Drug Czar: Tide Turning in Drug War

Fox News ^ | Wednesday, February 18, 2004 | By Peter Brownfeld

[TKDietz]

WASHINGTON — America is achieving historic successes in the war on drugs, and some high-tech gadgets may be helping to turn the tide, John P. Walters (search), the nation's drug czar, said on Wednesday.

"We've had use go down by 11 percent by teenagers over the last two years. We haven't seen that happen in 10 years — 400,000 less kids are using drugs in 2003 than in 2001," Walters told an audience attending a counter-drug technology exhibit in Washington, D.C.

[Enterprise]

Let's assume for a minute that they "win" the WOD. What will be the next massive Governmental money grab from the citizens?

[Joe Bonforte]

Walters, whose official title is director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (search), demonstrated some of the technology contributing to this success. Mini-buster contraband detectors, night vision kits and wiretap systems were among several items on display at the exhibit.

Your police state at work. They get better at it every year.

[proxy_user]

Dunno...war on eating? War on sex?

[dirtboy]

What will be the next massive Governmental money grab from the citizens?

The War On Global WarmingObseityTrans FatsArsenic in the WaterSUVsSuburban SprawlHuntersSmokersDrinkersMeat EatersFishermenGolfersDead White GuysLive White GuysConservatives as PsychosGun OwnersSpecial InterestsRepublicans [insert something liberals hate here]

[Enterprise]

The "addiction" by the Government to taxpayer dollars for massive jobs and perks won't end with the WOD. I was just curious what's next.

[Enterprise]

Well, if the RATS get their power back, your guess is as good as anyone else's!

[TKDietz]

If the war on drugs was something they could win, they'd have done it by now. But don't worry, they don't need to win the war on drugs before they go after the next big money/power grab.

[LaraCroft]

Oh pooh, like they want to kill the cash cow? No way!

Let's see, 400,000 (where did they come up with that number, for crying out loud?) less kids using pot, divide that by the cost of the drug war, about 14 kazillion dollars and it works out to roughly just over 3 gabillion dollars per person not using drugs anymore.

Yup. Winning war. Therapy too expensive.

[Trailerpark Badass]

Another tool is a drugwipe, which a police officer uses to wipe a surface to detect traces of marijuana, cocaine, opiates or amphetamines. If the drugs are present, the swab changes color.

One would think that were drugs actually present, no "drugwipe" would be needed to detect them. But it's a brave new world, and there are many things I don't understand.

[Lexington Green]

We've been winning the WOD for almost a century now.

[Boner1]

I also wonder where the number come from . And after whatching c-span hearing on the drug trade in afganastan the numbers are about to change and not for the good .

[swarthyguy]

War on Food;

Tax on Sex ( Viagra Viagra ) - Would Narcissists demand Onanism be taxed or untaxed?

War on Obesity, first.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

Wow, some like minded FReepers. How refreshing.

[TigersEye]

"We've had use go down by 11 percent by teenagers over the last two years. We haven't seen that happen in 10 years — 400,000 less kids are using drugs in 2003 than in 2001," Walters told an audience attending a counter-drug technology exhibit in Washington, D.C.

Just like a bureaucrat to take credit for a cultural trend with no data to support any nexus between the two. Which reminds me; I parked my truck for the winter and look how cold it's been, I think I reversed Global Warming!

[Seruzawa]

Well, I'm certainly glad we are winning the War On Drugs! Let's lock up all them hippie freako potheads and speed freaks! We need to protect our precious middle class America!

Now excuse me, but I've got to wash down my Paxil with my nightly martini. Then I've got to get the Ritalin for my 7 year old ready for his DrugFreeSchool tomorrow... and the dose of pink bubblegum flavored liquid Prozac for my 4 month old baby girl.... my wife needs her dose of prescription diet pills... and of course grandpa needs his lithium because without it he complains too much about being stuck in a wheelchair...... and.......

[swarthyguy]

Rush going to Rehab singlehandedly turned the stats around?

[1L]

Yup. Winning war. Therapy too expensive.

No one was quoted in the article as saying we are winning the war. They are simply talking about one statistic in a battle. So, what's your point?

[H2dude]

YAY! WAR ON DRUGS!

WHAT A F****N SUCCESS!

YAY GOVMINT!

[wireman]

Drug Czar: Tide Turning in Drug War......

Yeah, sure. Maybe if you say it enough somebody will start to believe it.

[tpaine]

"The federal government is encouraging the militarization of local police forces by giving away weaponry and providing advisers," Barr said, commenting on general trends in policing, not only on anti-drug policies."

______________________________________


It's incredible that these Fed fools don't realize what a dangerous game they are playing..

Do they really believe that the American people will just sit back and accept a police state based on perpetual 'wars'?

[TKDietz]

I don't believe it myself. I just thought the article might spark some interesting discussion. I suspect the numbers Walters is citing are bogus as well. We'll see though I suppose.

[jedi]

We have two examples of our gov't's equal application of our publicly-espoused moral and societal standards to every country:

1. The massive increase in opium acreage now that the Taliban are out of power. After all, the CIA is friendly fwith those war-lords.

2. Pakistan's sale of nuclear technology and materials.

I wonder why all those people don't believe "our" gov't?

[NewRomeTacitus]

We need a "War On Government Waste" headed up by Martin Gross. This former Democrat has been on this case for many years. Here's an interview from 1995:

http://www.geoffmetcalf.com/qa/19630.html

[takenoprisoner]

You're a starship?

And no it wont' end. Still, I wonder why local police departments need M-16s? To use against the town's people?

This is getting scary. What sort of war are they preparing for anyway? A war against the town's people?

