Politics

Tonight: Nick Gillespie Debates Former DEA Head Asa Hutchinson on Drug Legalization

I'm taking part in an Intelligence Squared debate in New York City tonight.

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I'm taking part in an Intelligence Squared debate in New York City tonight. Here's the proposition:

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?

If you're in New York, come on out and buy a ticket. Or livestream it right here.

I'll be joined on the legalization side by Georgetown Law's Paul Butler and we'll be duking it out with former Drug Enforcement Administration head Asa Hutchinson and the Manhattan Institute's Theodore Dalrymple.