Presidency 1980 - FTP Directory Listing

Drugfighter's targetMilton FriedmanMilton Friedman is a veryselfless man. He wants togive your sons and daughtersthe "right" to become drug addicts.He says that the "freedomto choose" to destroy one's mindand body is a fundamental humanright that society mustprotect. He's been working foryears to repeal all legal restrictionson heroin, marijuana,LSD, angel dust, cocaine, etc.,in order to guarantee that right.And he wants to stop you frominfringing on someone else'sright to get hooked on drugs.This self-styled conservativeeconomist who's been advisingRonald Reagan since the mid-1970s, first went public with hisprodrug stand in a column thatappeared in the May 1, 1972issue of the liberal magazine,Newsweek under the title "Prohibitionand Drugs."@ Decriminalization:First, he stated on what hetermed "ethical grounds," that"... I believe that we have noright to use force, directly orindirectly, to prevent a fellowman from committing suicide,let alone from drinking alcoholor taking drugs. ..."Second, he claimed that prohibitingdrugs "is an attemptedcure that makes mattersworse—for both the addict andthe rest of us," whereas legalizingdrugs would help both theaddict and the rest of society.Although "legalizing drugsmight increase the number ofaddicts," that's not the importantpoint. "Whatever happensto the number of addicts, theindividual addict would clearlybe far better off if drugs werelegal. Today, drugs are both incrediblyexpensive and highlyuncertain in quality."Addicts are driven to associatewith criminals to get drugs,become criminals themselves tofinance the habit, and risk constantdanger of death and disease.... Legalizing drugs wouldsimultaneously reduce theamount of crime and raise thequality of law enforcement,enforcement."In conclusion, he assertedthat quashing the illegal drugtrade is impossible:"But, you say, must we acceptdefeat? Why not simply end thedrug traffic? We cannot end thedrug traffic ... so long as largesums of money are involved—and they are bound to be ifdrugs are illegal—it is literallyhopeless to expect to end thetraffic or even to reduce seriouslyits scope."® The Hong Kong connection:In September 1978, MiltonFriedman hailed Hong Kong as"the modern exemplar of freemarkets and limited government."The occasion was themeeting in the British crowncolony of the Mont Pelerin Society,an elite and secretivebody set up by the pretender tothe Austrian imperial throne,Otto von Hapsburg. Friedmanis Mont Pelerin's vice president.Friedman's admiration forHong Kong may be linked to hisinsistence the drug trade cannotbe stopped. As David Goldmandocuments in this issue, the illegaldrug trade is a tightly organizedinternational networkrun from the top by a group ofmerchant-banking familiesbased primarily in London andHong Kong. They set drugprices, control distribution andproduction, and dictate the politicalconditions enabling themto do business with little interferencefrom law enforcement.® Pacification:On a radio program broadcastin Atlanta last year, Friedmanavowed his admiration for HjalmarSchacht, Hitler's financeminister. He has appliedSchacht's policies in his "advisory"capacity for the governmentsof Chile and Israel, twocountries that have skyrocketinginflation.Under Schacht and Hitler,German laborers were givensynthetic heroin ("dolphine,"now known as methadone) toenable them to bear backbreakinglabor without complaint.© What to do:Call Ronald Reagan's presidentialcampaign headquarters(213-670-9161). Find out whyReagan is taking advice from aprodrug kook like Friedman.Demand that Reagan come outand denounce Friedman's standon drugs. Friedman himself canbe reached at the Hoover Institutionin Palo Alto, California(415-497-1754). Or try the RepublicanNational Committee(202-484-6500) and register yourdisgust with their toleration ofFriedman's immorality.