Milton Friedman Wants to Legalize Marijuana...

Milton Friedman is one of the most prominent economists around. He's now 92, but he's firmly in favour of legalizing drugs (as I am as well).

At 92, Friedman is revered as one of the great champions of free-market capitalism during the years of U.S. rivalry with Communism. He is also passionate about the need to legalize marijuana, among other drugs, for both financial and moral reasons.

"There is no logical basis for the prohibition of marijuana," the economist says, "$7.7 billion is a lot of money, but that is one of the lesser evils. Our failure to successfully enforce these laws is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in Colombia. I haven't even included the harm to young people. It's absolutely disgraceful to think of picking up a 22-year-old for smoking pot. More disgraceful is the denial of marijuana for medical purposes."

The Senate of Canada has recommended the legalization of marijuana...when, will the politicians start to listen? Hat tip: AndrewSullivan.com