Make Drug Use Pay Its Own Way: Laurence Kotlikoff, Glenn Loury

In a far-off land called I’m Right, You’re Wrong, a fierce drug-legalization debate is raging. Half the people, libertarians, say drug use should be legal. The other half, moral purists, insist it shouldn’t.

They disagree even on what to call it when those who buy or sell drugs are led off to jail. The libertarians call this a form of taxation -- specifically, a tax on the time of the buyer and seller. The moral purists prefer the term criminal penalties.