International Journal on Criminology Volume 7, Number 1, Winter 2019/2020 | Page 155
International Journal on Criminology
sentatives, to the point where none of them can ascertain the exact cost nor the
number of government officials involved in this war—the war on drugs has been
going on for a little over a century, and it can be considered a perfect example of
the concept of the “counterproductivity” of an institution that Ivan Illich invented
and theorized in his book Medical Nemesis in 1975. 115 According to Illich, counterproductivity
appears when an institution becomes so large that it is eventually
prejudicial to the objective for which it was created. In the case of the war against
drugs in the United States, the more resources that are allocated to eradicating
drugs, the more available drugs become.
In 1969, on the eve of Nixon’s declaration of war against drugs, surveys in
the United States indicated that 12% of respondents were in favor of legalizing
cannabis for recreational purposes; 58% of respondents are now in favor. 116 Majorities
within the youngest sectors of society support the legalization of cannabis,
which can be found everywhere at affordable prices. The image of this plant has
therefore evolved considerably. Ultimately, a little extra scientific evidence is all it
will take to tip the scales when it comes to this question. For drug policy in the
United States now faces another series of questions about its relevance.
Anslinger was able to advance his prohibitionist ideas in a different social
context to convince citizens to support his activities, and he could use as his global
communication channel a media sector that comprised the written press, radio,
the television industry in its infancy, and Hollywood movies, all of which could
still be relatively easily controlled and influenced by a state. The Internet did not
exist.
Without the Internet, the text that you are currently reading could not exist.
With the Internet, it has become possible, at least in the West (and even
beyond there), for more people than ever to access information that is very diverse
and international, and therefore, more open and less distorted by the interests of
a particular power. This is a new reality that Walter Lippmann had not imagined.
The “spectator” of democracy that Lippmann had theorized has become
more of an actor thanks to the Internet. The survey mentioned above shows a
rise in sympathy for legalization that becomes rapid from the year 2000. At that
time, 30% of respondents were favorable to cannabis legalization, while about 40%
of the population had access to the Internet. In 2012, sympathy for legalization
reached 50%, while the Internet had become accessible to 74% 117 of the population.
At present, 58% of those surveyed are in favor of legalization, and almost 90%
of the population has access to the Internet. 118 It would seem that the Internet has,
115 https://booksandideas.net/The-Two-Lives-of-Ivan-Illich.html.
116 https://news.gallup.com/poll/186260/back-legal-marijuana.aspx.
117 https://news.gallup.com/poll/186260/back-legal-marijuana.aspx.
118 https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2012/demo/computer-internet/computer-use-2012.html.
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