One more war that should never have been started.
The global war on drugs has failed and governments should explore legalizing marijuana and other controlled substances, according to a commission that includes former heads of state, a former U.N. secretary-general and a business mogul.
A new report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy argues that the decades-old worldwide “war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world.” The 24-page paper was released Thursday.
“Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won,” the report said.
The 19-member commission includes former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former U.S. official George P. Schultz, who held cabinet posts under U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon.
Only convict drug dealers/users if weapon is involved. If not, just confiscate and destroy the drugs.
5 hour energy anyone.That being said making pot a controlled purchase will take away the gate way effect, because users will not have to see dangerous street dealers that sell hard drugs.
No, we need Government to protect us from illegal actions of others.
We need Government to protect us from harmful actions of others. Making an action illegal is one way of doing it.
As pointed out by Mr Migu, legal alcohol abuse can be equally harmful to society. Yet just because it is harmful, does not make it illegal. Excessive masturbation hasn’t killed anyone yet, just ask Alphie.
If the leaves of the coca plant had been easy to transport to europe in the 17C rather than beans – we would all be sitting around enjoying our early morning snort of nose candy while denouncing all those criminal deviants who ate chocolate.
Prohibition NEVER WORKS !!! Learned that with alcohol !!! Just gave us the Mafia !!! The phony “Drug War” began with the war on hemp in the 30’s – before that drugs were a problem of black populations… See the movie “Reefer Madness” – politicians beating their chests, and getting “Tough on Crime” !!! Now they don’t want to PAY FOR GETTING “TOUGH ON CRIME” – large prison population !!! America – the “Land of the Free” – has more prisioners than Russia or China !!! Now we have a Drug Mafia – corrupting the Police, Prosecutors, Judges, and Prison Guards !!! When will this MADNESS END ???
We would all do well to remember the recent words of Sec State Hillary Clinton, when asked about this issue said: “drugs will never be legalized, as there is just too much money involved”
From the article… read it and weep. The drug “war” won’t stop because there are too many rich people making too much money off it.
We all know that it has failed miserably. Drugs are more available than ever. But it’s full employment for cops and gangsters and grandstanding politicians, all who have lots of power.
But after Escobar was killed in 1993 — and after U.S. drug agents began systematically busting up the Colombian cartels — doubt was replaced with hard data. Thanks to new research, U.S. policy-makers knew with increasing certainty what would work and what wouldn’t. The tragedy of the War on Drugs is that this knowledge hasn’t been heeded. We continue to treat marijuana as a major threat to public health, even though we know it isn’t. We continue to lock up generations of teenage drug dealers, even though we know imprisonment does little to reduce the amount of drugs sold on the street. And we continue to spend billions to fight drugs abroad, even though we know that military efforts are an ineffective way to cut the supply of narcotics in America or raise the price.
All told, the United States has spent an estimated $500 billion to fight drugs — with very little to show for it. Cocaine is now as cheap as it was when Escobar died and more heavily used. Methamphetamine, barely a presence in 1993, is now used by 1.5 million Americans and may be more addictive than crack. We have nearly 500,000 people behind bars for drug crimes — a twelvefold increase since 1980 — with no discernible effect on the drug traffic. Virtually the only success the government can claim is the decline in the number of Americans who smoke marijuana — and even on that count, it is not clear that federal prevention programs are responsible. In the course of fighting this war, we have allowed our military to become pawns in a civil war in Colombia and our drug agents to be used by the cartels for their own ends. Those we are paying to wage the drug war have been accused of human-rights abuses in Peru, Bolivia and Colombia. In Mexico, we are now repeating many of the same mistakes we have made in the Andes.
Have never been able to figure out why the alcohol drug is legally OK yet marijuana drug is viewed as an entirely different issue. Legalizing marijuana in a manner similar to the legal use of alcohol would probably reduce crime more than any other action. I know this would not make drug dealers and police happy as it would interrupt their current financial models. Can someone give me a rational reason this comparison is not valid?
