Drug Lord Thanks Bush, Obama

Even the cartels are laughing at our war on drugs. Maybe it's time to rethink this ridiculous policy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r81_GhjOzv0

Just as Prohibition in the '20s made Gangsters into millionaires, the illegal drug trade has made millionaires of countless thugs.

We have two people to blame. The polititians who pass the laws, and the American People who who use the drugs.

Americans are not going to stop using drugs. That is now pretty obvious. So it is time to legalize drugs.

There are those that say, "but that will increase drug use". Really. How has the other way been working out for the past 75 years.

Just as Prohibition in the '20s made Gangsters into millionaires, the illegal drug trade has made millionaires of countless thugs.

We have two people to blame. The polititians who pass the laws, and the American People who who use the drugs.

Americans are not going to stop using drugs. That is now pretty obvious. So it is time to legalize drugs.

There are those that say, "but that will increase drug use". Really. How has the other way been working out for the past 75 years. Originally Posted by Jackie S

When soft drugs were legalized in the Netherlands back in 199x, drug use went DOWN 30%.
The reason: for a lot of young kids it was not an "exiting thing" anymore since it was now legally allowed. The "fun" was off.

I agree, think of all the taxes we miss out on from the underground sale of illegal substances.... Not that we would be able to control the misappropriation of the funds.... But its a start...

He should thank Bill Clinton too. Mr "I smoked but didn't inhale" got smirks of "I know what you really mean" then his administration continued the pace of drug arrests.

Like I've said many times on this board...the so-called Liberals on this board are not really Liberals at all, they are just interested in stealing other people's money and giving it to an inept govt.

This is one topic that I suspect will get (near) universal agreement on this site. But will our leaders or the public in general ever support the idea?

Do you remember Joycelyn Elders, the first Surgeon General that Bill Clinton appointed. Early in her tenure, she suggested that legalizing drugs might help reduce crime and that the idea should be studied. She didn’t suggest it should be done, just that it should be studied. Her suggestion caused an uproar, and Clinton censured her for the remark. Then in 1994, she was invited to speak at a United Nations conference on AIDS. She was asked whether it would be appropriate to promote masturbation as a means of preventing young people from engaging in riskier forms of sexual activity, and she replied, "I think that it is part of human sexuality, and perhaps it should be taught." This remark also caused great controversy and resulted in Elders losing the support of the White House. White House chief of staff Leon Panetta remarked, "There have been too many areas where the President does not agree with her views. This is just one too many." Elders was fired by President Clinton as a result of the controversy in December 1994.

Lesson: Politicians cannot stand honest discourse about sensitive subjects! I don’t think anything has changed in the last 20 years.

Then there is the report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy (released in June 2011) that says the decades-old worldwide "war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world."

"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. Others include former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, former presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, writers Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa, U.K. business mogul Richard Branson and the current prime minister of Greece.

"Vast expenditures on criminalization and repressive measures directed at producers, traffickers and consumers of illegal drugs have clearly failed to effectively curtail supply or consumption," the report added. "Apparent victories in eliminating one source or trafficking organization are negated almost instantly by the emergence of other sources and traffickers."

The commission called for drug policies based on methods empirically proven to reduce crime, lead to better health and promote economic and social development. "Arresting and incarcerating tens of millions of these people in recent decades has filled prisons and destroyed lives and families without reducing the availability of illicit drugs or the power of criminal organizations," the report said. "There appears to be almost no limit to the number of people willing to engage in such activities to better their lives, provide for their families, or otherwise escape poverty. Drug control resources are better directed elsewhere."

And what was the response of our leaders?

The office of White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said the report was misguided.

"Drug addiction is a disease that can be successfully prevented and treated. Making drugs more available — as this report suggests — will make it harder to keep our communities healthy and safe," Office of National Drug Control Policy spokesman Rafael Lemaitre said.

Read the report yourself at http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/reports/

Forgive me for getting on my soapbox, but our policy on drugs is so misguided, I just can't help myself.

For many people alcohol is much more dangerous than mariuana