The Dual Edged Swords

We've been having a lively conversation in the last post ("A Dead Farmer To Save Us").  It started as a post about the federal government's unconstitutional attempts (successes, really) in restricting access to raw milk products.  It has morphed into a broader conversation on the limits imposed by the Constitution on the federal government.

The Constitution is an elegant and simple document.  Its intent is to define and restrict the powers vested in the federal government.  If you doubt this, read the Federalist Papers or any of the historical documentation surrounding the ratification of the Constitution.  Hell, just read the words of the Constitution - it's pretty plain-spoken.

Clearly, this original intent has been bastardized.  The federal government has grown into this behemoth that literally controls all aspects of our personal lives.

In the previous post, I had asked an anonymous poster to cite the article or amendment to the Constitution that vested food safety powers to the feds.  He is still unable to do so, for the simple reason that those powers do not exist.

The conversation morphed over to drug control at the federal level.  I'm taking his last comments and am going to address the Constitutional foundation as to why virtually any control by the federal government over most aspects of our lives is not allowed.  In fact, it is prohibited by the Constitution.

The drug problem is bigger and more serious then you stated. estimates are that 80% or more of all small crime is committed by people using drugs who need money to buy drugs. That most murders are drug connected either committed by drug sellers killing a competitor or committed by drug addled criminals. And a large percentage of all auto accidents are directly related to drugs. This doesn't even count the huge negative impact of organized crime as aresult of the drug trade.  

Yep, drugs can be bad.  When a government makes them illegal, it pushes their manufacture and sale into the hands of criminals.  Al Capone was one of the largest benefactors of the early 20th century prohibition on alcohol.  Prohibition MADE Al Capone.  How many lives were ruined or lost, not because of what they chose to ingest, but because they had to break the law to acquire what they chose to ingest?

Now, we have cocaine druglords, marijuana druglords, meth druglords.  How much money are we pissing away to keep a willing buyer away from a willing seller?

Why does the federal government believe prohibition will save society when every time it has been attempted, it has failed and had the exact opposite intended effect on society?

If people wish to "get high," they will do so.

So the question is do we the people have the right to pass laws making it illegal to use and sell certain harmful drugs. Are you saying we do not? Are you saying that the constitution forbids laws to protect citizens from crimes and criminals?

First, a Constitutional review.  Article 1, Section 8 provides the following powers to the Legislative Branch:

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

So, the feds are empowered to restrict/regulate commerce between the US and other countries, and commerce between the states.  They can enact and enforce any laws which are restricted to those activities alone.  It can be the importation of coffee or cocaine from Columbia.  It can be the sale of pot or petunias between California and Nevada.

The tenth amendment prohibits any further powers of the federal government:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

So, to answer your question:  I am saying that the Constitution does not allow the federal government the powers to restrict the USE of anything.  They ONLY have the power to restrict the sale when it falls within their Constitutionally defined powers.

I actually think that you are saying that and you believe that states alone have the right to control drugs. 

Drugs which are consumed and produced inside that state?  You're damned right that's what I'm saying.  The same goes for raw milk, firearms, hot air balloons, pencils or any other product or service.

I assume you would also acknowledge that if each of the 50 states were to individually try to regulate and control harmful drugs that it would make a already monumental task much more difficult.

Your question presumes that a problem would exist if we allowed people the freedom to choose.  Why do you think the problem of people abusing drugs would blossom if they were suddenly re-legalized (because you know that all drugs were legal before the 1914 Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, right?)?

As I noted in the comments, I don't smoke pot, snort coke or shoot heroin.  If they were re-legalized, do you think I would suddenly burst with joy and run down to Sears to get my Craftsman Bong?  Get real.

I would burst with joy, though.  Because I would know that my portion of the $50 billion that is spent on federal drug enforcement would no longer be coming out of my pocket each year.

Here's the big difference between you and me:  I believe people will make the right choice and not ruin their lives by abusing drugs.  You assume they're too weak and stupid to make such a monumental decision, so in your infinite wisdom, their freedoms must be restricted.

BTW, the empirical evidence is on my side.  If I wanted any of the drugs listed above, I could have them within an hour.  I could be a drug addict if I wanted to be one, but I chose otherwise.  The law has no bearing on that personal decision.

So what should we do? Give up and legalize drugs? Some people do indeed advocate it. 

Yes, re-legalize at least at the federal level.  Your state could enact whatever laws it wishes.  It could choose liberal Amsterdam or draconian Singapore as its model.

