War on black men: Arguments for the legalization of drugs

Criminal Justice Ethics

Volumn 31, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 106-120

  Block, Walter E ^a   Obioha, Violet ^a  

^a LOYOLA UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Addictive drugs; Black community; Leadership; Legalization

Indexed keywords

EID: 84865522273     PISSN: 0731129X     EISSN: 19375948     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/0731129X.2012.719671     Document Type: Article

References (86)

1. Thanks to the comments on an earlier version of this essay by an unusually active and perceptive referee, it has been greatly improved. Of course, the usual caveats apply; any remaining errors of either commission or omission are strictly the responsibility of the authors.
2. This introductory section reflects the personal testimony of the first mentioned author of this essay.
3. "Haldeman Diary Shows Nixon Was Wary of Blacks and Jews," New York Times, May 18, 1994.
4. For a succinct timeline of America's drug war from 1960 to 2000, see PBS's Frontline: Drug Wars, "Thirty Years of America's Drug War," available at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/cron/
5. See Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (New York: New Press, 2010).
6. It has done so in effect, not purposefully. Racism enters into the picture in several ways with regard to earlier U.S. prohibition efforts. The initial punitive law in 1917 was aimed primarily not at blacks or whites, but at Asians who used opium. Prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s and 1930s impacted, mainly, young men of Italian extraction.
7. Human Rights Watch, "Punishment and Prejudice: Racial Disparities in the War on Drugs" (2000), available at http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2000/usa/Rcedrg00-05.htm#P312_65292
8. http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/nhsda.htm
9. As per the population statistics offered by the U.S. Census Bureau at "State and County QuickFacts," available at http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html
10. Part, but not all, of the explanation for this sad state of affairs is that greater penalties are imposed on the use of crack cocaine than on other types of addictive substances. This variety of drug is disproportionately used by black people. Racism? Well, sort of: it was the Congressional Black Caucus that insisted upon this. They did so based on their not unreasonable desire to stop members of their community from utilizing these drugs. Unfortunately, their economic understanding was not on a par with their otherwise meritorious goals. We discuss this issue in more detail at the end of this essay.
11. Prostitution is legal in most counties of Nevada except Las Vegas. Furthermore, laws against non-street-walking prostitution are almost dead-letter pretty much everywhere.
12. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Smoking and Tobacco Use: Tables, Charts, and Graphs, available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/tables/index.htm
13. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Alcohol and Public Health, available at http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol
14. In addition, chocolate, sugar, fatty foods, meat, hang-gliding, and football all pose dangers to members of our society, and no one-with the possible exception of health fanatics*wants to prohibit them by law.
15. Murray N. Rothbard, "The Case for Radical Idealism," Ludwig von Mises Institute, January 3, 2005, available at http://mises.org/daily/1709
16. Mark Thornton, "Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure," Cato Institute Policy Analysis, no. 157 (July 17, 1991), available at http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=1017
17. The locations and materials used in the making of prohibited alcohol are another health issue that has its counterpart in poisonous heroin, cocaine, marijuana, etc. We will discuss this issue further in a moment.
18. Thornton, "Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure"
19. Harry G. Levine and Craig Reinarman, Alcohol Prohibition and Drug Prohibition: Lessons from Alcohol Policy for Drug Policy (Amsterdam: CEDRO, 2004), available at http://www.cedro-uva.org/lib/levine.alcohol.html
20. Jack S. Blocker, "Did Prohibition Really Work? Alcohol Prohibition as a Public Health Innovation," American Journal of Public Health 96, no. 2 (2006): 233-43, available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470475/
21. Thornton, "Alcohol Prohibition."
22. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2009," available at http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR29621.v2
23. Cited in Bernd Debusmann, "The Economic Case for Legal Marijuana," Reuters, October 8, 2010, available at http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2010/10/08/theeconomic-case-for-legal-marijuana/
24. This is a very strong general claim. It needs support. The support we offer is the general libertarian philosophy that limits the use of force and violence to a reaction against its prior use.
25. See, on this, David Bergland, Libertarianism in One Lesson (London: Orpheus, 1986)
26. Walter Block and William Barnett II, "Continuums," Journal Etica e Politica/Ethics & Politics 1 (2008): 151-66, available at http://www2.units.it/~etica/ or http://www2.units.it/etica/2008_1/BLOCKBARNETT.pdf
