Robert Rosenkranz: Intelligence Squared US Debate: 'Legalize Drugs'

Robert Rosenkranz introduction of the Intelligence Squared US Debate: "Legalize Drugs" - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2012

It was 1971 when President Richard Nixon declared a "war on drugs." $2.5 trillion dollars later, drug use is half of what it was 30 years ago, and thousands of offenders are successfully diverted to treatment instead of jail. And yet, 22 million Americans-9% of the population-still uses illegal drugs, and with the highest incarceration rate in the world, we continue to fill our prisons with drug offenders. Decimated families and communities are left in the wake. Is it time to legalize drugs or is this a war that we're winning?

FOR
Paul Butler
Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center


Nick-Gillespie-web
FOR
Nick Gillespie

Asa-Hutchinson-web
AGAINST
Asa Hutchinson
Former Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration

Theodore Dalrymple web
AGAINST
Theodore Dalrymple
Dietrich Weismann Fellow, Manhattan Institute

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MODERATOR
John Donvan
Author & Correspondent for ABC News