When alcohol was prohibited in the United States, it didn’t take long for people to recognize it as a universally bad idea. Yet the same is true of the prohibition of other drugs, and for the same reasons. A popular slogan at the time was, “Save Our Children: Stamp Out Prohibition.” Perhaps we should bring it back, because the war on drugs certainly is endangering our children.

Ethan Nadelmann, founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, spoke at the New Hampshire Liberty Forum regarding the harm that the so-called war on drugs has done to society and what his organization is doing about it.

“This war on drugs, and the underlying prohibitionist system on which it’s based, is one of the greatest horrors, one of the greatest insults to freedom and justice, one of the greatest indignities happening in our society and around the world today,” Nadelmann said during his talk.

The Drug Policy Alliance aims to “promote drug policies based on science, compassion, health, and human rights,” according to its Web site. As most readers here already know, the drug war is itself the source and cause of drug war related problems such as gang violence, drug overdoses, and many other problems which don’t seem related to the drug war at first glance.

Unfortunately, due to schedule constraints, it was the only talk regarding drug policy at the Liberty Forum which I was able to capture. Blame the organizer for scheduling so many great talks during the same time slots.