Increasingly, members of the Republican party are speaking out against the government's "war on drugs." With the Republican National Convention on the horizon in New York, the Drug Policy Alliance will purchase advertisements in one or more prominent newspapers to be read by delegates and staff. We've also assembled a collection of quotes by top conservative thinkers.

Here's why conservatives should demand an end to the drug war:

• Unwanted government intrusion. The party of smaller government doesn't support unneccessary 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.

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