The War on Drugs

On coming home from Guam after the Vietnam War, my dad's reaction to hearing the phrase The War on Drugs was, "That's not a war! If it was a war, we'd have the Navy in the Gulf of Mexico, the Army on the boarder with Texas, and if you entered our air space, you'd have 30 seconds to identify or we'd put you in the drink. That would be a war on drugs."

The Young Mind

"So what do we have?" I asked.
"Price fixing," my dad replied.
"What's price fixing?" asking again.
"You know how any store can sell chocolate? Well if it was illegal, but a lot of people knew how good it tasted, they'd still want some and would be willing to sneak around to get it. It would cost way more than it does now because competition would be with the government instead of with other stores."

As a first grader, this was way over my head. What's even more ironic is that ours was a house that didn't drink or smoke and was very religiously conservative. However, my dad hated that one of his own party's president Richard Nixon used the word War like that.

The extreme context of real war and real fighting have come into our everyday life for tough things but not truly war-killing like things. Instead of teaching our children rhetoric, most schools and power structures use (usually low-grade) rhetoric to manipulate their "members."

Cross-market Effects

It was pretty evident that Prohibition failed. Our country was torn apart by folks that wanted government to dictate morals to the country. However, it only undid the regulations to the largest masses of the populace and registered voting base.

Instead for marijuana it kept being persecuted. Any popular substitute for recreational drugs other than alcohol and tobacco have been persecuted. Alcohol and tobacco have been regulated and "sin-taxed" to a point of persecution-lite.

I remember in the 80's that crack came out as compressed form of coke. One could get the same high with less. However, in American culture we often see "If a little is good more is great!" This sort of thing started has been rolling on through the decades since.

The Colorado Experiment

Colorado is cool and legal and hasn't fallen apart at the seems. Just like Americans learned to hold their liquor again in 1933. I'm sure there will be "studies" funded by preferred positions that "prove" their view. This isn't science any more than the 1970's prediction for end of energy or food or environmental catastrophe by the 80's, 90's, or 2000, or 2012 or ...

We are resilient! (That 'we' is for @sethlinson ;) ) Government however is ever looking for a reason to take more control of our lives. Weather, energy and "drugs" are just convenient excuses for them toward that end.

Over the Counter

Then there is the matter of turning innocent civilians into suspects and tracked. Got a cold? Need some meds that might be used in making items on the no-no list? Congratulations, you are now tracked as a suspect. You have a file.

Now aerosols are even getting attention from at least 38 states. What's next? Folks looking for a high will keep searching and keep finding items nearly as fast as government can react.

Not a Difficult Jump

As with many other things whole categories of items will be "illegal" or require permission to purchase. Forget freedom, the government is here to help, protect and save you from yourself.

And while Ronald Reagan was famous for saying, "I think you all know that I've always felt that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." when talking to Illinois farmers. Yet not only do is government still involved with manipulating our farming, it expanded the war on drugs with the equally infamous Nancy campaign, "Just Say No." and wow was government there to "help."

Now What?

The current President campaigned on lightening government persecution in this area. The great "Swamp Drainer" promptly appointed a swamp monster as chief persecutor or prosecutor of drugs and his views in no way match the candidate-now-president's spoke desire.

Will the Colorado Experiment spread? All states were intended to be their own experiments in liberty and freedom. Some states had followed and others seemed on the brink. Now there is a chill that could easily stop this.

What will be telling is that the net most free states are likely to continue to grow and the net must unfree will continue to spiral into despotism, looking for federal bailouts at every turn.

I could be wrong. Will states be allowed separate points of view? Will more join Colorado? Will intelligent people start teaching themselves and their children rhetoric in an effort to get out of the swamp they've allowed themselves to bathe and lounge in? What else can individuals do? Let's talk in the comments below.