Roughly 53 years ago, nearly my entire lifespan, the U.S. Government embarked upon a global war on drugs.  Has that effort been a failure?  A success? Worth the costs?  Is victory achieved or achievable?  What policies would be required to “win?”  Are those new/different policies worth their costs?  

Other than the public’s relatively unyielding toleration for the policy, has drug prohibition been different from our prior experiences with alcohol prohibition? If so, how?  

Is there another area of the law, or of public policy, where we as a society choose to invest vast resources in the very people who create the problem, i.e., the people who choose to use drugs?  Why does this single issue require such a deviation from the norm?  Why is protecting the drug user/abuser/addict from themselves and their own choices worth the investment and drawing the money from those who do not use/abuse drugs?  

Nearly every community has at least one, if not multiple, free rehabilitation centers.  When is it time to cut them loose and let them make their own decisions and to quit making Mexican Cartel leaders billionaires? 

Discuss.