Christine M. Flowers: Legalize drugs? Far out, dude . . .

I'M A DEVOUT capitalist. My belief in the free market is second only to my faith in the Holy Trinity. But I draw the line at drugs.

Over recent days, some savvy people have exploited both the weakened economy and the deadly violence on our Mexican border to yet again push for the legalization of narcotics.

The argument goes like this:

It's the illegal nature of the drug trade that causes the carnage. Thus, if we treat controlled substances just like any other commodity and regulate them in accordance with existing laws of commerce, we'll eliminate the extreme profit motive. And, presumably, the mayhem.

One Ivy type has even opined that legalizing drugs is the patriotic thing to do. Jeffrey Miron, a senior lecturer in economics at Harvard, writes that "it is impossible to reconcile respect for individual liberty with drug prohibition."

So we can solve the drug problem if we "just say no" to wholesale restrictions on their production, use and transfer. By eliminating the black market, we can let people exercise their constitutional right to get stoned, all the while benefiting from increased tax revenues and removing the social stigma of addiction....