Free Republic

America's war on drugs is actually a Raid on Taxpayers. The war costs an estimated $70 billion a year to prosecute, and the drugs keep pouring in. But while the War on Drugs may have failed its official mission, it is a great success as a job-creation program. Thousands of drug agents, police, detectives, prosecutors, judges, anti-drug activists, prison guards and their support staffs can thank the program for their daily bread and health benefits. The American people are clearly not ready to decriminalize cocaine, heroine or other hard drugs, but they're well on their way to easing up on...

The UK Government Could Revert Cannabis to a Class B Drug, but Harsher Penalties Will Only Feed the Black Market, Writes Ethan Nadlemann Young people laugh at the adult world when we talk about the war on drugs. People pretend we need prohibition on cannabis to protect the young. But it's precisely young people who have always had the greatest access to cannabis. If people in their fifties and sixties want cannabis, they ask their children. The British government says it is time to consider whether cannabis should revert to a class B drug. That would be an incredibly stupid...

CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush and his motorcade passed the growing camp of war protesters outside his ranch Friday without incident. As Bush passed on his way to and from a political fundraiser, law enforcement blocked two intersecting roads where the demonstrators have camped out all week. Officers required the group to stand behind yellow tape, but no one was asked to leave. The motorcade didn't stop. Cindy Sheehan, the California mother who started the vigil along the road leading to Bush's ranch, held a sign that read: "Why do you make time for donors and not for me?" It...