Yes, if we harm ourselves it may emotionally harm others. That’s unfortunate, but not grounds for putting us in jail. If it were, every time we stopped dating person A in order to date person B, we would run the risk of going to jail for hurting person A. If person B were hurt by our being put in jail, person A could be put in jail for hurting person B. This would, of course, hurt person A’s mother, who would see to it that person B would go to jail. Eventually, we’d all be in jail…. Roughly half of the arrests and court cases in the United States each year involve consensual crimes – actions that are against the law, but directly harm no one’s person or property except, possibly, the “criminal’s.” More than 750,000 people are in jail right now because of something they did, something that did not physically harm the person or property of another. In addition, more than 3,000,000 people are on parole or probation for consensual crimes. Further, more than 4,000,000 people are arrested each year for doing something that hurts no one but, potentially, themselves.
– Peter McWilliams, Ain’t Nobody’s Business If You Do [1996] |
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| January 18, 2023
Will a Crackdown Finally Win the War on Drugs?
Among the federal government’s biggest failures is the war on drugs. Despite decades of warfare, the federal government is still a long way from declaring victory. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Today, the federal government is still fiercely waging the drug war, trying as hard as it can to win. Throughout the decades, drug warriors have lamented that federal officials just haven’t … |
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