Welcome! We’re glad you’re here
Allow me to introduce our organization. We at antiprohibit.org believe that the nation’s policy of full prohibition of drugs is doing more harm than good.
The full legalization of all drugs that one can reasonably grow oneself is the only way to end the insanity that is the War on Drugs. Before you dismiss us as lunatics of a special variety, we have our reasons. The biggest of these is to save lives. The country has been in a state of full or partial drug prohibition for 108 years, and the result has been devastating.
Since then, drugs have become more ubiquitous, not less. They are more potent, less expensive, and more readily available than ever before. Millions of people have died as a result. Countless families have been destroyed. Black and Hispanic families are disproportionately affected by the policy of prohibition, which has its roots in racism and fear.
Illegalizing drugs didn’t remove humanity’s appetite for them; instead, it forced their use underground, and lined the pockets of the cartels, gangs, criminals, and – probably most of all – the government agencies entrusted with the impossible task of keeping drugs unavailable, and those involved with the penal and rehabilitation systems.
Children are taught to fear drugs. They are shown pictures of jail cells, homeless people, and gang violence.
In reality, these consequences are caused by the legal status of drugs, rather than drug use itself. By maintaining their status as an illegal item, the government has only increased the destruction that they cause.
So, what’s the Solution?
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
– Albert Einstein
What we’ve been doing isn’t working…
Before we talk about the solution, let’s talk about what the future looks like if we do nothing. More people will die due to overdoses caused by ingesting unregulated illicit substances. More people will leave their friends who have just overdosed to die for fear of legal repercussions. More families will be ripped apart by the current racist policy of prohibition. More gun violence. More cartels. More money spent on the so-called “War On Drugs.” More chaos. More waste. Indeed, the future looks pretty bleak if we continue down the path we’re on.
… so let’s try something else
First of all, let’s dispel some of the fear surrounding drugs and their use. This is an uphill battle particularly among generation X and earlier, partly due to government funded advertising campaigns like D.A.R.E. Contrary to what taxpayer funded programs like “This is your brain on drugs” (while showing a frying egg – cute) say, most drugs don’t cause brain damage. In fact, the majority of drugs cause no lasting harm when ethically sourced, purity is controlled, and are dosed accurately.
We propose that the proper course of action is to immediately repeal drug prohibition laws, and replace them with a safe supply of drugs that are taxed (like alcohol). Alcohol was also prohibited in 1914, but it alone was “forgiven”, legalized, and taxed. Today, it enjoys widespread acceptance, and provides almost 8 billion dollars in annual tax revenue per year.
This path has been traveled by other Western nations in recent times. They don’t see a massive uptick in the rates of drug usage among their population. Denmark, Norway, and Portugal have all decriminalized personal amounts of drugs. The result? Their population enjoys a lower level of drug use, and virtually no fatal overdoses.
The solution to the “drug problem” is full legalization of all drugs.