40 years later: U.S. drug war has met none of its goals

After 40 years, the United States' war on drugs has cost $1 trillion and hundreds of thousands of lives, and for what? Drug use is rampant and violence even more brutal and widespread.

Even U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske concedes the strategy hasn't worked.

"In the grand scheme, it has not been successful," Kerlikowske told The Associated Press. "Forty years later, the concern about drugs and drug problems is, if anything, magnified, intensified."

This week President Obama promised to "reduce drug use and the great damage it causes" with a new national policy that he said treats drug use more as a public health issue and focuses on prevention and treatment.

Nevertheless, his administration has increased spending on interdiction and law enforcement to record levels both in dollars and in percentage terms; this year, they account for $10 billion of his $15.5 billion drug-control budget.

Continued at link.


I thought this was worth posting to all of you who think the drug war is ridiculous. To those who think it's a waste of money and used for nothing more than manipulation and control. Most of us generally understand what is happening and the conspiracy against us where it concerns such issues.

Here is something worth reading and when control of freedoms back policy and vice versa, I read this and say go figure. I don't do drugs and don't believe in them personally but who are the elite bast*rds to tell us what we can and can't eat, smoke and such regardless of how it affects others?

If we do something stupid, we get the consequence. Don't ban the gun but instead, jail the human that shot it at the person.

Anyway, I'm going into a rant again.. enjoy.

Edit: typo's

[edit on 13-5-2010 by Crossfate]

The only thing that the "war on drugs" does is keep the price of drugs up.

Drugs are available at any high school in the US.

Eighty five percent of crime is related to drugs.

Personally, I'd like to see all drugs legalized. Spend some of the money that is spent on law enforcement on drug rehab.

If you made drugs legal, you would instantly break the back, financially, of the drugs lords and the Taliban.

Think about it.

I think that if the government ever actually admitted that the war on drugs was a complete failure; not achieving a single goal it laid out in it's mission statement....then the vast majority who are opposed to decriminalization would likely change their line of thinking and be open-minded to legalization and taxation on the stuff.

Benefits:
-new tax revenue source
-reduced crime
-cut cost of law enforcement
-cut costs of prosecution/detention

What the government fails to see, is that many people need to be on drugs to deal with the government.

The war on drugs is a complete failure.

Yeah, I say legalize the stuff for the fools that want to be on them.

Population reduction, quite easily met.

Sort of reminds of LBJs "Great Society".

That didn't work, either.

I don't think legalization across the board is a good idea, for obvious reasons. But to dilute their efforts by going after cannabis, when it is something that is not harmful (other than decreasing a person's productivity- for some people, jmo) and could benefit via providing jobs/ tax revenues. (not even taking into account the potential benefits) If heroin could be replaced by methadone, that would only leave Meth & coc aine as the focus and that might enable some headway. I think these 2 drugs are the most pernicious, but that is just my opinion. The CIA & the bankers are into the drug trade up to their necks, which makes the War On Drugs a scam on the taxpayers, really. I wonder how much of the increase in violence & promiscuity of sales/ use has been CREATED by the WOD.

reply to post by Crossfate


Who is actively keeping the drug war going? The federal government, especially the D.E.A. They need to be dismantled by American citizens. Really, I think if a few thousand walked up and said "time to shut down by order of U.S citizens" and proceeded to turn off their computers and whatnot, that it would be hard to stop and clear in message, not to mention non-violent.

after watching the movie "Blow" again last night, it reinforces my thinking that drugs are THE way for the government to make the money it needs to fund projects that would never make it on the floor of the senate.

Think about when we sent 10 million dollars over to Iraq to fund opposition groups hoping for a coup in the late 80s. I may be wrong, but that money most likely didn't go through channels. What about Iran Contra? All those weapons had to be bought with something. Budgets are visible and permanent. Nobody wants their dirty laundry categorized. Much easier to have a second set of books to work off of. hence, the CIA. (Cocaine Import Agency)

IMHO

Wait...you are suggesting to legalize drugs?
Ok, im on for that, but with only one condition: NO REHAB OR FREE TREATMENT.
Those "dudes" willing to use, must know is a one way only path.
Why spend a single dime on someone stupid enough to use drugs in the first place? Let them rot in their own stupidity.

Originally posted by DogsDogsDogs
I don't think legalization across the board is a good idea, for obvious reasons. But to dilute their efforts by going after cannabis, when it is something that is not harmful (other than decreasing a person's productivity- for some people, jmo) and could benefit via providing jobs/ tax revenues. (not even taking into account the potential benefits) If heroin could be replaced by methadone, that would only leave Meth & coc aine as the focus and that might enable some headway. I think these 2 drugs are the most pernicious, but that is just my opinion. The CIA & the bankers are into the drug trade up to their necks, which makes the War On Drugs a scam on the taxpayers, really. I wonder how much of the increase in violence & promiscuity of sales/ use has been CREATED by the WOD.

I'm just curious as to why "not all" drugs should be legal. Locking people up is not helping with anything, so why keep doing it? Why not educate with that money. If someone wants to be homeless and smoke crack, let them, its their body and as soon as you make it illegal, you get the problems associated with the legality (crimes other than the drug). When you take that choice away, the law and the state owns their body and takes a MALIGNANT control. Better for the person to hit bottom alone than be involved in the "game" system.

You are looking at it from the wrong perspective.

In their eyes, I'm sure they've met all, or most of their goals.