27. Hans-Hermann Hoppe, The Economics and Ethics of Private Property: Studies in Political Economy and Philosophy (Boston: Kluwer, 1993)
28. Jacob Huebert, Libertarianism Today (Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2010)
29. Stephan Kinsella, "Legislation and the Discovery of Law in a Free Society," Journal of Libertarian Studies 11, no. 2 (1995): 132-81
30. Stephan Kinsella, "New Rationalist Directions in Libertarian Rights Theory," Journal of Libertarian Studies 12, no. 2 (1996): 313-26, available at http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/12_2/12_2_5.pdf
31. Jan Narveson, The Lib-ertarian Idea (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988)
32. Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (New York: Basic Books, 1974)
33. Murray N. Rothbard, For a New Liberty (New York: Macmillan, 1973)
34. Murray N. Rothbard, The Ethics of Liberty (AtlanticHighlands, NJ:Humanities Press, 1982)
35. Rothbard, "Case forRadical Idealism"
36. William C. Woolridge, Uncle Sam the Monopoly Man (New Rochelle,NY: Arlington House, 1970).
37. Whyis it that somevictimless crimesareon the books? For example, pornography, prostitution, and gambling are also illegal.
38. For a critique of such laws, see Block and Barnett, "Continuums."
39. How is the line between victimless crimes and other crimes to be drawn? Although this is a complex issue due to "continuums" (Block and Barnett), certain principlesmaybeusedtocreate sucha line.To wit, ifthecrimehasaclearanddirectvictim,asin cases of murder, theft, and rape, then it is a crime with a victim. But if the act is one between consenting adults, as in pornography, prostitution, gambling, and drug taking, thenthere isnoclear,directvictim. Itcannotbe denied that dependents of those who engage in such actsmay suffer as a result of them, and inthat sense theyare victims.
40. For example, the minorchildofaparentwholoseshispaycheck inapokergamewill loseout.But ifwe call this a crime, then-if we are going to be logically consistent-we would have to consider as criminalbehavioreatingtoomuchor toolittle, or exercising too much or too little, since dependents may suffer when their parents dothesethingsalso.So,drugtaking,orbuying or selling drugs, gambling, pornography, etc., are victimless crimes, thus not crimes at all, while the same thing cannot be said about murder, rape, and theft. The latter, in contrast, are real crimes.
41. Leslie Gevirtz, "U.S. Pockets $20.6 bln in Sin Taxes in FY'09," Reuters, July 15, 2010, available at http://in.reuters.com/article/2010/07/14/idINIndia-50132620100714
42. Nevertheless, the libertarian support for legalization is overwhelming: Walter Block, "Drug Prohibition: A Legal and Economic Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics 12 (1993): 689-700
43. Walter Block, "Drug Prohibition, Individual Virtue and Positive Economics," Review of Political Economy 8, no. 4 (1996): 433-36
44. Walter Block, Katherine Wingfield, and Roy Whitehead, "Reevaluating America's Failing Drug Control Laws:ALegal, Philosophical, and Economic Proposal," Oklahoma City Law Review 28, no. 1 (2003): 119-59
45. Meaghan Cussen and Walter Block, "Legalize Drugs Now! An Analysis of the Benefits of Legalized Drugs," American Journal of Economics and Sociology 59, no. 3 (2000): 525-36.
46. Milton Friedman, "The Drug War as a Socialist Enterprise," in Friedman and Szasz on Liberty and Drugs, ed. Arnold S. Trebach and Kevin B. Zeese (Washington, DC: Drug Policy Foundation, 1992), available at http://www.druglibrary.org/special/friedman/socialist.htm
47. Thomas Stephen Szasz, Ceremonial Chemistry: The Ritual Persecution of Drugs, Addicts, and Pushers (Holmes Beach, FL: Learning Publications, 1985)
48. Thomas Stephen Szasz, Our Right to Drugs: The Case for a Free Market (New York: Praeger, 1992)
49. Mark Thornton, The Economics of Prohibition (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1991).
50. See, on this, Stephan Easton, "Legalize Marijuana for Tax Revenue," Business Week (March, 2009), available at http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2010/03/legalize_mariju.html
51. Dan Ring, "Massachusetts legislators seek to legalize and tax marijuana despite health warnings," Mass Live.com (May 2, 2012), available at http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/05/massachusetts_legislators_seek_1.html
52. The death of Lenny Bruce is sometimes attributed to this phenomenon; http://www.google.ca/#hl_en&source_hp&q_death_of_lenny_bruce&oq_death_of_Lenny_Bruce&aq_1&aqi_g1g-j1&aql_&gs_sm_c&gs_upl_2111l6805l0l22l20l1l7l8l0l275l1794l3.7.2&bav_on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp_aa2737e04d05e30b&biw_1259&bih_903
53. Matthew Robinson, "ASU Students' Deaths Don't Reflect on School," Winston Salem Journal, December 1, 2005, available at http://www.pscj.appstate.edu/murders.html
54. Office of National Drug Control Policy, Drug-Related Crime, http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/pdf/ncj181056.pdf
55. Payne Hertz, "Drug Dealers Call Them 'Mushrooms,' " http://paynehertz.blogspot.ca/2007/11/drug-dealers-call-them-mushrooms.html
56. Again, the black community suffers disproportionately from this cycle.
