Would that I could be as sexy as Penn...

Drug legalization seems to be one issue that the adamant left and the adamant right can agree on.

I don't have any personal interest in using illegal drugs. I don't even get exercised about the idea that a person is being deprived if they aren't allowed to legally use drugs.

What I do get exercised about is the idea that we put people in jail for such things. And that we pay enormous sums of money to do so. And that the "war of drugs" empowers government and invites corruption. And perhaps most of all, that drug prohibition empowers thugs and ends lives (think Al Capone).

I don't disagree that drugs are often damaging. Their illegality simply adds a layer of damage on top of that.