Drug war failed; legalize marijuana – Would Columbia SC be better or worse?

It’s a simple question really, if marijuana were legalized, would Columbia South Carolina be a better place to live and raise families or worse?

A recent “The State” article titled “Major panel: Drug war failed; legalize marijuana” seems to be slanted in favor of drug legalization claiming“the global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world” which is the opinion of a UN commission or “major panel” on this matter.

The report goes on to emphatically state, “Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won".

The real question that really matters in this debate is; "would Columbia SC be better off or worse off by legalizing marijuana and other controlled substances”? Would Columbia SC be a better or worse place to live and raise families? Would the addiction epidemic, which is raging in Columbia, be made better or worse?

To begin to answer these imperative questions, one needs to first analyze the premise of “The States” opening position on this matter. Has Columbia SC in fact LOST the war on drugs? Has the “war on drugs” really “failed”?

For those of us with distance from our own youth, we are now able to realize moral issues such as this are never really a matter of being “won” or “lost”. We have learned that if we wish to have appealing property for a lifetime, we must occasionally paint and do other necessary maintenance. We have learned in order to preserve what we care about, we must keep it moving along a certain path. Entering the twilight of our on lives, we now know the absurdity of eliminating the speed limit just because a wreck has been reported at 60 mph. If addiction is truly a problem, how can “more substance” make anything better for anyone?

The real answer to Columbia’s addiction issues is not in more legally distributed substances but will be found by raising our children in such a manner they do not feel compelled to find a chemical that makes them feel “good enough” or worthy. We must raise our young so they have the self confidence, self esteem and the will to be able to “like themselves”. That will be the day we “win” the “war on drugs”.

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