Increasingly, conservatives are speaking out against the government's war on drugs. Here's why conservatives should demand an end to this government program:

• Unwanted government intrusion. The party of smaller government doesn't support unnecessary restrictions on the lives of Americans. Why invade the doctor/patient relationship, require urine samples and seize property simply for what people choose to put in their bodies?
• High cost. In its 32-year history, the Drug Enforcement Administration alone has more than tripled in size. Its budget is close to $2 billion a year. Federal, state and local governments spend tens of billions more. Yet we're no closer to winning the "war on drugs" than when President Nixon declared it.
• Disastrous Foreign Policy. We've spent billions of dollars intervening in the affairs of drug-source nations, with little to show for our effort beyond international ill will. Attempts to eradicate the supply of drugs in one country simply makes them more available in another.
• War on federalism.  Federal drug policy is largely a static policy that has not changed in decades. As failure after failure has mounted, it has become clear that states need room to try innovative approaches. Federal policymakers should no longer deny states the flexibility they need to effectively deal with drugs.

Here's what several high-profile conservatives have to say:

"I believe each state can choose that [medical marijuana] decision as they so choose."
President George W. Bush
Dallas Morning News
October 20th, 1999

"I think a lot of people are coming to the realization that maybe long minimum sentences for the first-time users may not be the best way to occupy jail space and/or heal people from their disease. And I’m willing to look at that."
President George W. Bush
CNN Inside Politics
January 18, 2001

"Can any policy, however high-minded, be moral if it leads to widespread corruption, imprisons so many, has so racist an effect, destroys our inner cities, wreaks havoc on misguided and vulnerable individuals and brings death and destruction to foreign countries?"
Milton Friedman
Nobel Prize Winner (Economic Science, 1976)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (1988)
New York Times Editorial
January 11, 1998

"...I wouldn't be surprised if in 10 years or so you saw the conservative coalition come out for an end to drug prohibition."
Grover G. Norquist
President, Americans for Tax Reform
poz.com Interview
June, 2001

"...We need at least to consider and examine forms of controlled legalization of drugs."
George P. Shultz
Secretary of State (1982-89), Secretary of the Treasury (1972-74), Secretary of Labor (1969-70)
Wall Street Journal Article
October 27, 1989

"Take it from a businessman: The War on Drugs is just money down the drain."
Gary E. Johnson
Governor of New Mexico (1995-2003)
Intervention Magazine Interview
2004

"Eighty-five million Americans have experimented with illegal drugs. Since the object of criminal law is to detect and punish the wrongdoer, should we reason that 85 million of us should have spent time in jail?"
William F. Buckley, Jr.
Founder, National Review
September 10, 1996

"...if your doctor prescribes marijuana, then I think that people should smoke it if they need it for medical care."
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Governor of California (2003-present)
MSNBC Article
August 28, 2003

More information:

• An article in the National Review by Ethan Nadelmann, our founder and executive director
• Join the Drug Policy Alliance
• Drug Policy Alliance's Press Release