U.S. has more to lose if it gives up ‘drug war’

Editor,

I am writing in response to Craig Butler’s Jan. 31 column, “Laws can’t change reality.” I usually enjoy Butler columns and find them engaging. However, I must dispute some of his logic in this column.

My first problem is a matter of economics. Butler said the more money the United States spends on the drug war, the more money the drug cartels receive, implying that our efforts increase their profits by raising drug prices. The only ways the drug war could drive up prices for drugs are by restricting supply or by increasing the cartels’ costs.

It is impossible to tell whether a restriction of supply would decrease their profits — extensive data on the supply and demand functions would be necessary — but an increase in the cartels’ costs would invariably lower their profits.

In addition, both a restriction of supply and an increase in the cartels’ costs would cause the total supply available for purchase in America to decline. The cartels certainly could not “spread their product to more Americans.”

Butler proceeds to say, “When you’re not winning a war, why keep fighting?” We must keep fighting because it’s a war that needs to be fought. During the American Revolution, we were losing for years. Should we have simply given up? I find it frightful to think what America would be like if our forefathers had the lack of courage and determination that Mr. Butler displayed.

Marijuana has to have some beneficial qualities in addition to the negative side effects, but virtually all other illegal drugs have only harmful effects. Why should we let objects that cause only harm to society be legal? Decriminalization would be just as detrimental.

Regardless of whether decriminalization convinces some people that drugs are socially acceptable, it’s a simple fact that more people would use more drugs. However, it’s uncertain, due to economic factors, whether the price of drugs would go down very much, if at all. Therefore, the crimes that Butler mentioned people commit to get money for drugs would not stop and may not even lessen.

I do heartily agree with Butler that the key to reducing drug use is to determine the reasons why people start using drugs and to put forth much effort to eliminate these reasons. I certainly agree that many parents are not raising their children anymore, which causes a multitude of problems, not just being more susceptible to drug use.

Finally, Butler states, “The mentality that laws change reality is a blind foolishness ...” This is absurd. If it were true, then all laws would be absolutely useless. I am aware that many people occasionally break a few laws — speed limit, littering, etc. However, laws and punishments do much to curb these impulses that society has deemed hazardous or morally irresponsible.

Our system of laws may not be even close to perfect, but we are certainly far from anarchy.

Jonathan Clark

UNM student