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At Least 4 Good Reasons To End the War on Drugs
Townhall.com ^ | June 12, 2011 | Debra J. Saunders

Posted on 06/12/2011 5:07:54 AM PDT by Kaslin

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1 posted on 06/12/2011 5:07:56 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin
I agree completely

So does Paul Craig Roberts

2 posted on 06/12/2011 5:17:11 AM PDT by Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus ("Armed forces abroad are of little value unless there is prudent counsel at home." - Cicero)
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To: Kaslin
"Washington is never going to be the leader on this. They don't lead public opinion. They follow public opinion."
Well that's a load of tripe. It was the government, mainly in the form of Harry Anslinger, that got the whole war on drugs ball rolling.
By that way of thinking "Reefer Madness" wasn't put out by the government and was an independent documentary.
3 posted on 06/12/2011 5:19:39 AM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
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To: Kaslin

I agree


4 posted on 06/12/2011 5:20:14 AM PDT by cowtowney
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To: Kaslin

It’s not just the war on drugs that we should be concerned with.
The drugs are coming thru our borders along with many bad people and who knows what else.
close the borders and we shut down on a lot of our problems.


5 posted on 06/12/2011 5:24:45 AM PDT by South Dakota (shut up and drill)
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To: Kaslin
I think the war is poorly fought. It caters to drug warriors who are more interested in adrenaline highs than winning.

I, for one, don't want to have to walk by a bunch of loaded up junkies or pot heads when I shop at the local mall.

6 posted on 06/12/2011 5:26:15 AM PDT by Glenn (iamtheresistance.org)
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To: Kaslin

We could win the War on Drugs in six months.

Shut down the Mexican border.

But there’s no money to be made in that.

And you better believe it, that’s why a forty year useless war is still being fought.

PRay your house isn’t the mistaken address for the next testosterone laden SWAT team no-knock warrant.


7 posted on 06/12/2011 5:29:42 AM PDT by exit82 (Democrats are the enemy of freedom. Sarah Palin is our Esther.)
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To: Kaslin
We've hemorrhaged money into this phony War for longer than I've been alive. Take it out back behind the barn and put one through its head.
8 posted on 06/12/2011 5:31:47 AM PDT by arderkrag (Georgia is God's Country.----------In the same way Rush is balance, I am consensus.)
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To: arderkrag

The headlines in the 60’s and seventies were just like those today...
“Biggest drug bust ever!”

And bill Bennet is still touting the WOD and his “guests” are directors and owners of drug treatment centers that are part of this “Government” Drug Economy. If he had any of the morality he so touts, he would say, “I was wrong. this is a failure at best, we need a new policy.”


9 posted on 06/12/2011 5:40:29 AM PDT by Recovering Ex-hippie (where is the Great Santini when we need him??)
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To: Kaslin

In 1870 there were no drug laws in America and there were no overwhelming drug problems. Nobody should need to be Albert Einstein to figure that one out.


10 posted on 06/12/2011 5:43:55 AM PDT by varmintman
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To: Glenn

“I, for one, don’t want to have to walk by a bunch of loaded up junkies or pot heads when I shop at the local mall.”

I do agree with you, however why do you think the local mall would look different than it does today—they are filled with loaded up junkies and pot heads!


11 posted on 06/12/2011 5:44:10 AM PDT by Jaysin
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To: Glenn

I agree...We can stiffen the laws on public disorderly conduct ,etc. How about house arrest and madatory outpatient treatment after a brief detox stint..that is not nearly as expensive as putting them in the “govt” prison economy.

there are many ways to deal with this that are more effective and way less costly to the taxpayor. but we have to begin the discussion on HOW to deal with the problem ( including the border) ONCE we accept the premise the WOD is NOT working.


12 posted on 06/12/2011 5:44:30 AM PDT by Recovering Ex-hippie (where is the Great Santini when we need him??)
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To: Kaslin
I disagree with this article. Many drugs are very addicting. They can be pushed on you by advertising, peer pressure, or just plain coercion. Once you try them, you are no longer able to make the decision to say no.

