Ending the War on Drugs: A Solution for America (Paperback)

With each passing day, this tactic becomes harder to get away with, as "fringe" types such as George Schultz, Walter Cronkite and Perez de Cuellar weigh in against the Drug War. The latest of these "fringe" elements to come out against our idiotic drug policy is Dirk Chase Eldredge, a founding bank director, "successful entrepreneur," and former co-chairman of Ronald Reagan's campaign for governor of California.

This conservative Republican has examined our drug policies in considerable detail. He details the failures of the Justice Department, FBI, US Customs Service, and others in their futile quest for a "drug-free America."

He clearly points out the horrendous effects of these policies on our country: the overcrowded prisons, police corruption, violence, spread of AIDS, unjust sentencing, judicial overload, and the tyranny of asset forfeiture.

Some months ago, I was having a drink with Judge Jim Gray, an Orange County, California, Republican running for Congress, and I asked him how he broaches the subject of the Drug War to his conservative constituents. "Easy," he replied. "I just say, 'let me tell you about an $18 billion federal program that doesn't work,' and they're all ears." That is just what Eldredge does in "Ending the War on Drugs." He gives us just the facts, Ma'am. Those facts are the key to effective policy, and Eldredge has plenty of them.

There is, however, a human note to his opus, too. Eldredge points out that his father's life was ruined by his addiction to alcohol, and that what he needed was help from medical people, not law enforcement. Eldredge is also quick to point out that the vast majority of drinkers, unlike his dad, do not have a problem with alcohol. Likewise, he says, "Ninety-six percent of people use drugs today, use them recreationally, without harming anyone."

Eldredge also gives lie to the "Try and Die" is another myth promoted by Prohibitionists. In the preface, Eldredge says, "America's War on Drugs is reminiscent of the Russian princess who sat weeping profusely at the death of the hero in a performance at the opera, while, at the curb, her waiting carriage driver froze to death in a Moscow ice storm." He understands the inherently dishonest nature of the Drug War and makes an excellent case for ending it.

If I have a quarrel with anything in this book, it is with his solution, or at least part of it. There are three possible administrators of the multi-billion-dollar drug market in the US - the free-market, the government, and the underworld. Currently, our policy-makers obviously favor giving control to the underworld. Ending the Drug War would leave us two choices; the free-market or the government. Eldredge favors the latter, in the form of state-run stores akin to the alcohol sales system in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and other states. While this is an obvious improvement over turning the market over to the Mob, as we do today, I'm surprised that a self-proclaimed conservative Republican would opt for this Socialistic solution. A more effective system of state-regulated but privately owned "drug stores" would seem to be a better way to go. We are still a long way from either of these solutions, and have ample time to debate which one will prevail. Hopefully this book will hasten the time when that decision will have to be made.

1/ Drug addiction is quite rare;

2/ Drug dependence is likewise rare, far less widespread than alcohol dependency, for instance;

3/ Both are largely avoidable through educational efforts and treatable medically and/or therapeutically;

4/ The attempt to control drugs in society by prohibition has been worse than a total failure. It has created enormous economic incentives to both distributors and users for the promotion of drug;

5/ Excellent precedents for resolving the drug problem exist in the country's experience in ending alcohol Prohibition.

Eldredge, an avowed conservative, adds a thoughtful, well-researched and highly readable work to the growing body of argument for a radical change in our approach to the drug problem. He butresses his case for legal, controlled distribution with sound argument, cogent examples and solid statistics. He illustrates the futility and wasteful expense of our present approach with a combination of factual evidence and telling anecdotal example.

This book should be required reading for every citizen interested in one of the most difficult issues of our time. As a start, it would be most helpful to ask every member of Congress to read it, if for no other reason than to understand the waste and futility of our current policies.

It is doubtful that Eldredge's book alone will precipitate the necessary change of public opinion to permit us to try a different course, but he has added a worthwhile and constructive voice to the growing chorus.