The Opioid Crisis Should Make Libertarians Rethink the Drug Legalization Argument
by JONAH GOLDBERG November 1, 2017 12:00 AM @JONAHNRO Legalizing opioids may give Americans greater freedom over their decision-making, but at what cost? One painful aspect of the public debates over the opioid-addiction crisis is how much they mirror the arguments that arise from personal addiction crises. If you’ve ever had a loved one struggle with drugs – in my case, my late brother, Josh – the national exercise in guilt-driven blame-shifting and finger-pointing, combined with flights of sanctimony and ideological righteousness, has a familiar echo. The difference between the public arguing and the personal agonizing is that, at the national level, we can afford our abstractions. When you have skin in the game, none of the easy answers seem all that easy. For instance, “tough love” sounds great until you contemplate the possible real-world consequences. My father summarized the dilemma well. “Tough love” – i.e., cutting off all support for my brother so he could hit rock bottom and then start over – had the best chance of success. It also had the best chance for failure – i.e., death. There’s also a lot of truth to “just say no,” but once someone has already said “yes,” it’s tantamount to preaching “keep your horses in the barn” long after they’ve left. Roy Moore Preyed on Teenage Girls: Washington Post
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