It only took 30 years of practice to figure out that
you can't win a war when the same population is funding both sides of it. You
cannot make a "war" against a thing or an ideal. You only declare war
against another nation. "Drugs" and "terror" and
"poverty" are not nations, they are ideas, things, and concepts. And
oddly enough, the "wars" declared against all 3 have basically failed.
Coincidence? Somehow, I think not. Also has anyone realized how all of these
"wars" have affect actual citizens rather than intended targets?
It's disgusting to think about the volume of tax money
across the western world, spent on policing this insane legislation. This could
then be ploughed into school education programs and helping those who actually
have a drug problem as opposed to those who just want to relieve themselves of
modern day slavery recreationally.
The problem is people are conditioned to believe that
drugs are bad and therefore they should be illegal. Most people are coming
around on marijuana, but if you mention legalizing other drugs it's like
"Oh God no way those drugs are way worse".
And I totally agree. Hard drugs are not good for you
that's why I and many others don't use them. But this belief that making them
illegal somehow reduces drug usage is totally misinformed. If the goal is to
reduce usage, we'd be much better off bringing the drugs out into the open
where we can control and track sales and work on drug education and
rehabilitation. Portugal decriminalized drugs and has made massive strides in
drug use and rehab.
Drugs end up more dangerous when they are illegal too,
and it's not just the cartel violence. In a paranoid drug-induced state what
person would WANT to drive their friend to a hospital when they OD? Or admit to
illegal drug use when getting treated? Of course not drugs are more dangerous
when there is nowhere to go when you do end up in trouble.
It's funny how we tried prohibition once already and
realized the horrible consequences that come with it when we outlawed alcohol.
But then Richard Nixon’s comes along and somehow convinces the entire country
into thinking it would work again. I think I understand why people use the cliché
saying "History repeats itself."
It's time to speak up. It's time to adopt and
experiment with new methods and approaches. It's about time to ask the
government to study the evidence and look at the harm being done by outdated
drug law. It's time to start thinking about and treating drug problems as a
health issue, not a criminal issue.
Hey! I grew up while Nixon was president. On his watch the majority of federal funding went towards treatment and not law enforcement. Weed was not targeted -- heroin was, especially in the military. Heroin was also destabilizing urban areas the same way crack did in the 80s and meth has the past decade.
ReplyDeleteFrom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs :
Although Nixon declared "drug abuse" to be public enemy number one in 1971,[15] the policies that his administration implemented as part of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 were a continuation of drug prohibition policies in the U.S., which started in 1914.[16][17] Less well-known today is that the Nixon Administration also repealed the federal 2–10-year mandatory minimum sentences for possession of marijuana and started federal demand reduction programs and drug-treatment programs. Robert DuPont, the "Drug czar" in the Nixon Administration, stated it would be more accurate to say that Nixon ended, rather than launched, the "war on drugs". DuPont also argued that it was the proponents of drug legalization that popularized the term "war on drugs".
Even in 1975, a Ford administration report called marijuana a "low priority drug" when compared to heroin, amphetamines and barbiturates. (Or "junk", "speed", and "downers".)
I agree with you completely because there is not way someone can really declare "war" on something that isn't even a physical thing. Yes, there are drugs, terrorists, and poor people and those are actual things, but drugs in general, terror, and poverty are just ideas, as you stated, and everyone has different opinions on that.
ReplyDelete