Emergency Room Nightmare" was selected for the collection The Best American Medical Writing, 2009. He recently participated, with zero critical acclaim, in the University of Chicago's annual Latke-Hamentaschen debate.
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One thought on “Drug czar-on Fox and Friends-noting failure of the drug war”
It's great that the official in the video acknowledges that the war on drugs has been a failure, but he speaks of it only from that standpoint: its ineffectiveness. He says not a word about the fact that it is morally wrong to incarcerate people for what they put in their own bodies or for selling drugs to consenting adults. He also says not a word about the fact that the war on drugs has been the new Jim Crow. The politicians and prosecutors and judges who have been responsible for it have done evil; they did not just misjudge its effectiveness.
It's great that the official in the video acknowledges that the war on drugs has been a failure, but he speaks of it only from that standpoint: its ineffectiveness. He says not a word about the fact that it is morally wrong to incarcerate people for what they put in their own bodies or for selling drugs to consenting adults. He also says not a word about the fact that the war on drugs has been the new Jim Crow. The politicians and prosecutors and judges who have been responsible for it have done evil; they did not just misjudge its effectiveness.