Global Commission on Drug Policy has declared War on Drugs is lost.

[BengalBilly]

It appears people are finally realizing prohibition of any sort will never work.

 

Major panel: Drug war failed; legalize marijuana

 

By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press.

 

NEW YORK – The global war on drugs has failed and governments should explore legalizing marijuana and other controlled substances, according to a commission that includes former heads of state, a former U.N. secretary-general and a business mogul.

A new report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy argues that the decades-old "global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world." The 24-page paper will be released Thursday.

"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.

 

IMO the criminalization of drug use only gives strength to gangs who traffic in the market. It happened in the days of the prohibition of alcohol, and with a study of what's happening in Mexico today, it is only gotten worse. Legalize it and tax it. Take the profit out of the cartels hands for crissakes! Empty our over crowded prison systems of non violent offenders. I know this will be a hard transition for a country like the United States, but repealing prohibition wasn't an easy task either.

 

The time has come to do this, and I'm a pretty right leaning guy who could pass any piss test. We are fighting a war that can never be won. The arguments against this policy by our drug czar Gil Kerlikowske only echos other statements by past government officials year after year after year, yet the drug use continues. It will never stop, and anyone who thinks otherwise is extremely misguided. If there is a market for a product, someone will step in to fill it. It's one of the statutes of capitalism. America's need for drugs fuels the violence south of the border. I believe legalization of drugs can stem this because what we've done for the past 50+ years sure hasn't worked.

 

How long are we going to bang our heads into the same wall?

[vmax]

I guess the choice is gangs/murder/violence or significant percentage of the population on welfare because they can't work or won't work or be employable because now they can get wasted all day.

 

Will families be better off? If Mom, Dad or both are on legal drugs every day?...or their kids?...or some combination of both?

 

I'm sure driving will be safe....

 

Theft probably won't stop because they'll still need money to pay bills.

[BengalBilly]

I guess the choice is gangs/murder/violence or significant percentage of the population on welfare because they can't work or won't work or be employable because now they can get wasted all day.

 

Will families be better off? If Mom, Dad or both are on legal drugs every day?...or their kids?...or some combination of both?

 

I'm sure driving will be safe....

 

Theft probably won't stop because they'll still need money to pay bills.

When I spoke of misguided people in my initial post, I should have known it wouldn't be long until one showed up. And your statement about driving is ludicrous! What about the legal drug alcohol? This substance kills thousands of people a year, yet I hear nary a peep from you about this! You're obviously a hypocrite.

[dc.]

What's "it?" All drugs?

 

I think most people are willing to talk about marijuana. But you won't find many willing to talk about cocaine, heroin or others - drugs that can kill you in a variety of ways or literally alter your consciousness for exceptionally long periods of time.

 

I'm not - and many others aren't - willing to discuss making drugs on the level of crack or cocaine legal. They are beyond dangerous.

 

On a different note: the war on drugs is being lost because it's being fought the wrong way. We attack and prosecute drug users and addicts instead of drug dealers and cartels. Obviously the latter group is harder to find and imprison, and obviously arresting addicts makes for nice political statistics. There's much more that goes into it as well... fixing living conditions so that so many are not drawn to such a life, changing social perception about all of the above (personally, I think too many people are far too accepting of the issue).

 

Bottom line - I don't know that I'm one who's ever liked giving up the principle simply because the fight is lost.

[vmax]

I was thought we're talking about making all drugs legal. That's the only way I see getting rid of the gangs/cartels/mob drug businesses.

 

Nice hypocrite comment billy...I was asking questions for discussion...I don't have answers.

[BengalBilly]

I was thought we're talking about making all drugs legal. That's the only way I see getting rid of the gangs/cartels/mob drug businesses.

 

Nice hypocrite comment billy...I was asking questions for discussion...I don't have answers.

Don't take it so personal max.

[dc.]

Don't take it personally?

 

You started with indirectly calling him 'misguided' and then ended with a very straightforward "you must be a hypocrite." Nothing personal there...

[vmax]

Well...I want to move on past the name calling crap because this subject is very interesting for me.

 

I'm trying to get a vision of what the future would be if you could purchase drugs like you do alcohol.

 

For example: you don't have to steal TV's or use a gun to buy alcohol....so theft should go down....violent crime should take a drop....but how much?

