U.S. war on drugs has failed, report says

Legalize it. End of prob

The study is right that our law and order approach to drugs won't work. As a person who has worked in the substance abuse/ mental health field, you get a special appreciation of the lack of funding needed to address this hugh problem. Addressing demand/use will be far more successful than simply using law enforcement resouces on a social problem.

They needed yet another study to determine Regan's so-called "War on Drugs" has been a spectacular, expensive failure?

What they need is a study to determine how better to spend all that money on more worthwhile programs such as universal healthcare for all American children and adults, or help shoring up Social Security and Medicare.

It's time, for one, to decriminalize the use of marijuana by responsible adults. That would be a good start and would save billions currently wasted in failed enforcement measures.

HINT: The prison system in the USA is extremely profitable.

==========

Did America win the war on poverty?

Did America win the war on alcohol?

Did America win the war on drugs?

Did America win the war on gambling?

Did America win the war on prostitution?

Did America win the war on crime?

Did America win the war on evil?

Did America win the war on terrorism?

I THINK NOT!

Since when is the idea that the war on drugs has failed news?

Hit-n-Run wrote:

It's called supply and demand. The Mexicans supply the drugs and the illegal Mexicans demand the drug. What a worthless race of humans.

That's interesting, lots of white, black, asian, middle eastern people do drugs as well. Drugs are also grown and made right here in the US, the country you feel you are entitled to.

Legalize it and sell it for one dollar a bag, that should put all illegal drug dears out of a job.

Legalize & tax.

We won 30 yrs. ago! NOW they admit it!

Legalize the drugs, and the users will kill themselves off and we'll be rid of the problem.

Alcohol, the most abused drug, is both legal and heavily taxed. Yet, the carnage of lives from the abuse of this drug is immense. We need heavily funded programs to eradicate these addictions. Legalizing and taxing is only political; education is the most useful tool. If a person fails treatment. then incarcerate them as a danger to society.

Cheap-shot wrote:

<quoted text>
Yah..lets evoke the Volstead Act again. It solved all of societies ills back then and should do the same again.

Not a thing wrong in evoking it; but to invoke it would be stupid.

Nancy Mortonthal wrote:

Alcohol, the most abused drug, is both legal and heavily taxed. Yet, the carnage of lives from the abuse of this drug is immense. We need heavily funded programs to eradicate these addictions. Legalizing and taxing is only political; education is the most useful tool. If a person fails treatment. then incarcerate them as a danger to society.

No. We already spend way too much money on education. We also spend way too much money on rehabilitation. We also spend way too much money on lavish prisons, with amenities that many honest people don't get.

We should take all the druggies and locked them in an opium den and flood it with smoke

The XO wrote:

<quoted text>
No. We already spend way too much money on education. We also spend way too much money on rehabilitation. We also spend way too much money on lavish prisons, with amenities that many honest people don't get.
We should take all the druggies and locked them in an opium den and flood it with smoke

Only if Dick Cheney and you go in first.

Drugs come from plants. Plants have been here for millions of years before us, we have no right to stop ANYONE from using any substance that they want as long as they are not hurting others. The war on drugs is almost as big of a joke as religion.

Think outside the box, check out my website to find out what I mean: http://www.adrianeden.com

Bob Burns wrote:

Legalize it. End of prob

Well, duh? Like we did not already know that it had failed. I am an older white American, and I would like to see small amounts of drugs legalized. I never used street drugs and never want to. But, they exist and it is crazy to use all our law enforcement on this particular thing. If it is a small enough amount to be qualifed for personal use, let it go -- that is my thought. If it a huge amount, that is a different story. But, let's stop quibbling about 2 ounces of marijuana. I do not thing marijuana is ultimately helpful and may be very harmful, but let us treat it the same way we treat tobacco use. Same deal.

Adrian Eden wrote:

Drugs come from plants. Plants have been here for millions of years before us, we have no right to stop ANYONE from using any substance that they want as long as they are not hurting others. The war on drugs is almost as big of a joke as religion.
Think outside the box, check out my website to find out what I mean: http://www.adrianeden.com
<quoted text>

What plant is the drug alcohol (C2 H5OH) derived from?

Politicians rely on band-aid approaches to problems, not solutions, because if they solve a problem, they don't have anything to exploit fear of to get reelected the next term. Arresting people and prosecuting people gives them a solid number to throw out there to make it look like their efforts are making a positive difference, but in reality it's just worsening the problem by making criminals out of people who have a problem. Plus, in states like Illinois, felons can't vote, so if you disenfranchise them, you don't really have to worry about what they think.

These suggestions are good if you want to solve problems, but politicians keep their jobs by perpetuating problems and fear of those problems.

Murphy wrote:

<quoted text>What plant is the drug alcohol (C2 H5OH) derived from?

Any number of plants. Different alcohols are created by fermenting different plants. Anything from barley & hops (beer) to potatoes (vodka) to cactus (tequila) to grapes (wine) to corn (ethanol) to applesauce (prison hooch) can be used to make alcohol.

Nancy Mortonthal wrote:

Alcohol, the most abused drug, is both legal and heavily taxed. Yet, the carnage of lives from the abuse of this drug is immense. We need heavily funded programs to eradicate these addictions. Legalizing and taxing is only political; education is the most useful tool. If a person fails treatment. then incarcerate them as a danger to society.

We HAVE had a heavily funded program...it's called "The War On Drugs" and it failed. If you incarcerated all the people that "fail" treatment, YOUR TAXES WILL GO SKY HIGH since YOU will be paying for it! Who sets the standard for "failing treatment"? The people that are getting paid to treat you? LOL...Fat chance!...They are making money off of drugs just as surely as the drug dealers. Who's to say who needs treatment? The courts that collect the fines? Ya...fat chance! They are making money off of drugs, too. Got news for ya...it takes GOVERNMENTS to move the huge amounts of drugs around the world. If you think the U.S. government isn't capable of that, then you don't know history and the Iran-Contra scandal. Google "Air America" or the "Golden Triangle".

America already has the largest prison population IN THE WORLD....because of the "War on Drugs", and you want MORE citizens in jail for simply doing drugs? Here's another clue for you....most people in America do drugs! Do you drink coffee? It's a drug! Eat sugar? It's a drug! Take a prescription drug? You're doing drugs. With all the drug commercials on TV, it's getting hard to tell who the drugs dealers are!

The following is a list of dope smokers.....do they need to be in jail? I've smoked weed for 40 years, raised 5 kids, put myself through nursing school, ran my own business and contributed to society in a BIG way. Do I need to be in jail? There are over 800,000 NON- violent cannabis users in prison in America.... and you're paying for it. How dumb it that?
http://www.slatts.fsworld.co.uk/famous.htm

Not everyone that uses drugs is an addict. Addiction is a medical problem and should be treated as such. There's nothing wrong with education just as long it's the right education and not law enforcement BS. Why do people like you think PRISON is the answer to everything? Prisons are government funded, violent sex houses. When someone goes to prison the whole family/community feels it. Parent-less children, poverty, broken homes...this all costs society in more than one way.