Drug Derangement Syndrome coming from the top

So now Trump is calling for the death penalty as a way of solving the war on drugs.

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – President Donald Trump on Saturday again called for enacting the death penalty for drug dealers during a rally meant to bolster a struggling GOP candidate for a U.S. House seat here.

During the campaign event in this conservative western Pennsylvania district, the president also veered off into a list of other topics, including North Korea, his distaste for the news media and his own election victory 16 months ago.

Trump said that allowing prosecutors to seek the death penalty for drug dealers – an idea he said he got from Chinese President Xi Jinping – is “a discussion we have to start thinking about. I don’t know if this country’s ready for it.”

“Do you think the drug dealers who kill thousands of people during their lifetime, do you think they care who’s on a blue-ribbon committee?” Trump asked. “The only way to solve the drug problem is through toughness. When you catch a drug dealer, you’ve got to put him away for a long time.”

It was not the first time Trump had suggested executing drug dealers. Earlier this month, he described it as a way to fight the opioid epidemic. And on Friday, The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration was considering policy changes to allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

But on Saturday his call for executing drug dealers got some of the most enthusiastic cheers of the night. As Trump spoke about policies on the issue in China and Singapore, dozens of people nodded their heads in agreement. “We love Trump,” one man yelled. A woman shouted: “Pass it!”

What can I say that I haven’t said in this blog for over 15 years? The only way to solve the drug problem is through deregulation? That the problem is created and fueled by the laws which criminalize consensual behavior and create vast economic opportunities for criminals? That without drug laws, there would be no criminal drug dealers?

But there I go repeating myself. It’s all a waste of time. There is no possibility of having a rational discussion with clearly irrational people.