Raising a white flag in the drug war

Advocates for the drug war often hypothesize nightmare scenarios where the legalization of drugs will lead to chaos and total social breakdown, constructing fantasies about legions of chemically addled criminals preying upon the helpless citizenry while in search of their next high. But, as has been seen in Colombia and more recently in Mexico, it is actually the illegalization of drugs that causes social devastation, as the drug war's efforts to interdict supply only increases the price of drugs and therefore the profit of the criminal gangs willing to trade in them. As these profits grow, so too does the power of the drug-dealing criminals, until they are strong enough to directly contest local and state government authorities. Or, as is all too often the case, simply purchase and control them.

Vox Day