First AEI, Now the Journal?

Jacob Sullum | February 24, 2006

The Drug War Chronicle reports that The Wall Street Journal's Tuesday edition carried a column by George Melloan, the paper's deputy editor for international affairs, calling for the repeal of drug prohibition. I missed the piece and (as with most of the Journal's content) can't get it online without subscribing, but this seems like a significant development. Editorially, the Journal has been gung-ho about the war on drugs for as long as I can recall. Although it has run antiprohibitionist essays by prominent drug war critics such as Milton Friedman, I don't remember seeing or hearing of a similar piece by a staffer. I don't expect to see a change in the paper's official position anytime soon, but maybe Melloan's column signifies a greater openness to the other side of the debate.