The
forthcoming killing of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran continues to
horrify the Australian public, but the cause of this travesty of justice
escapes most people. It is the ever-failing “war on drugs” that is the
problem. The Criminal Justice System is a growth industry, as evident
in this latest splurge by the Victorian Government. It will not reduce
the “scourge”, but inevitably exacerbate the problem because of the
inevitable consequences of prohibition. Certainly,
the death penalty does deter some people, but it is clearly not a total
deterrent, because obviously there continue to be sufficient people who
think they will get away with it to keep the illegal drug trade
prospering. Every time a “drug lord” is caught, a gang war follows and
there are plenty of deputies ready to take over, each more ruthless than
their predecessor. While the Lawyers and crime bureaucrats prosper as
well as the untaxed, unregulated drug traders themselves, the situation
will continue to become more of a social problem. Meanwhile, these two
young men will die, along with the many others who suffer as a result of
this misplaced law. When will society put the wowsers in their place,
accept that recreational drugs will always be popular, and regulate them
instead of distorting the market with a failed prohibition that results
in far worse problems that are caused by the drugs themselves?
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drug and booze buses, needle exchanges and police crackdowns on drug
labs will be the key strategies to tackle the scourge of ice use in
Victoria.