War on drugs, are we looking at incorrectly?

It seemed to imply that the environment is a larger determinant of drug use than ethical choice or brain chemistry. The Vietnam statistic is compelling, but not new information, and I actually thought it was closer to 40% with almost complete recovery after.

I actually think prevalence and social acceptability of legalized drugs is as much a contributor to environment as other factors, so no change on my perspectives there.

 

I saw this interview. Radical idea but seems to have been proven out in places like Portugal. Obviously, we in the US are reaping no benefits from the drug war-- unless you are in the prison industry.

 

The government benefits greatly off of drugs. Not just the prison system but law enforcement jobs and the government gets the benefit of taxing the America people for the so called 'war on drugs'... It's also a form of modern day slavery for poor minority groups. It's more profitable to continuously incarcerate than it is to rehabilitate and educate. Whips, chains, and plantations have been replaced with drugs, guns, and prisons... And you can see the difference in criminal sentencing that they would give to poor minority groups compared to others.

In Texas it cost tax payers around $50,000 per year per prisoner and there are prisons as far as the eye can see... But you would have a hard time trying to find a rehabilitation centers and we don't spend money like that on educating children. Make no mistake about it, the dope game is big business for the government and the rest of us are just getting played.

 

Who lack the self control, personal dignity, ethics or risk/reward perspective to avoid involvement with drugs despite limited resources. "Slavery" from a voluntary personal act or enterprise, freaking priceless.

 

They probably lack the things you speak of because of limited resources and the unlimited amount of drugs and guns in their communities.

Poor minority communities do not voluntarily bring in drugs from other countries and they do not voluntarily manufacture guns.

On the flip side there is a big portion of the middle class and under who are 'voluntarily slaves' to credit cards due to greed and wanting shyt they don't necessarily need... But that's a different thread.

 

Did you catch this article...

Houston Police Chief Calls Drug War A 'Miserable' Failure, Says Feds Need To Lead Reform
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6277018

 

And that's the opinion of a police chief in a big time city... I don't know how much longer he will have his job.

 

You really think Major Cities care? It's a waste for them to have to enforce small time drug laws.

Now the Rural counties in Texas? They love the Drug war. They get to seize property and cash, get Government equipment and aid.

 

Their are direct benefits - money going to Cops/Lawyer/Courts/Prisons/Rehabilitation
All these industries see DIRECT Money from the war on drugs

Stop the war and each of those see their money reduced

War on Drugs also has side benefits which inrease in power
Cops have great authority and ability because of it
the fear induced by this war makes people give up more power to Authority

Rocket River

 

There have been a number, Norm Stamper, Judge Jim Grey (one of the biggest reasons I voted Libertarian in 2012) just to name a couple. There are a lot more at www.leap.cc, which is Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

To answer the question in the thread title, we've been looking at drugs incorrectly for over a century now. I've been talking about it for nearly two decades including this blast from the past...

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=63243

 

Great thread...

You should bump that considering the steps the country has taking towards mar1juana since the time you started that thread.

 

im pretty sure "andymoon" knew this was coming. they will be adding a few more states i assume this next presidential election.

 

Meth is a huge problem, a good majority of violent and property crime (at least in central Texas) can be directly tied to the tweakers.

 

Meth is a problem created by prohibition. There are very safe alternatives which we give to our Air Force pilots nearly every time they go up, but these alternatives aren't available on the open market, creating a black market for meth.

It is the same thing with crack. That drug was created, in part, to have an easily measured and transported form of cocaine. To be fair, part of the reason it was created was because smoking tends to lead to more addiction because the high hits faster (7 seconds from inhalation to brain) and harder than snorted or injected cocaine and the crash leaves the user wanting more to a larger degree than with other ingestion methods.

It is entirely likely that, were amphetamines and cocaine regulated rather than prohibited, the more dangerous forms of the respective drugs would lose their popularity and slip into the sands of time. When you were able to buy cocaine over the counter in this country, the single most common method of ingestion was as a drink, much as caffeine is used today.

 

I hear that one of the more likely states to legalize next is Nevada.

 

No I don't think they care because as I stated previously that drugs are a form of slavery and drugs are in abundance in poor minority communities in the cities. And you don't see much crime from Gunspoint or Acres Home leaking into the Woodlands.

Now that meth is on the scene... You see what's happening.