Other drugs (harder drugs) perhaps not made as available as alcohol but clearly should be available without having to commit a crime and exposure to risky diseases. Could talk more on this, but this is not the forum…there is a better way than currently done in U.S. and other countries with similar laws and regulations.
People have short memory spans. If you don’t remember history you are destined to relive it.
The Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution (Volstead Act) enacted 1n 1919 and repealed in 1933 made the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages illegal. How did the “War on Alcohol” work out? All it did was make criminals wealthy, caused many, many deaths, etc.
Does this ring a bell with anyone?
It didn’t work then, it’s not working in the current “War on Drugs” and it will never work!
#41, Mary Jane wasn’t criminalized because it was bad for you. It was criminalized because DuPont developed synthetics which hemp competed with.
The propaganda made it sound that way, but that wasn’t it.
Oh, and it made white women like jazz music.
#41
Hell it made Jazz possible! MJ was very popular with the early Jazz musicians.
We are spending billions to do more damage than the substances do.
Discussion over.
Yay! #24 is too stupid to realize that my comment is true both ways! Good job idiot.
Your freedom has always, is, and will always be more important than my security.
Just think of the millions who have died for your freedom to want to limit the freedom of others.
Alcohol was THE staple drink before water was sanitary (in cities).
Everyone was a little drunk all the time before the 1900s.
That’s what I hear tell. Maybe it is a folk tale?
So, our ancestors grew up drinking something that, but for the alcohol, wouldn’t kill them. They didn’t need MJ.
Derek, you are a selfish ficken pig. And you’re too much the child to admit it, ass!
Always easy to be wrong, but….WHAT–seems to me you haven’t read Derek closely enough. He made a statement then disowned it. You appear to have stuck on the statement not catching it was a set up.
Do governments ever protect “freedom” as a goal or only when they are forced to by the populace. Security is not the opposite of freedom but is all to often the excuse that erodes freedom to its opposite: slavery, or more subtly, agreeable taxpayers.
One of the reasons the enlightenment period of intellectual and artistic advancement in Europe happened in the 17th century was that coffee had become a widely popular beverage.
Many other mammals seek out the intoxicating effects of various forein substances. Bears love eating fermented fruit, and elephants have been known to go berserk after consumming fermented fruit.
The desire to get intoxicated isn’t just human nature, it’s natural. And we all know what happens when we try and fight nature.
Drug dealers should just be shot on sight. All drugs do is promote murder/rape/robbery/etc. Nothing good comes from drugs. So yes, this is one war that should go on forever. I don’t want it around me.
Come on Bobbo. I know you are smarter than this. The the removal of freedom effects everyone. The only difference is whether or not you value that particular freedom.
If you want to our government to govern based on your own personal set of ideals, ignoring everyone else, you are the problem. Arresting someone because they are addicted to something is ridiculous. Putting someone in prison for being addicted to something is inhumane.
I wonder how many lives of police, soldiers, addicts, innocent victims, and the families of all involved have been ruined in the name of “the war on drugs”. How many trillions of dollars have been spent over decades and decades battling “drugs”. Now imagine if all that time and effort had just been spent on education and rehab. Imagine how much tax revenue could have been made had marijuana been legal and taxed at the level of cigarettes.
Even though there are many countries where marijuana is legal and mindless chaos hasn’t broken out, you just sit there in your xenophobic fantasy land of ignorance and dream that all the people who you disagree with can be put in concentration camps.
Well Derek–sorry to annoy you but we agree. Now, how dumb does that make “me?”
#53 As dumb as Sarah Palin you git. Now go take your Lithium you imbalanced cunt.
They were saying this about the war in Iraq too.
Mike==what did we (the USA) win?
Be specific.
And after 1 year of marijuana being made legal everyone will look around and say ” So what was the big deal for that many decades?”
It’s just funny how the people who support this war act like the legalization of marijuana would bring along total chaos and America would become a 3rd world country, even though there is not one country where marijuana is legal that has become so.
