Not only does [paternalism] force officers to risk potentially life-threatening physical altercations . . . , it also forces those who signed up “to serve and protect” to act in direct contradiction to that purpose.
So long as a person does not hurt anyone through the use of force, his decision to use a given substance should be respected legally, even if it may lead to his ruination.
This week marks the 40th Anniversary of the "War on Drugs," first declared by President Richard Nixon, who subsequently created the Drug Enforcement Agency. A piece on The Atlantic Wire reminds us about the drug war’s track record of failure, and ponders why it continues: Though
