Some of the best people I have ever met in my life have come from my involvement in trying to help our country change its drug policy. One of those people is my friend James E. (Jim) Gierach, who is a former state prosecutor in Illinois and director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) who has just written a book entitled The Silver Bullet Solution: Is it time to end the War on Drugs? And Jim just sent out what he calls his “Gierach Drug Policy Declaration,” which I have his permission to forward on to our 2 Paragraphs Family for your consideration. Here it is:
“Recreational drug prohibition is an economic policy choice made to fight drug use & addiction, but ironically & counterintuitively, drug prohibition is the most effective means to incentivize drug production, intervention & trafficking. The immutable economic rules regarding price, supply and demand cause the drug-prohibition-policy choice to increase drug availability, potency, variety, use, overdose & dependency. Recreational drug prohibition serves as the common denominator to a dozen crises, globally. That United Nations public policy choice, ratified by 186 nations, is the foundation of the World War on Drugs, doing more harm to public safety, health, sobriety, freedom, democracy and human rights than any preceding public policy in the history of mankind. Nothing short of drug legalization & regulation of all commonly used recreational drugs can set civilization’s train back on the tracks.”
Confirmations of Jim Gierach’s conclusions are in our newspapers routinely. For example, page A9 of the September 18–24 edition of The Epoch Times contains an article entitled “Drug Traffickers Set Up Shop in Africa.” This article recounts how many drug cartels that are now being hunted from Argentina to Mexico are moving their operations to South Africa to use as a “springboard to get meth into America, where the money is.” So a spokesperson for one of South Africa’s elite law enforcement agencies lamented that “We are fighting our own vicious gangs who are murdering and raping everywhere. Now we have to be anxious about Mexican drug cartels as well.” Check your newspaper for yourself each day and see how many similar stories are generated by our failed War on Drugs. Once you start looking for them, these stories will most likely convince you that there MUST be a better way!
Question for the week: How do you know if you are inherently an optimist? Answer: If your Blood Type is B Positive . . .
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One Response
It’s inspiring to see how activism can connect us with incredible individuals like Jim Gierach. Grassroots movements are essential for driving change, and we need more voices like his advocating for reform.