Tom Swiss
Engl 391H
4/18/1991
The current efforts of the United States government to
eliminate drug use are causing concern among an increasing
segment of the population, and with good reason. The effects of
current drug policy have been almost entirely negative,
threatening the rights of all citizens while having little effect
on the availability and use of drugs.
We should first consider the legality of government actions against drug use and distribution. The Constitution specifically lists the duties and powers on Congress in Article I, Section VIII. They are: to lay and collect taxes and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States, to borrow money, to regulate international and interstate commerce, to establish laws for naturalization and bankruptcy, to coin money and regulate its value, to fix punishments for counterfeiting, to establish post offices and roads, to issue copyrights and patents, to establish inferior courts, to define and punish piracy, to declare war, to maintain an army and a navy and make rules governing the armed forces, to provide for the calling forth, arming, and organizing of the militia, to exercise exclusive legislation over the seat of government, and "[t]o make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers vested in by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof."
Nowhere in this list is there anything to suggest a federal power to regulate the use, intrastate sale, or production of drugs. And as the Tenth Amendment states that "[t]he powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited to it by the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people," there seems to be no legitimate Constitutional authority for federal drug laws.
But even putting this issue aside, serious questions remain about the violation of Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms in the attempt to enforce federal, state, and local drug laws. The Fourth Amendment's guarantee of "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures" is in serious jeopardy, as drug warriors break down more and more doors with less and less provocation. In Denver, for example, nearly half of the drug raids fail to produce any drugs, and the executive director of the ACLU in that city says the courts "give warrants just about anytime the police ask for them." [Quick Flashes, High Times, Dec '90]
The First Amendment's promises of free speech, free press, and free assembly are also in deep trouble. Consider one current case, described by Paul Hager of the Bloomington, Indiana chapter of the ACLU:
...Anyway, a case has come before us for review from the proprietor of a garden/hydroponics shop. This person is under indictment for conspiracy to grow and sell marijuana. The charges are based upon the fact that the proprietor advertised in High Times and Sensimilla Tips (among other pro-MJ [marijuana] publications) and is alleged to have sold equipment and given MJ growing information to a couple of undercover agents. In other words, and by extension, it may well be illegal for a librarian to help a patron find back issues of Sensimilla Tips on the shelf because that information could be used to grow marijuana.
[USENET message 1991Apr3.144941.16537@news.cs.indiana.edu]
(The emphasis is Hager's.) In fact, it seems that anyone who is involved with indoor gardening is automatically under suspicion of marijuana growing. In October of 1989, in an attempt to shut down the indoor production of marijuana, the DEA coordinated raids in 46 states on stores specializing in indoor gardening supplies, resulting in the confiscation of books, merchandise and records from more than three dozen stores, and the closing of several others. Eleven store owners were arrested. All of the stores investigated advertised in High Times or Sinsemilla Tips, indicating that this was very likely an attempt to scare advertisers away from these magazines, and shut them down - and tear up freedom of the press. [Marijuana McCarthyism, The New York Times, Dec 30 '89]
Freedom of religion is also a causality of the drug war. The law attempts to prevent some Native Americans, who use peyote in their religious ceremonies, and Rastafarians, who use marijuana in theirs, from freely practicing their religion. A nation that prides itself on religious freedom should be ashamed of this - especially in light of the fact that the Australian government has recently granted Rastafarian Ras-Daniel Walker, has won the right to smoke marijuana has part of his religious beliefs. [Quick Flashes, High Times, Feb '91] We worry so much about keeping up with other nations economically; maybe we should put some effort into keeping up them on freedom.
And to finish the demolition of the First Amendment, we have "anti-loitering" laws, such as one in the District of Columbia that allows police to cordon off streets, order people out of an area, and arrest anyone who gathers in a group of two or more people on charges of "failure to move on," [Powerful arms of drug war arousing concern for rights, The New York Times, Oct 16 '89]
In spite of all this rights-bashing, the Drug War hasn't stopped drug use, or even made a large dent in it. And history shows that it won't. European nations like Bavaria and Russia were unsuccessful in eliminating tobacco use in the 1600's, in spite of executing users. China passed its first anti-opium laws in 1792, calling for death by strangulation for sellers of that drug - but opium use continues there today. [Szasz, p.185] And the United States' attempt at alcohol prohibition stands as a shining example of a very, very bad idea.
Current drug policy is, from both a legal and pragmatic viewpoint, a failure. It's given us the world's largest per capita prison population, and put us on the road to a police state, while failing to accomplish its goals. Fundamental changes in federal goals and methods for dealing with drugs and drug users are necessary if the nation is to survive.
Szasz, Thomas. Ceremonial Chemistry Garden City, New York: Doubleday/Anchor, 1975.