February 4, 2016
Chris Dock | LPMN State Chair
The Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission recently voted 7-3 in favor of revising the recommended prison sentences for first-time offenders for possession and sale of drugs. Is this a sign that government is recognizing the failure of the War on Drugs? Unfortunately, no.
One reason for the new guidelines is to save on prison bed usage. The new sentencing guidelines are expected to save 523 prison beds in Minnesota by the year 2028. That’s a reduction of just 5% over a 12-year span – not exactly a huge impact!
And this doesn’t mean these people won’t go to jail for their drug offenses – just that they will go to jail for a shorter period of time. They will still be taken away from their families, lose their jobs, and have a drug conviction on their record that will make future employment extremely challenging.
Wouldn’t it be much better if the government were to admit that its War on Drugs is a complete failure, and to make meaningful changes to the law? People are now realizing that the War on Drugs is creating bigger problems than it solves:
- We are worried about people who are addicted to drugs – yet the War on Drugs puts addicts in jail rather than treatment. Even if a first arrest is for minor possession and results in probation, an addict by definition will continue to use drugs; when they are arrested for possession again they will eventually end up in prison. In states with a “three strikes” law, some of these addicts receive life sentences for committing victimless crimes.
- We are worried about the unequal treatment of minorities in our justice system – yet the War on Drugs has resulted in black youth being 10 times more likely than white youth to be arrested for drug crimes, although white youth are statistically more likely to abuse drugs.
- We are worried about children who grow up without both parents being present – yet the War on Drugs has resulted in approximately 1.4 million children in the U.S. currently having a parent in prison due to a drug conviction.
- We are worried about the violence of street gangs and international drug cartels – yet the War on Drugs creates the black market that provides the gangs and cartels with nearly all of their operating revenue, and a violent environment in which they are willing to protect their businesses by any means necessary.
- We are worried about the enormous debt incurred by our State and Federal governments, yet the War on Drugs costs more than $50 billion each year for drug enforcement; so far it has cost over $1 trillion. The black market in illegal drugs alone involves over $400 billion each year, none of it subject to taxes. Colorado’s 2015 tax revenue just from legalizing marijuana was over $70 million.
The Libertarian Party does not condone drug abuse, just as we don’t condone the abuse of alcohol, nicotine, gambling, sugar, or any other substance. However, we do believe that nonviolent people should have the freedom to make their own choices as long as they accept the responsibility for the outcome of those choices.
History shows that when the government creates an artificial prohibition – even when the purported intent may be to improve people’s lives – the program creates unintended negative consequences. We’ve had these failed War on Drugs policies for long enough. It’s time to legalize marijuana, decriminalize other recreational drugs, focus on treatment rather than imprisonment, and stop perpetuating a violent environment where one would not otherwise exist.
Concerned about the expansion of government control and the erosion of individual liberty? Please consider joining and becoming active with the Libertarian Party of Minnesota. Libertarians support liberty on all issues, all the time! Libertarianism is a philosophical and political movement to promote personal freedom, strong civil liberties, a genuinely free marketplace, and peace.
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