Way to Go, Joe!

According to this report from the Drug Policy Alliance, before he left office, President Joe Biden pardoned nearly 2500 Americans convicted of drug offenses. In my opinion, he did the right thing, and it was long overdue. Our criminal justice system punished these people for the crime of having an illness: addiction. They needed help -- not punishment.

We know this "war on drugs" approach continues to fail every time law-enforcement boasts of another drug-bust. These busts prove nothing except that their actions continue to support the cartels by guaranteeing them a burgeoning black market.

Tell your government representatives to abandon this futile effort and focus instead on reducing harm to those unfortunate enough to have been born with brains that react differently to drugs than do others. And make sure they understand that such profound changes will take time to bear fruit, probably decades to achive their full potential, and put the cartels out of business. For a good starting point, I suggest we consider reviving the opium den. Opium has to be safer than fentanyl, especially when used in a controlled setting.

We abandoned prohibition. It's time we abandon the war on drugs.

Berry Edwards, MD