Remember the 1920’s and the Prohibition act? What was the end result of that? Well, in case you did not know, the Prohibition act from 1918 encouraged organized crime and basically changed history in so many ways that it’s almost impossible to figure out completely.

Now, fast forward nearly a hundred years, and we’re dealing with a similar kind of problem. This time it’s not alcohol, but marijuana and other “controlled substances.” We’re still ignoring what history has taught us time and time again: prohibition does not work. Fact: America has the largest prison population in the world. The prisons are overcrowded and many lives are destroyed by harsh laws and long prison sentences, not to mention the countless billions of taxpayers’ dollars wasted on a failed War on Drugs.

When there’s demand, the market provides a solution, regardless of the efforts of the government. If you ask me, the government is actually thriving on it. The War on Drugs represents a gold mine and the perfect excuse for the police state and a bloated bureaucracy.

Time to change things, time to react, time to act smarter, right? The first step in that direction was taken when the Judicial Committee in the Senate voted on the Smarter Sentencing Act, a bill that will give judges more flexibility when it comes to extreme federal mandatory minimum sentences.

The lesson learned from the respective vote was that the War on Drugs is basically a war between generations, especially when it comes to GOP members. Rand Paul and the two other Republicans (Sens. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee) who co-sponsored the bill are relatively young, 45.3 years old on average, points out Evan McMorris-Santoro on Buzzfeed. The 5 GOP members who voted against the bill are almost 70 years old on average.

The difference in mentality between the generations is due to the fact that older politicians are a product of a “tough on crime” policy that was all the rage back in the 80’s and early 90’s. Back then, being the Dirty Harry type was cool and got you elected. The new generation of politicians, like Rand Paul, are the product of a different era that is confronted with the results of that policy: a failed War on Drugs.

The Smarter Sentencing Act will change drug laws to more reasonable standards and focus on serious offenders, but will the age gap between “tough on crime” and “smart on crime” attitudes kill it?

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Written by Chris Black

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