Next week ministers from around the world gather in Vienna to set international drug policy for the next decade. Like first-world-war generals, many will claim that all that is needed is more of the same. In fact the war on drugs has been a disaster, creating failed states in the developing world even as addiction has flourished in the rich world. By any sensible measure, this 100-year struggle has been illiberal, murderous and pointless. That is why The Economist continues to believe that the least bad policy is to legalise drugs.
the articles touches on a few moral and health issues but its main punch lies in its economics, although it fails to fully develop these issues within its compacted argument. for instance, mark frauenfelder raises the issue of the expansion of the prison industry in the united states as a reason why legalization efforts will not gain traction. the economist does not attempt to contextualize the argument to today's recession. indeed, while the argument is listed as being posted on march 5th, the economist author makes a passing comment on how "the current American president could easily have ended up in prison for his youthful experiments with “blow”"
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