Really? How did they know, in 1991, that the prison population in 2003 would be 2,019,234?
The article claims that 450,000 of those 2,019,234 are there because of a drug crime. That's 22%. Not half. Not 70-80%.
If you have a number that's different, provide me with a link as I courteously provided you with one. Without a link, I'm not interested.
"Measured how?
Availability of drugs."
Well, if nobody's using them, who cares? According to the laws of supply and demand, if availability is up and the price is down, what does that tell you about demand?
"Rising incarceration levels without a reduction in seizures."
The two are totally unrelated. To me, a rising incarceration level is not a sign of "total failure" -- more a sign of increased enforcement of the existing laws.
"Can you show me any drug war victory?"
Yeah. Overall drug use dropped 60% from its high in 1979 and has remained relatively flat for the last 15 years. That's how I measure success. It's that simple.