Will Grigg?s Liberty Minute

Feburary 9, 2009

Exactly a century ago today, Congress passed the Opium Exclusion Act, the Opium Exclusion Act, thereby inaugurating the war on drugs. That campaign, which for 13 years included alcohol prohibition, has been the longest war in our nation?s history.

Prior to that time, Americans could purchase and use any drug at their local pharmacy. Cocaine was advertised as a topical analgesic in family magazines and included as an ingredient in Coca-Cola.

This did not lead to widespread drug addiction: According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, addiction rates during that period never rose above one-half of a percent of the population. Following a century of drug prohibition, an estimated four percent of the population struggles with addiction.

The War on Drugs has militarized law enforcement, gutted the Bill of Rights, and contributed to the breakdown of social order in countries from Colombia to Mexico. One century of such foolishness is enough.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.