AF Austin and Reason Magazine Premiere America’s Longest War

On January 16th, AF-Austin partnered with Reason Magazine for the Austin premiere of America’s Longest War: A Film about Drug Prohibition, a film produced by Reason.  Held at the Alamo Drafthouse, the screening was followed by a lively Q&A discussion with Jacob Sullum, senior editor at Reason, and Max Borders, editor of The Freeman (FEE.org).

From America’s Longest War:

People around the world are increasingly realizing that drug prohibition has failed to achieve its goals.  Drug use rates have not declined and drugs are more available—and cheaper—than ever before.  At the same time, the drug war has resulted in a long list of unintended consequences: militarization of law enforcement, the imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of non-violent people and more than 60,000 homicides in Mexico. AMERICA’S LONGEST WAR tells the stories of some of the countless victims of the drug war and points to a viable alternative approach to drug policy.

What became clear during the screening and the Q&A session that followed was that identification of a problem does not mean that the government should undertake to solve it.  Indeed, the fact that a problem occurs in more than one state does not mean that it is a proper subject for federal policy.  Perhaps no area more clearly demonstrates the bad consequences of not following such rules than does drug prohibition.

AFF-Austin would like to thank Reason magazine for sponsoring the event.

A special thank you to Arif Panju, Chairman of AF-Austin, for this post! 

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Interested in learning about AF opportunities or chapter events in your area? Check out our Local Chapter Highlights to learn more, or contact Kathryn Shelton, Director of Chapter Advancement for America’s Future, at [email protected]