tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934395272727224504.post4407127181620413771..comments2023-06-14T04:58:41.133-04:00Comments on Intellectual Carpet Bombing: WE'RE NUMBER 1! WE'RE NUMBER 1!ebl2009http://www.blogger.com/profile/04934119980855539269noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934395272727224504.post-52482799306443011202008-03-23T22:11:00.000-04:002008-03-23T22:11:00.000-04:00I take issue with a few points Lang makes while su...I take issue with a few points Lang makes while suggesting a compromise position: <BR/><BR/>First, the initial normative claim that our incarceration rates are 'absurdly high' has no empirical grounding. Absurdly high in comparison to what? Other countries? Maybe the United States, per capita, has a larger number of drug users than any other country with comparably effective law enforcement and judicial mechanisms. Unless we know the drug usage rates of other countries, then we can't make a claim of absurdity; indeed, while you might be right that the War on Drugs is a bad policy approach in general, arguing that just because something is elevated makes it absurd is just that. <BR/><BR/>Second, Lang points to the myriad of failures of the War on Drugs policy as a reason why the policy should be altered. Part of the rationale for this argument is both the high costs and the lack of payoff from those costs. From these premises, you assert that a less stringent policy should be adopted, one that would decrease the number of incarcerated drug users (it's worth noting here that it likely wouldn't decrease the number of drug users, just the number of imprisoned ones). <BR/><BR/>It's not clear that reducing the stringency of the terms imposed by the War on Drugs would have a positive effect (I am not sure whether having drug users on the streets is better than having them in jail but the topic of regulation is certainly a good one to discuss in the future), nor that increasing the penalties/enforcement mechanisms of the policy wouldn't be more effective. <BR/><BR/>This point of effectiveness leads to my alternate plan that I think could bridge the two positions (need to reduce number of drug-related incarcerations with the need to ensure that drug users are free to proceed with their nefarious activities [as you can probably tell, I'm a big fan of Rousseau and the importance he places on the moral good of the polity]). The aspect of the War on Drugs that Lang does not consider in his post is the international aspect. For the better part of the past decade, the United States has supported the War on Drugs in South America through Plan Colombia, spending nearly 5 billion dollars to aid destruction of illicit crops in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and other South and Central American countries. <BR/><BR/>However, as this plan has proceeded, the numbers of hectares of cultivated coca crops and other drug-producing plants has actually increased faster than they did before the implementation of the anti-drug program. This suggests a serious flaw in the program itself and also the possibility that fixes could be effected which would solve Lang's problem of jailed population (by reducing the drug flow and therefore the incarceration rates due to drugs in the U.S.) while not letting drug users run rampant in the U.S. <BR/><BR/>Obviously more research (on my part and the U.S. part - I've looked at the State Department's numbers on drug production under Plan Colombia but not recently) should be done, but this offers a way to bridge the divide.ebl2009https://www.blogger.com/profile/04934119980855539269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934395272727224504.post-56559501274040281162008-03-23T17:34:00.000-04:002008-03-23T17:34:00.000-04:00Lang, I expect better from you. Right out of the ...Lang, I expect better from you. Right out of the gate you are spouting misinformation. <BR/><BR/>America does have the largest <B> <I> official </I> </B> prison population, but do you think China is being honest in their reporting? Hongda Harry Wu, prisoner for nineteen years and author of Laogai: The Chinese Gulag, certainly doesn't think so. In fact, he speculates that there as many as sixteen to twenty million prisoners. Which beats America in both percentage of population and absolute terms.<BR/><BR/>Though having the moral high ground over China isn't too hard and I agree that we need to end the War on Drug, I can't let you get away with sloppy statements like that.hot zonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08876103488828330656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934395272727224504.post-70391035914859375652008-03-23T14:25:00.000-04:002008-03-23T14:25:00.000-04:00It also looks like Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) has of...It also looks like Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) has offered a bill to legalize small amounts of marijuana. More details can be found <A HREF="http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/03/22/rep_franks_says_hell_file_bill_to_legalize_marijuana/" REL="nofollow">here</A>.Garbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01227982772790196361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934395272727224504.post-21434199450814672812008-03-23T14:15:00.000-04:002008-03-23T14:15:00.000-04:00The last paragraph is definitely on target. The qu...The last paragraph is definitely on target. The question should not be whether or not drugs are good or bad, but how drug policy should function. Too often politicians from across the political spectrum get caught up in debates over whether or not something is good or bad rather than what should be done about it. Simply saying "Drugs are bad" and "Just say no" works about as well for the nation's drug abuse problem as abstinence-only sex education prevents pregnancy and STDs. It ignores how people actually act.<BR/><BR/>It is simply unrealistic to issue a blanket condemnation of an act without looking at what motivates individuals to perform such acts. Nor does public policy benefit from lack of nuance, which is precisely what happens when the debate centers on good or bad instead of how best to resolve the issue.Garbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01227982772790196361noreply@blogger.com