So… how’s that war on drugs going for you? According to Shepard Smith at Fox News, not so well. In fact, he’s fairly sure that the war is lost.

Thanks to the drug scandal at Texas Christian University, we got to see all the different sides of our nation’s debate on drugs (besides, of course, the never-invited actual drug users, but whatever…) today on Studio B. Unsurprisingly, when you have a bunch of opposing sides on an issue like this, things got heated…

And, in the middle, was Shepard Smith who just seemed saddened by the whole thing. When Zelin argued that this was no way to “win the war,” Smith sighed.

“Win the war? This is a stupid war. This is a stupid war, isn’t it?” he asked. “We’ve lost this war. This war is lost.”

This is a constant bone of contention between libertarian leaning conservatives and more traditional fighters. (We’ll get to the video below in a moment.) But the case in Texas does highlight one of the profound differences of opinion and the seemingly intractable conundrums of modern society. And it shows up in a variety of conversations which are worthy of discussion.

Drug trade adds to the burden of national security efforts at the borders, since it affects everyone in that sense. Current drug laws create a market vacuum which someone will always seek to fill. It also fuels the need for guns and other weapons of mayhem as this battle is waged. But left unattended, the detrimental societal impact of illegal drugs is hard to deny. Have we lost this war? Was it even worth fighting? Or is there a moral imperative here which makes the cost – any cost – worth it for keeping society safe?

Check out the video and decide for yourself.