There must be something big planned down the pipeline for this sort of preparation.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I'd be real curious how he thinks he is getting anywhere close to an accurate audit (to a smaller degree of error than the 10% or so he's claiming) of teen marijuana usage. It's mostly clandestine so it's hard to measure.

[LaraCroft]

I assumed my point is obvious. Aside from the infringement of my constitutional rights and having to live in a police state, they pour billions of dollars a year into the 'drug war', and they are, for the first time in decades, trumpeting a small decrease in the amount of crime.

It's like this, you see. It doesn't really matter WHY they take your rights away, it only matters that they have. Of course, there are some who are brainwashed, usually people that use drugs themselves... coffee, alcohol, nicotine, but are convinced that the drug war is a good thing and are willing to give up their rights for their perceived safety. Old Ben Franklin had a saying about people like that. Why did you write me again?

[Clock King]

Tobacco, second-hand smoke, meat, fast food, MP3s, ... old people at airports (they could be terrorists).

[Clock King]

I'd like to know what drugs Walters is taking. I mean it. I bet he and a LOT of cops and drug warriors are doing illegal drugs and using their positions to shield themselves. Just like some of the child porno cops were the biggest purveyors of it. Wonder how much he and his ilk assist in the trafficing of it too?

[LanaTurnerOverdrive]

Calling All Economists!!!

I don't know jack about economics....but if the drug war were to be truly successful, and those hundreds of billions of dollars being traded and trickling down were gone....it seems that it would be cause for a global economic wound. Do you think the "powers that be" are aware of this? Dam right. The war on drugs isn't being prosecuted for results because we can't afford the results of a real victory.

Again, though, if a FReeper economist could give me an indication as to what it might be like if the illegal drug trade ceased to exist completely, it would be greatly appreciated.

[Imal]

Victory is Just Around the Corner.

[OXENinFLA]

America is achieving historic successes in the war on drugs,

LOLOLOLOL!

[AmericanVictory]

This account makes the classic mistake of assuming that the factors it is concerned with are the reasons for the reduction in use when there are other factors not taken into account and not controlled for.

The most prominent one would be the absence of a leisure drug culture in positions of high office centered on the president and his pals such as Tyson. We will never know the full damage done by the Little Rock orgy and drugs culture that grew up around Clinton and his pals being plugged into the nation's highest offices with all of its defensive, lying accusations (i.e., it wasn't us because we lied about it being the Bush brothers so you would never look at us and then we used our power to make sure the FBI would never be able to use its background-checking power to find out the truth). But it is for sure the case that having George W. and Laura Bush in the White House and a president who actually believes rather than one who swings a Bible as a cover for BJ's with interns has done an enormous amount to reduce drug usage. Further, having a real enemy, an enemy that must be led against to be defeated, with such a President in charge, tends also to elimiinate the moral and spiritual vacuum that leads to much of the drug use contributes.

[Vigilantcitizen]

"Former Rep. Bob Barr (search), R-Ga., now a civil liberties advocate, said that on a recent visit to a small West Georgia police department, the chief showed off several shiny new M-16 rifles provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (search)."

Oh good. Now I feel safe from all the gang bangers with automatic weapons that roam the streets out here in rural west Georgia.

I wonder if the police will use their own ammo shooting those M-16's off duty at the chiefs spread while drinking up a few beers. (The chiefs nephew works with me and has a big, braggert mouth.)

[JohnGalt]

You forgot the "humor alert".

[jmc813]

WOD Ping

[AmericanVictory]

Then you must believe that Clinton's behavior had no effect upon them. Are you serious?

[Sir Gawain]

The battle against mother nature continues.

BREAKING: Ashcroft swears out a warrant against God for creating cannabis.

[AmericanVictory]

Well, then, we disagree. I believe it is almost impossible to gauge the adverse impact that the behavior of Clinton and his wife and cronies had on this country's young people, as illustrated by incident after incident in classrooms and on schoolbuses as just the tip of the iceberg, not to mention lying and cheating in school becoming the norm rather than the exception as measured by numerous studies.

[tacticalogic]

That was the author's spin: "America is achieving historic successes in the war on drugs."

Actually, that appears to be the author quoting John Walters.

[tacticalogic]

Yeah, sure. Maybe if you say it enough somebody will start to believe it.

At least until November........

[af_vet_rr]

The "addiction" by the Government to taxpayer dollars for massive jobs and perks won't end with the WOD. I was just curious what's next.

Something to do with firearms and the internet, I'm sure.

[headsonpikes]

Can there be any doubt that Satan is the ruler of this world?

That humans support these vicious governments is the real cause for worry - not whether folks use 'drugs'.

[Enterprise]

"You're a starship?"

Well, not a starship. In my case, more like an ocean going tug.

[Enterprise]

That is why I posed the question. When the cold war was "won" there was talk of a "peace dividend." I was hopeful that the dividend would be reflected in less taxes. When welfare was reformed, I was hopeful that there would be a "welfare dividend" in the form of less taxes. And now, if we "win" the WOD, I am hopeful of a "WOD" dividend in the form of less taxes. But you, and others already have guessed, that no matter how many problems are "solved" or how many "wars" are "won," the assault on taxpayers will continue unabated, and some new crisis will be manufactured to justify financially bleeding us some more.

[Enterprise]

NewsMax.com Wires

Thursday, Feb. 19, 2004

"MOSCOW – Russia has successfully tested a hypersonic weapon capable of penetrating any prospective missile shield, a senior general said Thursday.

The prototype weapon proved it could maneuver so quickly as to make "any missile defense useless," Col.-Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky, the first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, said at a news conference."

Well, THAT didn't take long did it? I guess we know where the next round of taxpayer dollars is gong.