40 years, a trillion dollars, zero results.

Skeptik

Astute observer
Oct 19, 2008
727
100
78
The late great Bear Flag Republic
U.S. war on drugs has met none of its goals

EDITOR’S NOTE: Four decades after Richard Nixon declared war on drugs, more Americans use them and drug-related violence has gotten worse. This is the first in a series of reports by The Associated Press examining the drug war.

So, after all this time, one would expect some radical changes in the way the war on drugs is being conducted, right?



This week President Barack 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.


At last! A change in direction, or is it?

“President Obama’s newly released drug war budget is essentially the same as Bush’s, with roughly twice as much money going to the criminal justice system as to treatment and prevention

No, I guess not.

Well, securing the southern border is the answer, right? Most of the drugs come across there, after all.

In 1970, proponents said beefed-up law enforcement could effectively seal the southern U.S. border and stop drugs from coming in. Since then, the U.S. used patrols, checkpoints, sniffer dogs, cameras, motion detectors, heat sensors, drone aircraft — and even put up more than 1,000 miles of steel beam, concrete walls and heavy mesh stretching from California to Texas.

Oh. They already did that, 40 years ago. Does that mean Mexico is not a key player?

A full 10 percent of Mexico’s economy is built on drug proceeds

10% of their economy!!?? Holy crap!

Does the administration understand the the war on drugs is a failure?

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.”
Yes, they do. So, changes are in order, right?

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.

No, I guess not.

If it is a failure, then keep it going, increase funding, but don't make any major changes. That seems to be the current strategy, unchanged since 1970.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: blu
Waste of time and money to incarcerate non-violent offenders
 
Agreed.

Problem is, the "War on Drugs" has created a HUGE governmental jobs program that the liberals love, while at the same time, gives conservatives a moral fight they like to hang their hats on.

And within those two wrongs, the common sense of completely dismantling this waste of a trillion dollars and counting is lost...
 
Agreed.

Problem is, the "War on Drugs" has created a HUGE governmental jobs program that the liberals love, while at the same time, gives conservatives a moral fight they like to hang their hats on.

And within those two wrongs, the common sense of completely dismantling this waste of a trillion dollars and counting is lost...

Sorry, you can't blame the liberals for this one.

Nice try, though.
 
What exactly are the goals? I don't know what they are.

And does this mean we should stop fighting it or that the tactics our leaders have been taking really suck no matter what party they are in?
 
Last edited:
What exactly are the goals? I don't know what they are.

And does this mean we should stop fighting it or that the tactics our leaders have been taking really suck no matter what party they are in.


Prohibition doesn't work. It's just a waste of time and money.

Legalize pot and tax it...like alcohol.
 
First conviction=rehab
Second conviction=death penalty.
Problems solved.

Any questions?

Oh Yes.

Definetely. I don't think to many people would want to deal in drugs if the death penalty was the punishment.

I think its Singapore that has this in effect in their country.

Guess what?? No drug dealers, buyers, no drugs period.
 
First conviction=rehab
Second conviction=death penalty.
Problems solved.

Any questions?

Oh Yes.

Definetely. I don't think to many people would want to deal in drugs if the death penalty was the punishment.

I think its Singapore that has this in effect in their country.
Guess what?? No drug dealers, buyers, no drugs period.

The well known fact that drugs can kill you doesn't seem to deter the addicts, nor does the prospect of being killed by rivals deter the dealers. Draconian punishments have been tried in the past. They don't work.

What we need is a more rational drug policy, starting with legalization of non addictive substances like pot, and following by treating addiction as a medical problem, not a legal one.

But, as has already been pointed out, a lot of people make a lot of money from the drug wars. It's the money that makes it difficult to stop.
 
First conviction=rehab
Second conviction=death penalty.
Problems solved.

Any questions?

Oh Yes.

Definetely. I don't think to many people would want to deal in drugs if the death penalty was the punishment.

I think its Singapore that has this in effect in their country.
Guess what?? No drug dealers, buyers, no drugs period.

The well known fact that drugs can kill you doesn't seem to deter the addicts, nor does the prospect of being killed by rivals deter the dealers. Draconian punishments have been tried in the past. They don't work.

What we need is a more rational drug policy, starting with legalization of non addictive substances like pot, and following by treating addiction as a medical problem, not a legal one.

But, as has already been pointed out, a lot of people make a lot of money from the drug wars. It's the money that makes it difficult to stop.

Nope.
China had a terrible opium problem from the 19th century until the communist revolution. Now they don't. What happened? They instituted what I posted above.
Yup, it works.
 
What exactly are the goals? I don't know what they are.

And does this mean we should stop fighting it or that the tactics our leaders have been taking really suck no matter what party they are in?


Prohibition doesn't work. It's just a waste of time and money.

Legalize pot and tax it...like alcohol.

That really doesnt address a single question I asked
 
Oh Yes.

Definetely. I don't think to many people would want to deal in drugs if the death penalty was the punishment.

I think its Singapore that has this in effect in their country.
Guess what?? No drug dealers, buyers, no drugs period.

The well known fact that drugs can kill you doesn't seem to deter the addicts, nor does the prospect of being killed by rivals deter the dealers. Draconian punishments have been tried in the past. They don't work.

What we need is a more rational drug policy, starting with legalization of non addictive substances like pot, and following by treating addiction as a medical problem, not a legal one.