57. What would the criminal drug dealers do instead? Would they turn to other, real crimes, such as murder, theft, arson, etc.? Some of them, undoubtedly, would. But their powers to do evil would be greatly attenuated without the immense profits that illegal drugs have garnered for them. Consider the situation in Mexico in this regard. There, drug gangs battle on almost even terms with the police and army. Were it not for the gigantic profits accruing to them from addictive substances, this could never be the case.
58. The Netherlands might be a close second: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_the_Netherlands
59. Brian Vastag, "5 Years After: Portugal's Drug Decriminalization Policy Shows Positive Results," Scientific American, April 7, 2009, available at http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?idcheckentity/checkentityportugal-drug-decriminalization
60. In the U.S. there are laws on the books prohibiting driving while drinking. Similar legislation regarding driving while drugged is compatible with legalization.
61. Why? Because every "success" of our drug warriors brings in its wake overall failure. Whenever the Drug Enforcement Agency interdicts a shipment, they celebrate that "fewer drugs will be on the street." But as a result, with lesser supply, prices rise. And when they do, profits also escalate. That empowers the drug dealers and calls forth more supply. It is thus no accident that the drug war can never be "won."
62. Yes, of course, these harmful drugs would still present a medical challenge to our society. People will no doubt continue to abuse these substances. But, as with alcohol, a medical challenge is preferable to a medical challenge that is linked with a criminal challenge, social havoc,an out-of-control murder rate, and healthproblems.
63. John McWhorter, "Getting Darnell Off the Corners: Why America Should Ride the Anti-Drug-War Wave," New Republic, December 31, 2010, available at http://www.tnr.com/blog/80669/getting-darnell-the-corners-why-america-should-ride-the-anti-drug-war-wave
64. For negative disproportionate disenfranchisement of black people, see Mandeep K. Dhami, "Prisoner Disenfranchisement Policy: A Threat to Democracy?" Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy 5, no. 1 (2005): 235-47
65. Prison Policy Initiative, "Felon Disenfranchisement," available at http://www.prisonpolicy.org/research/felon_disenfranchisement/
66. Peter Wagner, "Jim Crow in Massachusetts?" Prison Policy Initiative, October 31, 2004, available at http://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/mass_disenfranchisement.html
67. Ron Paul is the only 2012 presidential candidate who fully supports drug legalization. The black community stands to gain more, proportionately, from such a policy than any other group. Yet their support for Congressman Paul, who is also a medical doctor, is virtually non-existent. This seems a political anomaly.
68. See Jacob Sullum, "Jesse Jackson Wants to End the War on Drugs," Reason, June 7, 2011, available at http://reason.com/blog/2011/06/07/jesse-jackson-wants-to-end-the
69. For information about Paul's political views and general discussions about this topic, see http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&source=hp&q=ron=paul=drug=legalization&oq=Ron=Paul=dr&aq=1&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=2269l4908l0l11l10l0l1l1l0l299l1904l0.5.4&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=46433aad890b3365&biw=1259&bih=903
70. See http://www.eastbayexpress.com/LegalizationNation/archives/2011/07/26/naacp-delegates-call-for-end-to-war-on-drugs
71. http://copssaylegalize.blogspot.ca/2011/07/naacp-says-end-war-on-drugs.html. The national office of the NAACP was preceded by their California statebranch only in 2010, long after the devastationshould have become apparent.
72. See http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/06/state-naacp-backs-marijuana-legalization.html.
73. For information on the NAACPprotesting the war on drugs as of 2009, see http://naacpoc.org/2009/01/legalizeddrugs-only-way-to-halt-cartels/.
74. Similarly, Jesse Jackson, another Johnny-come-lately, previously opposed drug prohibition but changed his opinion in 2011.
75. See http://www.suntimes.com/news/jackson/5805266-452/its-time-to-end-dismally-failed-war-ondrugs.html
76. See http://www.drugwarrant.com/2011/09/congressional-black-caucus-stepping-up/
77. See http://www.nul.org/
78. See, for example, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17716926
79. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304356604577344213963570488.html
80. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/04/obama-opposes-drug-legalization/1
81. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57414151/obama-drug-legalizationnot-the-answer-to-cartels/.
82. President Obama is joined by a whole host of other black leaders who have their heads in the sand on this issue: see http://www.saveoursociety.org/press/international-faith-based-coalition-along-other-african-american-and-faith-based-leaders-law-e.
83. See http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2010-10-15-2350317742_x.htm;
84. http://cnsnews.com/news/article/feds-oppose-california-prop-19-legalize-marijuana; http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/m/marijuana/index.html
85. See, on this, http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=allen_21_3
86. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/06/EDR117ES75.DTL