We should ask ourselves the simple but fundamental question: “Can organized societies do a better job than organized crime at managing and controlling psychoactive substances?” which is placing the bar very low. I obviously think they can. In my just released book "World War-D" (www.worldwar-d.com), I explain why and how. After all, the vast majority of psychoactive substances, including the two deadliest, are already legal and more or less efficiently controlled.
Going beyond the often simplistic characterizations of the War on Drugs rhetoric, “Word War D” clearly demonstrates that prohibition is the worst possible form of control. The so-called “controlled substances” are effectively out of control, or rather, are controlled by the underworld at a staggering and ever-growing human, social, economic and geo-political cost to the world.
The only long-term sustainable solution to the War on Drugs conundrum is global re-legalization under a multi-tiers “legalize, tax, control, prevent, treat and educate” regime with practical and efficient mechanisms to manage and minimize societal costs. Far from giving up and far from an endorsement, controlled legalization would be finally growing up; being realistic instead of being in denial; being in control instead of leaving control to the underworld. It would abolish the current regime of socialization of costs and privatization of profits to criminal enterprises, depriving them of their main source of income and making our world a safer place.