This documentary by Penn and Teller [1] characterizes the “War on Drugs” as “The new prohibition.” The documentary is a no-holds-barred presentation that includes some coarse language. Here is Part II [2] and here is Part III. [3]
The statistics are compelling. Alcohol causes 50,000 deaths per year. Tobacco causes 440,000 deaths per year. Marijuana has yet to cause a single death. It is simply not toxic. Yet marijuana is the one drug of these three that the government condemns, while the others, both dangerous and highy taxed, are freely available. Why? Not clear, not consistent and not sensible, according to this documentary.
In the meantime, the government acknowledges that people should be free to consider whether or not they will use alcohol and tobacco, based upon an assumption that each individual can weigh information regarding the substantial risks of such drugs. When it comes to street drugs, though, the government thinks that people can’t be trusted to decide for themselves. Further, the government continues to conduct a campaign of violence against individual users of drugs, throwing hundreds of thousands of them into expensive prisons, at a cost exceeding $20,000 per prisoner per year. Actually, this reminds me of an important issue: why do so many people reach for street drugs (and legal drugs) rather than dealing with life’s challenges in more productive ways? I suspect that it’s because we don’t seriously invest in our children while they are young. [4]
Penn and Teller are not advocating the recreational use of drugs. Much to the contrary. Penn indicates several times that the recreational use of street drugs is “stupid” in almost all cases (I generally agree). An exception is the medical use of marijuana, covered in Parts II and III. Check out the compelling interviews, undeniable cases where the use of marijuana substantially relieved severe suffering. To take a contrary position in the face of this evidence of constant suffering is nothing less than sadistic.
The conclusion of this documentary is that the “War on Drugs” is an senseless and expensive war that creates violence, gangs and black markets, as well as ruining neighborhoods and lives. And it does all of this without creating any measurable benefit, contrary to the grandiose claims of those who support the “War on Drugs.”
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