In case you missed it. THE WAR ON DRUGS!!
The War On Drugs has gone on since the 1960's and we are losing it. I hear people say 'Pull our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan' so where are the shouts to 'Pull our troops and resources out of the War On Drugs.
Lets turn to that ever faithful sidekick Wikkipedia for a description of The War On Drugs. 'The War on Drugs is a controversial campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade. This initiative includes a set of drug policies of the United States that are intended to discourage the production, distribution, and consumption of illegal psychoactive drugs. The term "War on Drugs" was first used by President Richard Nixon on June 17, 1971.'
So that is what it is supposed to do. OMFG!! We should have surrendered on June 18, 1971, after President Nixon named it, because we were doing better when we were At Peace With Drugs.
I do not want to make light of the drug problem because it is a very serious issue. But our approach is and has been a Failed One. There has to be a better way.
Oh and by the way; President Obama has actually solved the War on Drugs since taking office. It actually was quite simple. HE JUST CHANGED THE NAME!!! See our tax dollars at work solving a problem with Words.
President Obama has ordered it to be called? Wait he as not given it a name just said do not call it The War On Drugs. 'On May 13, 2009, Gil Kerlikowske, the current Director of the Office of national Drug Control Policy, signaled that although it did not plan to significantly alter drug enforcement policy, the Obama administration would not use the term "War on Drugs," as he claims it is "counter-productive". I guess we did not want the Drug Lords being threatened by the word WAR.
I wonder sometimes, well a lot, where the sanity in government is hiding. Globally we are doing studies on Drug Policies and we do not seem to be reading our own studies. 'In June 2011 the self-appointed Global Commission on Drug Policy released a critical report on the War on Drugs, declaring "The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world. Fifty years after the initiation of the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and years after President Nixon launched the US government’s war on drugs, fundamental reforms in national and global drug control policies are urgently needed." The report was immediately criticized by organizations that oppose a general legalization of drugs.'
We seem to spend more time arguing about each others studies than we do reducing the drug trade.
I have always been taught to look to history for answers to todays problems. From 1920 to 1933 the United States put a Prohibition the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol. HOW DID THAT WORK OUT FOR US??? The Prohibition Era gave rise to Organized Crime; another war we are fighting but at least winning after 90 years.
We should take lessons from History. Legalize some classes of recreational drugs, take them out of the arena of profitability for Illegal Drug Dealers and Manufacturers and tax them so we can recoup some of our War On Drugs monies. We will find that with time we will drastically reduce the monies we have to spend to wage war on drugs, clear cases out of the courts making room for real crimes to be disposed of and reduce our prison population thereby saving more money.
Will there always be an element of the population that will find something illegal to sell? Of course there will!! It is Human Nature to Find The Fast Buck. But in the long run numbers will be reduced.
To those that are saying; 'But Night what about the users? Are we not making there problem worse?' Users will be Users whether they have to buy drugs illegally or at the local Legal Drug Emporium. The difference is that at least Users will know they are receiving a drug that is controlled for quality by a professional chemist rather than somebodies brother in his garage.
No answer to this problem is easy and maybe I have gone overboard a bit or over simplified but one thing is perfectly clear. THE WAR ON DRUGS HAS FAILED AND WE NEED A NEW DIRECTION.
I will leave you with one last thought; Drugs~~you do not need them to have a fulfilling life. Life is a High all by itself!!!
Love ya,
Night
No comments:
Post a Comment