Putting an end to The War on Drugs

Who here thinks that we should legalize cannabis and sell it like we do with alcohol?

Now I've talked to some people who think we should end the drug war completely and legalize cannabis and other drugs. I've asked if they think it should be sold in stores and they answered yes. The problem I see is in giving major corporations carte blanc on allowing them to sell addictive drugs. They'd love to do it because it would be a major industry for them because we all know addicts keep coming back. I mean, is that what the cigarrete smokers of America are doing?( I smoke cigs)

My opinion in legalizing drugs is this. I'd like to see the results of the experiment in B.C. in giving away free drugs at hospitals. There I see a way we can undercut criminals who sell it at the same time, we prevent creating an industry from it. I believe dealers of really addictive drugs are only using people they sell it too and it would be the same if corporations got their greedy fingers on it. Instead we should regulate addictive drugs, by giving it away for free, but only to be administered from a hospital/clinic where you hand out informative pamphlets and healthcare workers who encourage them to quit this habit. That kind of sterile environment is much better for addicts, than one where they're on the streets selling their bodies and getting diseases from needles or sex. We might even win this so-called drug war, before the Americans do, by thinking about it from another angle. There is a problem with drugs and crime that has to be stopped, but just arresting addicts and trying to stem the flow by arresting the dealers, is never going to stop it as we have seen. It's like the war on terrorism and a game of wack-a-mole. Instead, diversion is the better method of winning this war and destroying the criminal industry by giving it away for free. It's like that old saying, why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?

As for marijuana, specifically, it should be regulated and taxed like alcohol. Marijuana is the only illegal drug that doesn't scare me. I've dealt with it for 10 years of my life and I still am not addicted to it. My brother who just became a truck driver, smoked pot every day after work and quit pretty much cold turkey because his new job had drug tests. I asked him how hard it was to quit and really it wasn't hard, but he still misses it. That to me shows a drug that is worth creating an industry with and it has so many other uses, that aren't always about getting high.

NOW... Lets discuss a few things, shall we? I'd love to hear what you guys think about this issue.

I think you are really preaching to the chior here Most everybody on these boards is knowlegable both about cannabis used for recreation, medecine, for industrial purposes, and as food.
So yeah I agree with you. Personally I think ALL drugs need to be legalized, regulated and made available from sterile and reputable sources.
I like the idea of giving out info when someone comes to pick up some drugs.
Also we need to put addicts in hospitals not jails. If someone really had a drug problem it isnt going to help much to send them to a prison, could in fact make things much worse.

I dont have all the answers to this problem but I know that our current solution is just laughable and sad at the same time.

I think legalizing marijuana would give the government a victory in the war on drugs.....It would put most drug dealers out of business....legalize it tax the fuk out of it, but yeah u are preachin to the chior lol

The drug war has been going on for about 40 years and drugs are still readily available on the streets (not to mention you can get them in maximum security prisons...why anyone would think we could get drugs off the street when we can't keep them out of maximum security prisons after a 40 year war and a trillion dollars spent is beyond me).

Not only that but the purity of drugs has increased and the price has dropped over that time frame (for hard drugs) while every other commodoty on the face of the planet has quadroupled in price over the same time frame and there is no 'war' on any of those commodoties.

There is an organization of current and former police officers, police chiefs, dea agents, judges, etc who have come to the conclusion that the war on drugs is not only a complete failure but acutally harmful and serves to INCREASE CRIME. Cops are murdered, not because 'drug dealers are bad and don't care' but because drugs are illegal. Millions of non violent citizens are imprisoned which costs us tons of money, rips families apart, and leaves little kids without fathers so they are much more prone to grow up leading a bad and dangerous life.

The government LIES TO US. The war on drugs is not a war on drugs, it is a war on young people and people of color.

LEAP - Cops Say advocates the legalizaiton of drugs to solve our CRIME and VIOLENCE problem. It is not an advocation of the use of drugs and not a solution to our 'drug problem'.

I found it very interesting and very convincing listening to what former DEA agents and former police chiefs have to say about the harm that the war on drugs does to us, our communities, and our country. I think that the use of drugs is bad but the reality is that the war on drugs has NOT changed the percentage of the population that is addicted to drugs. What is does is keep prices higher than they would be if drugs were legal, which in turn makes it much more likely for people who become addicted to eventually turn to stealing (and the use of violence to do so) to support their habbits. This in turn provokes cops into responding with violence and putting their lives at risk. As we all know many have been shot and killed fighting this 'war on drugs'. But drugs are still readily available even after 40 years of so called war on them.

When a commodoty is pushed underground in the black market (as drugs are since they are illegal) the suppliers must rely on violence to keep their businesses safe. Since they can't call the cops and report some dude stole drugs from them, and can't just let people get away with it because then everyone will steal from them and they will go broke they must use violence as a deterrent if they are in the drug supply business.

After all, it's not like they are going to build their own private jails and house everyone who tries to/steals from them because that just increases their business expenses plus opens them up to charges of kidnapping... so they use violence, frequently killing (since if they just beat someone down they must fear retaliation where the person comes back and kills them).

This is the same way it was when there was prohibtion against alcohol. Now alcohol distributors just call the cops when they have a problem because they do not have to fear the cops and they do not have to bear the costs of catching the person and punnishing them. Jail is the deterrent.

So some LE have realized what a complete failure the so called war on drugs is and they have formed an organization to inform the populace about this.

They have a 12 minute free video about 1/2 way down their main web page on the right side titled something like 'promotional video', very interestings and powerful stuff coming from ex DEA agents and ex police chiefs. They also speak across the country and around the world to education others.

