Posted on 12/13/2012 5:26:46 AM PST by Thad Lost
We have had the “War on Drugs” since the 70’s. In the 80’s, the “War” went from just skirmishes to an all out nuclear war on drugs.
Now, thirty years later what have we accomplished? Has the “War on Drugs” become just another epic government failure like the “War on Poverty” with the only thing accomplished being massive government spending and an equally massive erosion of our Constitutional Rights?
My perspective on the “War on Drugs” is a little different from most people. I practiced law for 24 years. Ten of those years were as a prosecutor. The rest were as a criminal defense lawyer. Three of my years prosecuting I spent as a drug prosecutor.
In my line of work I have met and worked with more drug dealers and users than the average person would see in a lifetime. I have no sympathy for drug dealers and while I have some pity for drug users, controlled substances of all kinds including Marijuana are something to be avoided at all costs.
The “War on Drugs” has created several things. None of them are really good. First it has created a massive government bureaucracy at not only the Federal level of government but also at the state and local levels as well. The Federal Government pumps billions of dollars out in the “War on drugs.” This money is spent on law enforcement, prosecutors, defense lawyers, prisons, corrections employees, social workers, advertising and the list goes on beyond belief.
(Excerpt) Read more at teapartynation.com ...
I thought it was called "television"...the more real they portray something, the greater the disconnect.
“Yet then when they wake up and see a culture of doped out welfare collecting freeloaders, they act surprised and disgusted that they have to pay for this.”
Well, that’s what we have already, with the War on Drugs gone berserk. So, obviously, that’s not something that is going to go away by pursuing the same old policies. What else have you got to propose that might actually work?
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Surrendering on the WOD (making it legal) will add this to my comment:
“Yet then when they wake up and see a culture of LEGALLY doped out welfare collecting freeloaders, they act surprised and disgusted that they have to pay for this AND THAT THEY SUPPORTED LEGAL DRUGS IN THE FIRST PLACE.”
You said.... "What else have you got to propose that might actually work?"
One thing the liberal surrender monekys get right is that the WOD is fought to increase and grow the scope of gubmint. From the local sheriff on up to the federal level. It's time real conservatives stepped in with a real fight. Is this a war? Really? Then get the military involved. Put armed forces on our borders and see 2 wonderful results:
1. The influx of millions of illegal immigrants will be stopped.
2. The influx of millions of pounds of illegal drugs will be stopped.
There are no solutions to the problems in this country without a spiritual revival.
I am a former prosecutor and presently a defense attorney and I can say without a doubt that this “war” is a joke. There is no ability or intention to win it.
Government is not the solution.
The result of this “war” has been to complete the infrastructure needed for a full blown militarized domestic law enforcement dominated police state.
Now we have one.
Plus the two markets created by prohibition are now thriving.
The government market and the black market.
The rest of us get left holding the bag.
People who use illegal drugs to escape reality are cowards. I’m still waiting for someone to prove this statement wrong. You haven’t.
In your world Gene, an orange is an apple, if you want it to be. People who use illegal drugs to escape reality are cowards. I’m still waiting for someone to prove this statement wrong. You haven’t.
“Pray tell”? Methinks thou is as one who defends the knavish ways of cowardice and insanity.
Why would anybody try to prove an incredibly moronic statement wrong.
The reality of the situation is that everybody has a reality escape. Pot, beer, movies, books, putting forth ridiculous positions on an anonymous internet forum, dreams, recreational sports. The human brain requires down time, there’s no cowardice in that, it’s the nature of our biology. Some forms appeal to some people. Some have side effects. Some folks risk addiction from their relaxation, you risk making everybody think you’re annoying. I wouldn’t call you a coward for it though, just wrong headed and silly.
And I shall call you Fred, after Fred Astaire, the dancer. Fred, you dance divine, but you ignore the point. This makes you a fine dancer, but wrong. People who use illegal drugs to escape reality, Fred, are cowards. I’m still waiting for someone to prove that statement wrong. You haven’t . But, I do admire your gyrations.
Who cares if they're cowards or not? Is the law to enforce proactive discipline now? You want a pat on the back for not smoking, not drinking, going to the gym five times a week for two hours, going to church every Sunday, not eating fast food and driving a Prius? Pat away. You want to condemn lesser people for being slothful, gluttonous, or greedy? Knock yourself out. Bask in the knowledge that you're a superior human.
Once you're done basking, remind yourself that enforcing courage is not what the law is for.
Be they sinner or saint, the personal discipline, emotional fortitude and moral courage of my fellow man just ain't my concern. The War on Drugs creating more street crime while eroding civil liberties *is* my concern. Who is and isn't a coward has zero significance to what should and should not be legal.
I don't care about a heroin user ODing in his den any more than a drunk who wraps himself around a telephone pole at 70mph. At least the courage-free recreational drug user can kill himself in the quiet solitude of his own home. So he's a coward? Boo hoo for him. The drunk's bold decision to brave the road despite being intoxicated kills 15,000 people a year, mostly innocents. So, three cheers for the coward.
