The Republican Party has begun to change its thinking on illegal drugs in recent years. Or at least how they are policed.
The latest example: during yesterday’s address at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, Governor Chris Christie outlined some of his drug enforcement reform initiatives in New Jersey. The real news to come out of it? Christie said something you would’ve never heard from a Reagan-era Republican; specifically, that the “war on drugs, while well-intentioned, has been a failure.”
Listen:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsZQpvHG39c
Not even Save Jersey’s contributors are 100% in agreement, at least regarding the next major issue: legalization.
Jason LaMarca is opposed. Joshua Einstein and Jersey Rick are in favor. Even the Governor’s exact current position is a topic of debate (and a matter of interpretation).
The Democrats biggest fear is a change in policy in the "war of drugs". If the policy changed to education and treatment, not incarceration, then there would be a substantial reduction in the number of public sector "drug warriors" starting with prison and jail guards. Without the public sector unions the Democrats have some major problems.
Actually, I'm not opposed. I think the prohibition is more trouble than its worth. However, I also think the decriminalization without legalization is worse than either legalization or prohibition.