Don't Just Treat the Drug Problem, Legalize It!

As a opponent of the Failed War on Drugs, I prefer all drugs, including alcohol and tobacco to be legalized, regulated, and taxed. But this would be a good start.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Leonard D. Hamm is among a diverse group of city officials who are backing proposed legislation that would force the governor to spend as much as $30 million annually for drug treatment in Maryland.

The new funds would come from a proposed $1 increase in the state's cigarette tax, an idea that has been around for several years but has yet to win the approval of the General Assembly. The last time the cigarette tax was increased - today it is $1 a pack - was in 1999 under then-Gov. Parris N. Glendening.

Besides a boost to drug treatment, revenue from the tax also would be used to expand health care services to uninsured Marylanders and help to fully fund the state's tobacco-use prevention and cessation program. The national Centers for Disease Control recommended that Maryland spend $35 million on tobacco-related programs, but the government allocates about $21 million annually.

Here's a tibbit of Baltimore's drug problem:

It is estimated that Baltimore has tens of thousands of drug addicts, but the city is able to provide treatment to about 25,000 people a year. Drug treatment advocates say that with an additional $15 million a year the city could finally come close to providing "treatment on demand" to a majority of drug addicts.

Legalize illegal drugs, and I promise you that those tens of thousands will be reduced to just 10%. But while the State can do so much to resove the Drug War, the only real change will have depend on the Federal Congress, but do not expect them to do anything.