The population of heavy drug users are unemployable so stealing/prostitution ect are part of their way of life to survive...I see no change in the crime stats for these people.

 

Where do the street gangs go? "Ok homie...no more profit so lets go back to school and get jobs now." Do they continue to rob and steal to get money to live? Why would they want to work at McDonalds or a warehouse?

 

Would pharmacies distribute crack? Or does that remain a street drug?

 

Would the monies spent on the war on drugs be used for treatment of addicts? Logically that ton of money should be spent on treatment, keeping kids in school, social programs to limit drug use, drug education, creating jobs, job skill schools ect...

 

How much of a population increase would we see in the use of heavy drugs like heroin, morphine, oxicotin, codine, methadone ect.?

 

Would welfare ranks soar?

 

Would more kids start at even younger ages to get strung out? Would they get it from adults and sell it illegally at school?

Edited June 6, 2011 by vmax

[BengalBilly]

I'm trying to get a vision of what the future would be if you could purchase drugs like you do alcohol.

My guess is a prison system relieved of being over burdened of laws that will never work, and in turn a big tax burden lifted from the population.

 

The population of heavy drug users are unemployable so stealing/prostitution ect are part of their way of life to survive...I see no change in the crime stats for these people.

How about taking some of the money saved from incarceration, and apply it into rehabilitation?

 

Would pharmacies distribute crack? Or does that remain a street drug?

I feel it would, but the penalties for it change.

 

How much of a population increase would we see in the use of heavy drugs like heroin, morphine, oxicotin, codine, methadone ect.?

No more than we have now.

 

 

Would welfare ranks soar?

Aren't they soaring already with this economy?

 

 

Would pharmacies distribute crack? Or does that remain a street drug?

 

Would the monies spent on the war on drugs be used for treatment of addicts? Logically that ton of money should be spent on treatment, keeping kids in school, social programs to limit drug use, drug education, creating jobs, job skill schools ect...

 

How much of a population increase would we see in the use of heavy drugs like heroin, morphine, oxicotin, codine, methadone ect.?

 

Would welfare ranks soar?

 

Would more kids start at even younger ages to get strung out? Would they get it from adults and sell it illegally at school?

Dude, when I was in school back in the early '70's this very thing you speak of like it's something new was going on. We could find it in the classrooms then, and we'll find it there in the future. Drug use will never stop no matter what age group or social status. Humanity is stuck with it for eternity.

[vmax]

Dude, when I was in school back in the early '70's this very thing you speak of like it's something new was going on. We could find it in the classrooms then, and we'll find it there in the future. Drug use will never stop no matter what age group or social status. Humanity is stuck with it for eternity.

 

I agree and I know that. No society has ever stopped drug use in recorded history...even the ones that imposed the death penalty like Japan.

 

I expect no decrease in drug use. It's never going away.

 

What I want is to keep it's use at whatever the minimum is or could be using treatment, detection, intervention, education ect........yea...prison does not work.

 

I wonder about the increase in drug use since it would become super easy to get and legal.That's the 'something new' I was speaking about. Easy access to hard narcotics because it would be legal. A junkies heaven...they would probably use continuously until they died....nothing to stop them.

Does the CEO [or anybody] who has a few drinks after work to chill out now take an oxicotin since it's legal? Alcohols a drug but people seem to be able to keep a job and drink. Will that change if other drugs are easily available and legal?

I don't know...I guess nobody knows... but I fear that possibility.

 

It would be easier for 13 year olds than it is now IMO. Sure they can get it now [i'm not just talking inner city] but now the hard stuff would be handy, cheap, in vast uninterupted supply and right at their door." Why drink? Here's stuff that works better for the same price."

 

Then again they won't be getting gunned down in the streets every day. They won't be putting mystery chemicals in their bodies....and they probably won't have to rob and steal for the money.

The huge sum of money wasted on the failed war on drugs would be put to better uses.

I like the vision of safer streets...not having to worry about being shot, robbed and your house broken into. I think there would be big improvement here although crime, like drugs, has been around forever and won't go away.

 

I'm not 100% sure of this but I think China closed the opium dens because of the the destruction and hardship it caused on families. There were falling apart with the bread winners just on the pipe all day.

 

Massive change like this is scary...that doesn't mean it's wrong.