But, as has already been pointed out, a lot of people make a lot of money from the drug wars. It's the money that makes it difficult to stop.

Nope.
China had a terrible opium problem from the 19th century until the communist revolution. Now they don't. What happened? They instituted what I posted above.
Yup, it works.

I suppose if we had the same sort of government that they have in China, it just might. I'd rather live in a free country, though, even if the government isn't able to solve the drug problem.
 
The well known fact that drugs can kill you doesn't seem to deter the addicts, nor does the prospect of being killed by rivals deter the dealers. Draconian punishments have been tried in the past. They don't work.

What we need is a more rational drug policy, starting with legalization of non addictive substances like pot, and following by treating addiction as a medical problem, not a legal one.

But, as has already been pointed out, a lot of people make a lot of money from the drug wars. It's the money that makes it difficult to stop.

Nope.
China had a terrible opium problem from the 19th century until the communist revolution. Now they don't. What happened? They instituted what I posted above.
Yup, it works.

I suppose if we had the same sort of government that they have in China, it just might. I'd rather live in a free country, though, even if the government isn't able to solve the drug problem.

deflection.
There isn't the will in this country to do what it will take to eliminate the problem. Start executing people and you'll see changes.
Criminals are deterred by two things:
How likely are they to get caught?
What will happen to them if they do?

Make the odds of both of those unacceptably high to them and they'll change.
 
Nope.
China had a terrible opium problem from the 19th century until the communist revolution. Now they don't. What happened? They instituted what I posted above.
Yup, it works.

I suppose if we had the same sort of government that they have in China, it just might. I'd rather live in a free country, though, even if the government isn't able to solve the drug problem.

deflection.
There isn't the will in this country to do what it will take to eliminate the problem. Start executing people and you'll see changes.
Criminals are deterred by two things:
How likely are they to get caught?
What will happen to them if they do?

Make the odds of both of those unacceptably high to them and they'll change.

If the dealers aren't afraid of rivals who cut off people's heads and leave them as grisly reminders of their power, what makes you think they would be afraid of the government, even if we were willing to have the sort of police state where such things could happen?

No, we need to solve the drug problem without losing our liberties.

And, no, you can't deny basic civil liberties to drug dealers without denying them to everyone.
 
U.S. war on drugs has met none of its goals

EDITOR’S NOTE: Four decades after Richard Nixon declared war on drugs, more Americans use them and drug-related violence has gotten worse. This is the first in a series of reports by The Associated Press examining the drug war.

So, after all this time, one would expect some radical changes in the way the war on drugs is being conducted, right?



This week President Barack 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.


At last! A change in direction, or is it?



No, I guess not.

Well, securing the southern border is the answer, right? Most of the drugs come across there, after all.



Oh. They already did that, 40 years ago. Does that mean Mexico is not a key player?



10% of their economy!!?? Holy crap!

Does the administration understand the the war on drugs is a failure?

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.”
Yes, they do. So, changes are in order, right?

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.

No, I guess not.

If it is a failure, then keep it going, increase funding, but don't make any major changes. That seems to be the current strategy, unchanged since 1970.

Don't tell Willow this, she likes wasting money at it.

And this one thing I disagree with Obama on. When he picked his drug Czar, I thought it would be different because he was from Seattle, but they are still pumping in the same amount of money.
 
Nope.
China had a terrible opium problem from the 19th century until the communist revolution. Now they don't. What happened? They instituted what I posted above.
Yup, it works.

I suppose if we had the same sort of government that they have in China, it just might. I'd rather live in a free country, though, even if the government isn't able to solve the drug problem.

deflection.
There isn't the will in this country to do what it will take to eliminate the problem. Start executing people and you'll see changes.
Criminals are deterred by two things:
How likely are they to get caught?
What will happen to them if they do?

Make the odds of both of those unacceptably high to them and they'll change.

abraham lincoln once told congress that we cannot attempt to legislate morality. that to do so runs counter to the principles on which this country was founded. he also said that to ban a substance or behavior because one group doesn't think it is good does not make the demand for the banned item to go away. it only opens the door to criminals to meet the demand. that is consistantly what has happened in the case of all of our morality legislation --- from drugs and alcohol to gambling and prostitution.

be thankful that you have the freedom in this country to publish such obnoxious opinions without fear of criminal penalty.
 
I suppose if we had the same sort of government that they have in China, it just might. I'd rather live in a free country, though, even if the government isn't able to solve the drug problem.

deflection.
There isn't the will in this country to do what it will take to eliminate the problem. Start executing people and you'll see changes.
Criminals are deterred by two things:
How likely are they to get caught?
What will happen to them if they do?

Make the odds of both of those unacceptably high to them and they'll change.

If the dealers aren't afraid of rivals who cut off people's heads and leave them as grisly reminders of their power, what makes you think they would be afraid of the government, even if we were willing to have the sort of police state where such things could happen?

No, we need to solve the drug problem without losing our liberties.

And, no, you can't deny basic civil liberties to drug dealers without denying them to everyone.

40 years of "I'm tougher than you are on drugs" has proven that we are wasting our time on a victimless crime. Our incarceration rate is higher than any civilized nation and we still have rampant drug use. Rabbi once again shows he is a dinosaur when it comes to dealing with a modern society.
 

New Topics

Forum List

Back
Top