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LAWYER REFERRAL
NETWORK |
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ACLU briefing paper against drug prohibition
After decades of criminal prohibition and intensive law enforcement efforts to rid the
country of illegal drugs, violent traffickers still endanger life in our cities, a steady
stream of drug offenders still pours into jails and prisons, and tons of cocaine, heroin
and marih\juana still cross our borders unimpeded.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) opposes criminal prohibition of drugs. Not only
is prohibition a proven failure as a drug control strategy, but it subjects otherwise
law-abiding citizens to arrest, prosecution and imprisonment for what they do in private.
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Currently Illegal Drugs Have Not Always Been Illegal
During the Civil War, morphine became the main ingredient in several patent
medicines. In the late 19th century, marijuana and cocaine were put to various medicinal
and recreational uses.
At the turn of the century, many drugs were made illegal In 1914 opiates and cocaine
were banned and alcohol prohibition quickly followed. Suddenly, people were arrested and jailed for doing what they had previously done without
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Ira Glasser has served
as Executive Director of
the American
Civil Liberties
Union since 1978.
government interference. Prohibition also meant the emergence of a black market, operated by criminals and marked by violence.
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Decades of Drug Prohibition: A History of Failure
Since 1981, tax dollars to the tune of $150 billion have been spent trying to prevent Columbian cocaine, Burmese heroin and Jamaican marijuana from penetrating our borders.
While this military approach continues to devour billions of tax dollars and
sends tens of thousands of people to prison, illegal drug trafficking thrives, violence
escalates and drug abuse continues to debilitate lives. Continue... Drug Prohibition
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