What were those Indians up to?

Did you ever wonder what was in those “peace pipes” the Indians used to smoke?  The pipes were in use long before tobacco was introduced to the New World, so what were they smoking?  And, why was it a “peace” pipe.  Did it have any relation to the “peace” loving pot smoking hippie generation?  Hmmm’.

While we're on the subject, what do drugs have to do with “peace” in the first place?  When anyone speaks of drugs, the first thought that comes to mind is crime!  When prohibition (18^th Amendment) took effect in 1920, crime escalated to unheard of levels.  That was the era that saw the rise of Al Capone and his ilk.  When the 18^th Amendment was finally repealed, the associated criminal activity evaporated.  Why haven’t we learned anything from that?

Maybe its time to legalize drugs.  Give them all they want!  The associated crime and power of the Cartels would instantly evaporate and many of the heavy users would soon OD, removing that burden from society.  The mystique that probably lures a lot of young users would also vaporize.  We could establish institutions for chronic users and our schools could visit them on field trips to show the students what to expect if they start using.  I couldn’t think of a better deterrent; kind of like “scared straight.”

A 2008 study by Harvard economist has estimated that legalizing drugs would inject $76.8 billion a year into the U.S. economy — $44.1 billion from law enforcement savings, and at least $32.7 billion in tax revenue.  How long do we continue failed policies before we do what is intuitively right, even though it might seem a little harsh?  We should learn from the Swedes, whose legalized but controlled policy on drugs has produced a druggie population that is one fifth that of neighboring Great Britain and even less than that of the United States.