Campaign Promises vs Presidential Actions
Barack Obama campaigned for the presidency in 2008 with promises to reform the War on Drugs. He criticized its ineffectiveness and was advocating for a shift towards a public health approach to drug abuse.
But Obama’s administration broke its initial promises. It continued certain police tactics and, in some cases, made them worse.
- Civil Liberties Concerns. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) under Obama’s tenure engaged in controversial practices such as warrantless “data mining” of travel itineraries and civil asset forfeiture based on suspicion of drug-related activity.These practices, which resulted in over $200 million seized at major airports raised significant civil liberties concerns, including violations of privacy rights and due process.
- Medical Privacy. So far, 32 states already share prescription data with the DEA. And the Obama administration has sued the remaining states in federal court to force them into line.The administration claims it has the right to obtain prescription data using only an “administrative subpoena.” This demand for information requires the agency issuing it to demonstrate that the information sought could be useful for law enforcement purposes. There’s no probable cause, no warrant, no “due process” whatsoever.
The Obama administration argues that you have no expectation of privacy in your prescription records because you have submitted them to a third party – a pharmacy.
The Costly Legacy of the War on Drugs
Obama was only the latest president to pursue the War on Drugs.
The war unofficially began in 1914, when Congress restricted the marketing of opiates and coca/cocaine products. Congress later imposed similar restrictions on marijuana.
Federal penalties for drug possession were stiffened in the 1950s, and in 1970. Congress enacted a law that gave federal prosecutors the right to confiscate the property of anyone convicted of drug trafficking in a process called criminal forfeiture.
Eight years later, Congress gave prosecutors the ability to seize the property of anyone suspected of involvement in the drug trade through civil forfeiture proceedings.
Today, nearly one-fifth of the inmates in America’s state prisons are there due to drug-related offenses, and drug offenders represent about half of all inmates in federal prisons.
And the results? In 1900, somewhere between 2% and 5% of people living in the US were addicted to drugs primarily morphine. Today, the numbers are still in that range, according to the United Nations.
The War on Drugs Continues
In the meantime, the War on Drugs has become a huge industry.
Direct spending by the federal government to fight this war eats up about $15 billion annually. State and local governments spend billions more arresting, processing, and incarcerating people for drug offenses. Merely operating the nation’s prisons costs over $80 billion each year.
Ending or even relaxing the War on Drugs would inevitably lead to law enforcement budget cuts. And the status quo is defended by legions of lobbyists and by bureaucrats who have spent a lifetime fighting this war. The only choice, then, is to ramp it up. And that’s exactly what Obama is doing.
All to pursue a strategy that’s not only invasive of privacy, but hugely expensive and completely ineffective.
The experience of the last century brings to mind the words of one of my favorite authors, H. L. Mencken. In 1925, five years after the 18th Amendment, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcoholic beverages, Mencken wrote:
There is not less drunkenness in the Republic, but more. There is not less crime, but more. There is not less insanity, but more. The cost of government is not smaller, but vastly greater. Respect for law has not increased, but diminished.
In 1933, the 18th Amendment was repealed. It’s time to do the same for the War on Drugs.
Incidentally, many other countries have already decriminalized or even outright legalized formerly illicit drugs. Uruguay has fully legalized marijuana. Portugal has decriminalized all drugs – even heroin. The Czech Republic has followed a similar approach.
As with so many other aspects of life in America, if you don’t wish to become part of the ever-escalating War on Drugs, maybe it’s time to think about planning your exit strategy.
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