Has the war on drugs failed? That’s the question a conference that starts tonight at the Baker Institute seeks to answer.
In a lecture starting at 7 pm tonight, travel writer Rick Steves will describe how Europe is fighting its drug abuse problems differently and, he contends, more effectively than the United States. Steves believes that the U.S. government’s war on marijuana, like its war on alcohol during the Prohibition, harms society more than the drug abuse problem it targets. He explains how the European approach is not hard on drugs or soft on drugs, but rather is smart on drugs. You can view a webcast of Steves’ remarks starting at 7 pm.
Then tomorrow, on Friday, the Baker Institute will host a conference titled “The War on Drugs Has Failed. Is Legalization the Answer?” Able and respected defenders of current policy, leading advocates for reform and academic researchers will discuss and examine key issues such as alternatives to prohibition, effects of the war on drugs on minority communities and international efforts to reduce the harms of drug abuse. The webcast for that event begins Friday morning at 8:30 am.
Both events are sponsored by the Baker Institute Drug Policy Program. Below is a conference preview featuring William Martin, the institute’s Harry and Hazel Chavanne Senior Fellow in Religion and Public Policy.