The Chris Moeller Archives

Declaring war on the "War on Drugs"

Hats off to the New York Times' "resident conservative," John Tierney, for his well-reasoned, Libertarian critique this morning of the nation's failing "War on Drugs." This column should be evidence that the solutions to this problem will ultimately run deeper than the traditional thinking of our two major political parties, which have both stopped problem-solving, and simply adopted knee-jerk, "tough on crime" campaign rhetoric to scare voters on election day, while doing nothing to fix the problem.

The logical extension of Tierney's thought is the legalization of all illicit drugs, which would bring about results similar to the lifting of Prohibition. At last we could seek solutions to drug abuse in the public health arena, rather than in the law enforcement arena, which has failed us miserably and expensively.

BUT: Don't give the drugs to corporate America and their marketing pimps. The government, through the National Institute of Health, should control and regulate the product. Otherwise, we'll see Pfizer commercials along these lines, "Hi, I'm Rush Limbaugh for OxyContin... Do the rigors of life often overwhelm your "rugged individualism?" Ask your doctor if "Hillbilly Heroin" is right for you."

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Howard Stern announced last week that his cable TV show-- previously on E!-- will be moving in January to the pay cable In Demand Networks. E! said it could no longer carry the show due to fear of regulation-- read: censorship.
I'm a Howard Stern fan (though that TV show is dreadfully boring.) I think ultimately he's the First Amendment hero he proclaimed to be in his 1997 biographical film "Private Parts." His broadcasting legacy will be in tact, regardless of anything he does at this point in his career. However, his "escape" this year from the public airwaves and commercial television strikes me more as persecution from his political enemies than the calculating business decision on his part he's attempting to project. The best programming on television (HBO) already costs me $70 a month, while inoffensive and bland programs rule the public spectrum.
You now have to pay for free speech in America.

posted by CM @ 12:18 AM