I can guarantee that if the stigma of hard drug use is removed all children will use drugs and drug deaths and pregnancy statistics will shot through the roof.  

Really?  You can guarantee it?  Maybe you believe it, but you certainly cannot guarantee it.  And again, because of the ease of access right now, your supposition is weak at best.

Not to mention welfare costs and loss of productivity. 

Once again, the empirical evidence refutes your belief.  Anyone can get all of the drugs they want right now.

But your question shines a light on your world view - your statist colors are showing brightly.  "We must control their lives, because if they mess up, we've got to pay for the clean up".

No sir.

Personal choice and responsibility is a dual-edged sword - you don't get one without the other.  If a person ends up face down in a gutter, gargling blood and vomit, THEY need to pick themselves up out of the gutter.  Some will, some won't and some will die.  Ugly, horrible deaths.

And our kids will learn from that.  They will see the result of drug and alcohol abuse.

In your world (which is our current one) some government employee scoops them up, wipes their ass, tells them it's not their fault they're a drug addict and sends them on their way with a full belly.  These people are being shown that there is no downside to drug abuse.  In fact, they see that when you do abuse the drugs, someone will come and take care of you.  Such a deal!

I have never used illegal drugs and at my age it seems quite likely that at my age I never will. Drugs could be made legal tomorrow and I wouldn't go looking for crack or cocaine. But children and young adults would.

Huh?  I'm pretty sure that at one time, even YOU were a child and a young adult.  Why aren't YOU a crack head?

And if you say it's because you obey the law, you're lying to me and my readers.  Ever broke the speed limit? Yeah, that's what I thought.  You didn't take or abuse drugs because you made the personal choice not to do so - for whatever reason you may have.

Legalizing drugs (or the equivalent i.e. never having made them illegal) would be a disaster to our society. It would make our current economic and political problems pale by comparison.

No, it would be a Godsend.  Think of the money that would not be spent on imprisoning people who are in prison for making/growing, selling or using drugs, but have not infringed on the rights of others while doing so.

If you get drunk/high/stoned and harm someone, you go to jail.  YOU are responsible for your actions.  This "Minority Report" mentality - assuming that someone using drugs or alcohol will commit a crime - is bankrupting our society.  IT is what is at the root of our economic and political problems, not the act of allowing people the right to choose.

Epilogue

No, I'm not some heartless libertarian.  I just believe in personal responsibility.

In a free society, I can give donations to a drug rehabilitation charity to help my fellow citizens that have strayed into a bad way of life.  I want to help them get back on their feet, but not become responsible for their lives.

What is good about private charities - as opposed to government-mandated charities - is that they have the ability to judge and discriminate.  They can evaluate you and your circumstances.  They can keep track of the number of times you've "fallen off the wagon" and can kick your ass to the curb if you're abusing their facility and generosity.

You might end up cold, hungry or dead as a result.  Perhaps those consequences might influence your decisions in the future.

This Nanny State we've created is a dual-edge sword as well.  All of your needs are taken care of, but you have to live by a strict set of rules.

That sounds too much like prison for my liking.

Accept The Challenge

Pretty radical stuff, huh?  Not really.

We have become so de-sensitized to the fact that the government controls so many aspects of our lives.  Federal seatbelt laws.  Federal food laws.  Federal drug laws.  Federal gun laws.  Federal money laws.

We mostly nod and grin and quietly comply because we think - mostly - that we're not being negatively impacted.  We as a society drive with our seatbelts latched, drink pasteurized milk, don't shoot heroin, don't own guns and don't have enough money to worry about leaving the country with sizable amounts of cash.

But we should all be screaming about this.  For God's sake, look at the depth and breadth of the federal government's reach.  Most of the unconstitutional agencies and departments started out small and met little resistance because they seemed like a good idea at the time.

And then, like all government, they grew like a cancer.

What to do?  I read a great essay over at The Woodpile Report (link to "What to do") about opting out of federal elections.  The idea being that the federal government is so corrupted that it is un-fixable.  By participating in federal elections, we are providing it with credibility.  Focus your efforts strictly on state and local issues and politicians.  If some local guy or gal starts going down the wrong path, cut them off at the knees and get someone else in there that understands who is boss.

I need to let that idea sink in a bit.  Not voting goes against the grain for me.

At least right now.  My views on many subjects have changed over the past 4 or 5 years, and this one may change as well.  The premise of the article really hit home.  I've voted in every election since I was of age, and look at the pile of dung we've been left with.

Perhaps, "Screw you" time has arrived for the feds, and "Feet to the fire" for the locals.

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