You made the claim, it is up to you to prove it.
In the meantime, CO and WA just hosed your drug war big time. What are you going to do about it?
Anyway, back to your statement. I think you truly mean to say “people neglecting earthly responsibilities to others by distracting themselves are cowards.” I AGREE. However, it doesnt matter what activity they choose to do it with. The majority of people don’t distract themselves from responsilibity with illegal drugs. Throughout all of history people most commonly used games, sex and passive entertainment. Neglecting responsibility for “fun” doesn’t have anything to do with drugs. It is a weakness/cowardice in human nature and I AGREE.
However, if you take what you said at face value, it is not much of a statement at all. How do you define “reality”, “escape” or “coward” in that context?
We know truly nothing about consciousness or why this “reality” is so. In fact, when you can think beyond this material “reality”, the very concept of “people” becomes impossible to explain.
Read some philosophy and science on the subject. Here’s a quick start: http://noosphere.princeton.edu/poethist.html
Every day here on Free Republic, there are numerous articles and posts bemoaning the fact that the country is going in the crapper. While I enjoy a good rant as much as the next guy, I prefer to look for solutions, ways to get the country out of the crapper. After careful consideration, I have come to believe that many people vote Democrat because they are afraid. They feel the need to have the government care for them and protect them from not just foreign enemies, but everything that could possibly make their life unpleasant. This is cowardice. People who use illegal drugs to escape from reality are cowards. Illegal drug use encourages cowardice. Cowardice leads to more people thinking the government needs to protect them from every unpleasant thing. This creates more Democrats. If Barry Bathsalts chews somebody’s face off in Cleveland, the blood doesn’t splatter on me. But cowardly voters do affect me in this nation we live in. My taxes go up to pay disability to someone who isn’t sure if he’s male or female. My property taxes go up so that school kids can learn how to put a condom on a cucumber. All because Democrat voters are afraid. They are cowards. Fight or surrender and suffer the consequences of defeat.
Dear Ken; thank-you for proving my point. Don’t be afraid to prove my statement wrong. Show your courage by destroying my statement with blinding logic and crushing truths.
Send my statement to the learned legislators of Colorado and Washington and have them disprove it. You think they passed laws destroying the drug laws. I think they passed laws legalizing insanity. We shall see.
The fact that you feel the need to turn to insults shows you know the facts are not on your side.
The facts are clear, escapist behavior is escapist behavior, and condemning one form of escapist behavior as cowardice while ignoring all the others is the act of someone who just plain doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
“Barry Bathsalts” only exists because of the WOD.
Since relatively safe drugs are outlawed by their chemical formula, all sorts of synthetic unknown chemicals are created and sold LEGALLY. Many of these new chemicals have been shown to be more addictive, toxic and cause more insanity than even the worst “real” drugs. ALL of those face eating “barry bathsalts” guys used legal new drugs. The WOD created this clandestine market and even kids can go buy these drugs at gas stations and groceries.
Once those chemicals are identified and placed on the list, new ones are created before the law is even signed. There is no limit to how many new drugs can be discovered so it will NEVER be stopped without a total police surveillance state.
“People who use illegal drugs to escape reality are cowards. I’m still waiting for someone to prove this statement wrong.”
People who use illegal drugs to escape reality are escaping reality, just like everyone else, yourself included. After all, you’re here, escaping reality by fiddling around on the internet. The drug users are choosing a stupid way to escape reality, but other than that, the implications of their choice are no different than the choices that the rest of us, yourself included, have made.
If you want to know what reality is, then pull a cat’s tail. I know all about the shadows in Plato’s cave. I even know what the sound of one hand clapping is. Here it is “whiff....whiff”. If you are trying to argue that drugs give you a better understanding of reality, then, as I’ve written to you before, learn the hard way. You will learn....if you live through it.
You are so right(!) In fact, rush limbaugh, that famous abuser of illegal drugs (and that is exactly what oxys are when you doctor shop and stockpile them) should have had his home raided by US Marines, trashed the place and confiscated all of his assets. That insane coward had it coming to him, right? Come on, man up and get behind the war!
(In keeping with your dance paradigm, we’re waiting for you to put on your ballet slippers and dance around how it wasn’t his fault and somehow prescription drugs are so different even when you get them illegally)
The fact that you ignore the argument shows you have no counter-argument.
I haven’t ignored the argument at all all. I’ve countered it quite thoroughly, you just stuck your fingers in your ear and yelled “LALALALALALALA”.
Meanwhile out here in reality escapism is escapism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escapism
Entire industries have sprung up to foster a growing tendency of people to remove themselves from the rigors of daily life. Many activities that are normal parts of a healthy existence (e.g., eating, sleeping, exercise, sexual activity) can also become avenues of escapism when taken to extremes or out of proper context.
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