Really, has anyone seen the problem with Meth in this country?

It's highly addictive, and has a high return rate, even for people that have been in rehab.

Let the losers kill themselves, legally. Please. I have loser daughter in laws that would be better off dead.

Please, legalize the stuff so people accustomed to it can smoke or whatever themselves to death.........please!

We'll all be better off!

[edit on 13-5-2010 by Blanca Rose]

reply to post by Wildbob77


Here in Australia, the police spend eighty five percent of the funds receive trying to "deal" (pardon the pun) with illegal drugs.

They use ninety percent of their manpower to deal with alcohol related events.

This is what our police superiors openly admit.

Somewhat imbalanced, at least I think.

What get's to me is the total irrationality that I can legally buy a shopping trolley full of booze without restriction (unless I am an Indigenous Australian in N.T) and try to drink it all in one sitting, but I am not legally allowed to have a puff.

Our leaders need to look at these things, take a step back and just think rationally for a while.

I am not saying ban booze, I am not saying make every drug available across the board for everyone, I am just saying we need to address the total imbalance in the eyes of the law.

Cheers,
Pablo

reply to post by pablos


Puffs are one thing, and surely any government can, and I am sure will, get into the market on that.

What we don't need in the world, are meth addicts, heroin addicts, pill poppers, etc......

I say do a legalization of that stuff straight away. It would cleanse the entire world of a nasty population right away.

If they can all indulge, to the death, nobody would even desire the bad stuff anymore!

reply to post by Blanca Rose


I get your point, as depressing as it is. I just see two issues that I have personally with that.

First while there maybe no hope for a lot of the addicts you mention, the legalisation of the softer stuff may lead to a smaller amount going to the hard stuff. I for one don't prescribe to the theory that pot is a "gateway" drug. Before I had ever tried it I had tried cigarettes and alcohol. They really are the "gateway" if one such exists. Some just really don't like drinking but quite enjoy getting high. With the laws the way they are if you want to get high you may as well break one law as soon as another.

The other has been pointed out already but I will parrot the opinion that if the soft ones were legal it definitely free up a lot more resources to fight the use of these others.

The truth is that the law is fighting on too big a front. There is too much they try to restrict that a lot slips through their fingers.

I may be wrong on these points, I may be right.
There is only one way to find out.

I just wish you were right and any Government would legalise them.
The best so far is Holland, where it is tolerated, not legal.

Cheers,
Pablo

Originally posted by pablos


The other has been pointed out already but I will parrot the opinion that if the soft ones were legal it definitely free up a lot more resources to fight the use of these others.

You know, never have I heard of somebody stealing their grandma's silver to buy a baggie. I have heard of people doing so, for other stuff. Actually have friends and relatives who have been robbed quite a bit for their relatives addictions. The drugs that definately need to be watched out for are those that are produced, not grown. Oh, my God, what I have seen in my life. I have seen deaths, and so much more, and I am sure a lot of other people have, also. Soft drugs are, really something that do need to be legalized, in my opinion, for the tax revenue alone. I've never heard of a mean pot head, but have seen, and known a lot of mean drunks.

The truth is that the law is fighting on too big a front. There is too much they try to restrict that a lot slips through their fingers.

I couldn't agree, more. I responded in a thread today about a pregnant woman who lost her baby, supposedly do to a drug offense that was a minor thing. Unfortunately, all these people are lumped together.

I may be wrong on these points, I may be right.
There is only one way to find out.

The sad thing is, that, like I said, all drugs are considered a crime. Even if pot was legalized, we'd still have the same problem with drugs of other choices. Those need to be legalized in my opinion, because people are still going to do them, anyway. Let them kill themselves straight off, so they don't bring the heartache and pain to their family members.

I just wish you were right and any Government would legalise them.
The best so far is Holland, where it is tolerated, not legal.

Holland is wise............they need their jails for real criminals, the way I see it.

reply to post by Blanca Rose


The Government doesn't fail to see anything, its not intended to work, Prohibition didn't work and couldn't work, just like the war on drugs wasn't intended to work. the border wall and any other effort the Government has funneled money out of the tax payers pockets into theirs.....

Its always about MONEY, and how they can scare, threaten or STEAL it out of you.

the people that vote these morons in office are 100% to blame!

I haven't read the thread yet; just the title. Bad form on my part.

But if one considers that the CIA was learning how the human physiology reacted to various drugs, the most famous (and perhaps the most irrelevant) being '___', then wouldn't one consider that the entire War on Drugs was a propaganda mechanism?

And wouldn't one consider that there are American ties to drug running...and that very fact is a contradiction to the socially propagated War on Drugs?

And wouldn't one then consider that the entirety of the War on Drugs meme is merely a socially partisan induction?

One may consider looking into societal propagandas, the evolution of pharmaceuticals and major industry financial interests.

Oh...and mass media. ATS and the rest of the internet may be taking care of that dinosaur already...

reply to post by MemoryShock


I don't know if it was just propaganda, maybe just half.

Those experiments as far as I have checked out were mainly just to see how well they may be able to do things like disorient opposition troops or diplomats to make them more manageable, brainwash spies manchurian candidate style, as well as just the whole scientific deal.

I think at this stage our respective governments have just backed themselves into a corner that they just refuse to try and fight their way out of. They have duped a multitude of people into believing that drugs are no good unless they declare them safe.

Who knows maybe the brainwashing worked.