How do you feel about the War on Drugs?

Freaking Zombie Horses...

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=119544&highlight=Drug+war

Review the thread above, you'll find the answer there.

Drug prohibition is repugnant to the ideals of liberty.

I think it is kind of a waste on money.

Just because people feel the need to rot their brains, destroy their health, and destroy their familes, doesn't mean its a liberty.

My thoughts on the so-called War on Drugs?

1. Repugnant. They're locking up hundreds of thousands of people solely for trading in agricultural produce, answering phones and the like. Not for any crime of violence.
2. Unwinnable. Anyone advocating outlawing something should really look into the history of Prohibition and its effects on crime, organised and otherwise.
3. It promotes crime. Outlawing something pushes it underground. This will lead to the only suppliers being people willing to cut corners on quality and use unethical means (violence) to keep their market share. Reduced supply will also lead to the price being much higher.
4. Excuse for totalitarianism.

On the other hand, being under the influence while commiting a violent crime should be seen as an aggravating circumstance. If nothing else, you failed to take proper precautions (i.e. temporarily lock yourself up) while using drugs.

Cheers,
ErikM

Legalizing murder would reduce crime also.

Can we save others from their own stupidity? Is that even a legitimate role of government?

Can we save others from their own stupidity? Is that even a legitimate role of government?

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I really wouldn't give a crap if every drug user died of an overdose or became a mental vegetable. I do care about the innocent people in their lives such as husbands, wives, children, parents, employers, and other people who use the same streets that they drive on.

I really don't think hard time is the answer to having a person caught with a couple of joints in their car either as it also harms the first 5 categories of people I listed above. On the other hand, people caught dealing drugs outside of schools should be shot.

Utter failure.

In my town, they still sell dope (and I ain't talking 'bout weed) on the corners in some areas of town. They sometimes arrest these guys, but they're back out on the streets in no time. What's the point?

Look how well alcohol prohibition worked. It helped the mafia rise to power bootlegging liquor. Now the mafia is into gambling and drugs.. hmm no surprise there. The government is better off just cautiously regulating it, because otherwise it is controlled by underworld gangsters. If the percentage of prison population being incarcerated for drugs is any indicator, the sentences for drug dealing is not an effective deterrent, just an excellent waste of taxpayer money.

Drugs

The way to fix the problem with drugs is to open up camps to hold all the druggies in them. Give them all the drugs they want at no charge and soon the problem will be gone.
The Libs can't object because you are really giving people what they desire and that is the Libs way.

Heres an idea with merit, IMHO....

Since people are going to do what they want, the government should make anything that does not violate someone elses rights legal, period ! If you want to do or sell "crack" or any other drug that is selfdestructive, the law will not deter you only eventually catch you! You are not harming the public unless you bring it into the public....Possession of an item should not be a crime unless it is intended for a criminal act or being used in a criminal act!(like having a bomb in a car)

Everything now in this Country is being called a "War on (subject of the day)" and this trend scares me! How long before all these "Wars on Evil" are seen to be "Wars against the BOR and the Constitution".......The most insidious thing about our governmet is that many times the sheeple are all too anxious to give away liberty for PERCEIVED safety! Ex....Did the 86 ban on public registration prevent the Hollywood shootout? No! Did the so called assault weapons ban stop Columbine? No! Does the so called "War on Drugs" stop drug use or even prevent it? No!! Do these programs and stances cost the country billions upon billions in money and manpower/hours? Yes! Could the "Patriot act" and the war on terror stop the 911 terror attacks? No!! Yet Congress gives awaya our freedom since they are above suspicion and the law!In the end is it worth it?........You tell me

We liberate Iraq and in some places, it is looking like they may need to return the favor(komiefornia) . Ironic yes?

Just because people feel the need to rot their brains, destroy their health, and destroy their familes, doesn't mean its a liberty.

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Choosing the way one lives is the absolute essense of liberty, even if it does mean that some individuals end up ruining their lives, or engaging in behaviour that you, yourself find immoral.

Legalizing murder would reduce crime also.

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False dichotomy.

As such, I offer the following thoughts, written somewhat at random:

Quite frankly, if a family member has a drug problem then it is a problem for their family, friends, church, etc. to deal with. Unless they are acting violently I see no reason for the justice system, at great expense, to get involved.

Just because some nitwit gets a monkey on his back is no justification for the state to shake me down financially in order to arrest, convict, and incarcerate him.

And then there's that whole bit where the so-called War on Drugs has been used as justification to infringe upon the first, second, fourth, fifth, ninth, and tenth amendments to the Constitution.

With regard to interdiction as well as reducing addiction and use the Drug War has been a massive public policy failure in every way, shape and form.

