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How America Lost the Drug War

By Jeralyn, Section Crime Policy
Posted on Sun Dec 02, 2007 at 09:06:00 AM EST
Tags: war on drugs (all tags)
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New in Rolling Stone, Ben Wallace-Wells has a six page article on How America Lost the Drug War.

Last week, Columnist Froma Harrop exposed the failure of the war on drugs.

If two people do it, is it a movement?

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    How America Lost the Drug War | 6 comments (6 topical)

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    and this came as (none / 0) (#1)
    by cpinva on Sun Dec 02, 2007 at 03:13:39 AM EST
    a surprise to them? what, they've been living in a cave in the desert for the past 30 years, with no access to the outside world?

    this was known within 10 years of nixon's "declaration". the whole thing has really been just a huge financial scam on the american taxpayer, and a boon to politicians seeking to look "tough" on crime. does anyone ever seek to look "soft" on crime?

    i'd say if two people do it, it's a payday.

    If corrupt gov officials were not involved (none / 0) (#2)
    by lilybart on Sun Dec 02, 2007 at 09:34:01 AM EST
    in the drug trade, in every country, including ours, I might be more inclined to support criminal sanctions for hard drugs like heroin and meth, but since it is the little people who get their lives ruined, not the corrupt officials who have to involved or the trafficking could not happen in the first place, I believe we have to let people ruin their lives if that is what they want.

    I have much more sympathy for the farmer in Afghanistan trying not to starve, than I do for the person in a city somewhere who chooses to shoot up.

    Parent

    I don't think junkies want our sympathy.... (none / 0) (#4)
    by kdog on Mon Dec 03, 2007 at 08:34:33 AM EST
    I would think they would just like us to stop locking them up and driving up the price of their fix.

    Parent
    Good article thanks for the link. nt (none / 0) (#3)
    by JSN on Sun Dec 02, 2007 at 10:06:47 AM EST


    Don't look now.... (none / 0) (#5)
    by kdog on Mon Dec 03, 2007 at 10:00:04 AM EST
    but the war on soda and candy is underway.  I guess the war on drugs was is so sucessful the state is branching out into junk food.

    Now high school kids will be buying black market Snickers to go with their twenty sacks.  Brilliant!

    How America Lost the Drug War (none / 0) (#6)
    by twobadd4us on Mon Dec 03, 2007 at 05:37:36 PM EST
     We aren't even trying to stop the drugs from coming in , sure they make some busts usually from other drug lords that pop up against the main players that the us panders as informants .
     Bush summed it up pretty well when he was talking about the poppy fields in afghanistan , it's there only source of making a living ? How can you cut off there lively hoods ? you don't ! you pretend to be tough on drugs and at the same time you do very little about the trafficking of there products .
     Trust me if they wanted to cut off supplies of all illegal drugs they could ! they don't want to , not from mexico - or any other country for that matter .
     

    How America Lost the Drug War | 6 comments (6 topical)

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