This so called war has made cops paraniod for their safety (and rightly so since now about 10% of the population are criminals-addicts and casual usuers) they never know who has some large quantiy of drugs in their car when they pull them over and would rather shoot them than go to jail for the rest of their lives.

Plus, it solves nothing. Addicts don't get cured by cops interventions (sure some do, but not on any wide scale).

Alcohol contributes to MUCH MORE violence that other drugs do (if you take out the factor of people protecting their supply and using violence to avoid a lifetime in jail or doing what is essentially necessary to say in business....namely using violence to resolve disputes because they can't go to the cops).

This post has NOTHING to do with advocating or condoning drug use. It is about reducting violence and crime. Cigarette addicts and vodka addicts don't rob people at gunpoint to get their daily fix. Why? Because it is not illegal and therefore the cost is much lower. They can borrow, share, or beg to get their daily fix. Even the hardcore addicts. Hardcore hard drug addicts turn to prostitution and robbery to support their habbits because their daily habbit costs $100/day instead of $10/day.

It's that simple. Hard drug distributors are only violent because of the Drug War. Because they CAN NOT go to the cops to protect their business. They are also at a significant increased risk of being robbed because everyone knows this. No force of detectives investigating who did the theft.

Also they use violence to resolve turf disputes. Legal commoditites use legal means and accepted business practices to compete, alcohol distributors don't shoot each other to get a greater market share.

If drugs were legal all the ppl who currently sell them would be out of business in a heart beat. No way they could compete with CVS, Walgreens, etc. No way.

For the sake of this hypothetical commentary, let's assume that somehow, the problem with illegal drugs is made to go away.

POOF - It's Gone! - Here are the Results

Over a very short period of time, the illicit Heroin and Cocaine markets dry up.
People no longer need to steal to support their habits, therefore 'crimes to support habits' go away.
Heroin and Cocaine dealers go out of business.
Without the easy availability of these drugs to potential new users, the addiction rates drop.
With lower addiction rates, demand for the drugs goes away.
Street gangs terrorists and organized crime lose a major source of funding.
Columbian Cocaine farmers start planting Tobacco, Coffee or other legal drugs.
Worldwide supply dries up.
Problem goes away!
OOPS - Here is where we run into the problem!

Scenario: No More Drug Problem.

Results: Prisons reduce occupancy by more than 60%

Prison and correctional budgets ( and their associated Pork, such as facilities design, construction, staffing, maintenance and management contracts ) are cut by 60%

Over 60% of guards, wardens and other prison staff lose their jobs. Also 60% of the, court staff, prosecutors, judges, and LAWYERS have to go find productive work.

I don't think I have to say any more.

ANYTHING that puts lawyers (the bulk of Congress is lawyers) and their partners in the rip-off (judges, so-called corrections officers, police, etc.) out of work is never going to happen, regardless of what we, the American People demand.

The bureaucracy NEEDS illegal drugs to survive! Too much of the legal economy is dependent on them!


Lol sorry for the long post but if u read it makes a lot of sense....i got more but i feel like im flooding the thread so ill resist for now

As Esoteric said, we're preaching to choir. So how do we sell canceling war on cannabis to people who don't sing our tune? I think Obama (pretty sure he'll be president at this point) could say he was doing same thing as with shifting military from Iraq to Afghanistan; shifting troops away from pot to where we need to fight such as the crystal-meth epidemic. I think this would be a sellable strategy for him to use to stop war on cannabis. Obama is affraid to use "decriminalization" in his vocabulary anymore, so he says "re-thinking the war on drugs" instead because it's less controversial.

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Originally Posted by wombatcat

As Esoteric said, we're preaching to choir. So how do we sell canceling war on cannabis to people who don't sing our tune? I think Obama (pretty sure he'll be president at this point) could say he was doing same thing as with shifting military from Iraq to Afghanistan; shifting troops away from pot to where we need to fight such as the crystal-meth epidemic. I think this would be a sellable strategy for him to use to stop war on cannabis. Obama is affraid to use "decriminalization" in his vocabulary anymore, so he says "re-thinking the war on drugs" instead because it's less controversial.

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Obama doesn't have any intention on doing anything to the war on drugs...If he did he'd be more than happy to publicly state it.

Obama has stated he is for decriminalzation at some point. true the perception is he took it back.

i dont even wanna get into politics, but under a non-republican admin there is more chance for congress to do something since there are already 2 house bills introduced...

and obama could use his power behind the scenes to gather support without directly taking any stance himself.

behind the door meetings and secure phone lines are just for such purposes.

a mccain admin will veto both of those bills if they do pass thru the legislature and will try to gather support against it in any way possible, dont doubt it. he has stated it repeatedly that "HE" (despite 17000+ medical researches) does not think marijuana has any medical benefits... i guess he thinks president is the doctor in chief as well ;)

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Originally Posted by Markass

Obama doesn't have any intention on doing anything to the war on drugs...If he did he'd be more than happy to publicly state it.

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But he can't, not while still a candidate as he has admitted to being, in his youth, not only a user of cannabis but also cocaine. If he did it before being elected he would be lambasted as the "pro-drug" candidate by the right.

Obama said he will end federal imprisonment of those living under state law that dictates they can use the substance for a medical purpose. This means no more feds raiding the homes of Cali and all the other 12ish states that have a form of medical marijuana law.

If no one sees this as an awesome solution then you are wrong. Think about how many states would have made a medical marijuana law but thought to pass it because they didn't want the feds to start raiding peoples homes.

Isn't it kind of weird that anti-weed people are more paranoid than weed-loving people?