This should be painfully self-evident to anyone with even a cursory understanding of economics. If there is demand for a product, buyers and sellers will always find a way to circumnavigate the legal meddlings of do-gooder social engineers.

Worst policy failure in world history.

~G. Fink

I think it's been a resounding success for it's intended purposes. It has successfully distracted the masses from issues of corruption and waste in the government at times when we had no signifigant international threats. It provided the government with an excuse it stick it's nose into the business of the other nations in the western hemisphere where we previously had no business. It expanded the nations police forces with military style equipment and training that would be more useful in controlling the population. It created an illusion of action by the government.

I'm sure there are other, very obvious and equally intended consequences I'm missing. The formula for reducing the effects of substance abuse on a society and for reducing the crime and violance associated with it are as well known as they are ignored by those who would stand to loose power if the WoD were to disappear.

Neo: "What does he want?"
The Oracle: "What all men of power want. More power."

The war on drugs is something that I have discussed with my friends several times in the past. The number one thing I hate about drugs and reason I currently support the continued efforts to keep drugs off the street is the fact I can't stand the horror stories of kids who ruined thier lives because of drug use, however......

Something that I have felt since I became an adult and grows stronger as I meet more and more of America's newer generation. I think they should start a "War against worthless parents" If an adult wants to ruin his life and that adult has no children that will be negatively impacted, it's his/her perogative. But a child is a different story. Until the day comes when we can lock up dead-beat parents that let their kids do whatever they want and who provide no moral structure for the child to learn from, the "war on drugs" and a few other pieces of contested law should continue.

Don't forget, it's not the "War on Drugs."

It's the "War on some Drugs."

Worst policy failure in world history.

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No, that will have to get in line after Socialist Security and 'Great Society' welfare programs for that title in the United States history. World history is a stretch for any of them.

WOD is the Inquisition by another name and with a slightly updated excuse.

Don't forget, it's not the "War on Drugs."

It's the "War on some Drugs."

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Close, but not quite ...

It's the "War on People using some Drugs"

If it were a war on drugs, they would just be spraying 24D on MJ patches

To be even more correct, it's the

"War on People Using Certain Substances Determined to be Not Allowed by Self-Righteous Busybodies"

The bedrock upon which criminal law is built is the degree to which one person's actions negatively impact the lives of others. Only pigheaded megalomaniacal religious fanatics would dictate the personal behavior of another individual which has no impact on the quality of their own life.

Those who would attack "libs" in this thread take note. As if this issue as simple as "right" and "left". No, you can't co-op this debate for political gain by throwing around words like 'liberal' and 'conservative'. The use of recreational drugs pre-dates partisan polemics and balkanizing rhetoric by a few thousand years, so spare me the "far right rant". I ain't no liberal, Sparky. That's a dog that just won't hunt...


If Joe Sixpack wants to smoke a bone on Friday night in the comfort of his home and he doesn't break any laws (other than the ridiculously ineffective drug laws in question) while doing it, I say let him. He can get stoned out of his mind on Jack Daniels, but the Morality Police all come a runnin' when he sparks up a joint or does a line.

The real reason recreational drug use is "dangerous" in our culture is because it has been pushed to the criminal margins of society. That's why folks get gunned-down over a dime bag, but not a fifth of bourbon.

DUH!!!

The "war on drugs" was lost years ago when the government decided to let the demand side of the equation slide and only attack the supply side. As long as there are willing and ready buyers out there, someone will supply it.

To keep this topic on THR, the worst effect of the drug war, IMHO, is that it has been used to rationalize more gun bans, gun control and loss of freedom than any other domestic policy.

All that being said, I've never used any illegal drugs and never will (unless they make Jack Daniel illegal again). But every one of us has certainly paid the price for other's decisions to do so in taxes, friends mourned and families shattered.

I think it's been a resounding success for it's intended purposes. It has successfully distracted the masses from issues of corruption and waste in the government at times when we had no signifigant international threats. It provided the government with an excuse it stick it's nose into the business of the other nations in the western hemisphere where we previously had no business. It expanded the nations police forces with military style equipment and training that would be more useful in controlling the population. It created an illusion of action by the government.

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That's it, exactly...

The war on drugs is a massive failure. It's been a waste of our money and encourages crime.

One thing I don't understand is the different ways the government treats marijuana and alcohol. Alcohol is a much more dangerous drug than marijuana yet alcohol is legal while weed is not. It makes no sense. I have never seen anyone become violent after smoking marijuana but violence after alcohol is seen every day in bars across the country. There is also no case I've ever heard of where someone has overdosed on marijuana but people od on alcohol all the time.

I don't think any of these activities and items should be illegal. The only time something should be illegal is if someone is harming me. Some heroin user ODing in his basement affects me in no way and I see no reason why I should have to pay to house this person in prison.