They try and say that all of our teenagers would become addicts over night, even though teenagers can get marijuana insanely easy right now, yet though placing it behind a regulated “ID required” system would do more than the unregulated dealers they use now.
They try and say we wont make much tax revenue off marijuana, even though the underground market seems to make billions while risking life, limb, and freedom to do so and costing our law enforcement billions waging this war.
Look, law enforcement wants this war continued because stopping it would cost them billions in funding. Politicians want this war continued because it would mean far less power and voter control. The only people in the general public that support it only do so because they have bought into the propaganda over the decades and have absolutely no real life experience to draw from.
Driving intoxicated would still apply to drugs. Most businesses would still ban the use of it at work, the same as alcohol. If we can function as a productive country allowing alcohol to be consumed and sold freely, than marijuana can be as well.
No matter what the interest groups and politicians may tell you, America does not need a nanny state controlling society. We do not need government telling us what to consume. We do not need government telling us what to drive. We do not need government telling us how to live.
The government should educate us. The government should warn us. But above all, the government should allow us to make our own decision in our own lives.
Note to you guys who claim that Obama is no different than Bush or McCain — those guys NEVER EVER would have ended the “War on Drugs” and put the focus on treatment.
http://tinyurl.com/6xuu3mj
Heck McCain would have doubled-down on it.
BTW, this is like the 1000th reason to believe Obama is WAY DIFFERENT than Bush.
Oops! Slight error. I meant to say “Illegal drugs simply areN’T painful.” But I’m sure from my rant, that you caught my meaning.
#38- Thank you, JimD for remembering to mention Prohibition. I was going to, but forgot. Various government officials and heads of state, all jumped on that pseudo-morality bandwagon. Mostly to get elected, or reelected, over their slower to jump, rivals. Exploiting the pumped up furor of the “Temperance” movement, for their own political gains. While not believing or practicing a word of it. It’s said that even the US President, of the time, drank whenever he wanted to. I wonder where the White House got its whiskey, back then? Al Capone, or Joe Kennedy?
When all this about this “war” is said and done. You likely still be wondering why growing hemp in the US, is illegal? Like there are ALL these hemp addicts. Oh wait, there’s none. Yeah, I guess the war on hemp is a complete success. Not because it was ever additive, or is additive no more. But because hemp growth threatened the textile monopoly’s hold on cotton, wool, and synthetics. A better base material, that anyone could grow and sell. Would be like allowing anyone to grow their own tobacco plants. Which I believe is also strictly controlled. Because when you or I do that, we’re trafficking in an addictive substance. But when Philip Morris does it. It’s only good commerce. Double standard.
If we can’t get MJ legalized. We ought to at least get growing Hemp decriminalized. It’s a damn useful product. Like spray paint and hand sanitizers. Kids are huffing and drinking that stuff to get high, and nobody’s banning their sales. So why maintain a law against a crop of something so harmless, just on the chance that somebody might get a tiny bit high by smoking a room full of it? Hey, let ban Helium party balloons! Same stupid logic.
Legalize drugs. All of them. It brings them under government jurisdiction, regulation and taxation and puts the uncontrollable criminal element out-of-business. Cigarettes are legal and 80% of people don’t smoke … have a little faith in the people and understand that some people will make screw up.
Like it or not, this is the system we have now. Except we have criminals running the show. Legalize all the drugs, put warning labels on them and have educational campaigns explaining the risks. It will cost less that our current strategy and stabilize Mexico, Central America and the SW United States and eliminate crime.
>Mike==what did we (the USA) win?
Hahahahahaha silly bobbo.
I’m not going to answer that question, as you should be able to figure that out yourself. Keep in mind the context of this post. People were saying the war in Iraq could not be won, and those people are mostly silent now as things did not go as they predicted.
Here’s a hint, I would leave the downfall of Saddam off my list, as that was not a point at which too many people were saying the war could not be won, though the New York TImes may have taken the position that Iraq was a quagmire by then.