A better solution would be to make drug use unacceptable socially at all levels. Maybe an advertising campaign that stresses the point that recreational users are paying money to drug cartels who murder and enslave people. Money also goes to terrorists to use against America. Everyone who uses illegal drugs is guilty of funding these people.

Someone will want to come back and say, “if we legalize drugs, then these bad people will be out of the picture and replaced by legitimate companies.”

I would reply that you can just look back at how the British companies behaved when making and selling drugs was illegal in England, but was legal in India and China.

I believe that this country needs to seriously reset its moral compass. It would resolve a ton of issues that we're facing right now. If communities were tighter knit, drug use would be unacceptable to the community as a whole and the problem would resolve itself, regardless of whether drugs were legal or illegal.

13 posted on 06/12/2011 5:55:46 AM PDT by Family Guy (I disagree with what you said, but I'll defend to the death your right to shut up.)
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To: varmintman

“In 1870 there were no drug laws in America and there were no overwhelming drug problems. Nobody should need to be Albert Einstein to figure that one out”

There wasn’t any drug problem in the 40s and 50s either, it was the stinking baby boomers that caused the whole problem!

Make drug use a capitol offense and the problem goes away.


14 posted on 06/12/2011 6:01:11 AM PDT by dalereed
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To: varmintman
In 1870 there were no drug laws in America and there were no overwhelming drug problems. Nobody should need to be Albert Einstein to figure that one out.

That's true, but correlation does not prove causation. I believe that the difference between the morality of the country in 1870 and of the country today is a much bigger factor as to why there are drug problems today.

The morality problem has created the need to make drugs illegal. If we can fix the morality problem, then I'm all in favor of going in the direction of freedom on this one.

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” - John Adams

15 posted on 06/12/2011 6:07:40 AM PDT by Family Guy (I disagree with what you said, but I'll defend to the death your right to shut up.)
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To: Kaslin

California is a dealer’s paradise. It’s like “here try this stuff it’s backed by the state.”If by chance you get hooked-the state pays to get you off it. And you will not go to jail. It is automatic probation if they catch you with the chit.


16 posted on 06/12/2011 6:09:18 AM PDT by Lumper20 (state)
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To: Kaslin

It’s OK with me to legalize them but not a single penny of government money to be spent on rehab. If you want freedom, you can have it.


17 posted on 06/12/2011 6:25:52 AM PDT by libertylover (The problem with Obama is not that his skin is too black, it's that his ideas are too RED.)
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To: varmintman

“In 1870 there were no drug laws in America and there were no overwhelming drug problems. Nobody should need to be Albert Einstein to figure that one out.”

Not true - cocaine and morphine dependency were HUGE problems in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Which is why drug laws were passed.

Iran had few drug laws until quite recently. It’s estimated that, in the 1950s, 20 percent of the population were addicted to opium.

What will the drug gangs do if their source of income is cut off? I’ll tell you: find even more noxious ways to earn a living.

Unless you want to return to an 18th century level of society, without mechanization, like the Amish, the war on drugs must continue.

It’s like weeding a garden. Yeah, the weeds grow back - but if you don’t weed, you don’t have a garden.

That said, we need to be mindful of civil liberties. We also need to get the best bang for our buck - decriminalizing - or even legalizing - pot might make sense. But crack, coke, meth, heroin? Our society won’t survive if their use is widespread.


18 posted on 06/12/2011 6:30:14 AM PDT by I Shall Endure
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To: Kaslin

War on Poverty - FAIL
War on Drugs - FAIL

War on Terror - Success so far Thank God and our military(unless lefties get their way)


19 posted on 06/12/2011 6:30:53 AM PDT by P.O.E. (Pray for America)
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To: libertylover
It’s OK with me to legalize them but not a single penny of government money to be spent on rehab. If you want freedom, you can have it.

I think that's a great deal. If only you could keep up your end of it.

20 posted on 06/12/2011 6:39:03 AM PDT by Do Be (The heart is smarter than the head.)
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