The lost war on drugs.

The Economist provides an opinion piece [How to stop the drug wars Mar 5th 2009] on the failure of the war on drugs. The opinion is written as ministers from around the world gather in Vienna to set international drug policy for the next decade. The Econmist states that "the war on drugs has been a disaster, creating failed states in the developing world even as addiction has flourished in the rich world. By any sensible measure, this 100-year struggle has been illiberal, murderous and pointless." That is why The Economist continues to believe that the least bad policy is to legalize drugs. Legalization would not only drive away the gangsters; it would transform drugs from a law-and-order problem into a public-health problem, which is how they ought to be treated. Governments would tax and regulate the drug trade, and use the funds raised (and the billions saved on law-enforcement) to educate the public about the risks of drug-taking and to treat addiction. Comment: Is not this what we are doing with tobacco and alcohol?