I don't think the War on Drugs is working

[Abbie Carmichael]

One of my husband's childhood friends was murdered a few days ago. I met her once but I don't remember her, but I vaguely remember some other family members. She used to go to Sunday School with Mr. Carmichael, though. They would play in her treehouse and make mud pies. She had rabbits, too.

The rumors are that it was drug related; she owed someone money. Chances are this is true.

What they did to her was unspeakable. There's not even going to be a funeral, they pretty much can't have one.

It doesn't help that I'm PMSing and haven't slept well lately, but I can't quit thinking about her mother. How can anybody live after something like this? Will they ever sleep again?

I don't like drugs, dammit. I don't touch them and I don't hang out with people who do. But I fail to see why keeping them illegal is helping society.

It seems to me all we're doing is keeping drug dealers rich while punishing the addicts.

Why can't we just legalize everything, put these subhuman monsters out of business and let people make their own decisions? If someone is stupid enough to OD, let them. I'd rather see someone OD by their own hand than killed by thugs over money.

The feds have the case now, thank God, because I really don't think the local cops have the brains (or integrity) to hunt these SOB's down. And now that it's federal, that means WV's lack of a death penalty is a non-issue. Yayy, federal law.

How many people have to die before the government realizes that THIS ISN'T WORKING?!

[butter pie]

Certain cynical people believe that the anti-drug laws have more to do with the money and benefits to be made by the government and localities in fines, court fees, having a bigger police fource, seizure of property, etc, not to mention one more way the government can legally completely screw up your life if they feel so compelled. One thing that's always bothered me about the drug laws is how easy it would be for a crooked cop to just drop something in your car, or even say you had something, and boom -- you're instantly fucked. And it would be difficult, if not impossible, to prove said item was not actually yours.

Other cynical people believe that the pharmaceutical companies have a stake in the anti-drug laws, too, in that things like fancy expensive drugs could be replaced in some instances with things like cheap, accessible, home-grown marijuana.

Of course, there are a lot of people of the "drugs are bad, mmmm'kay," camp, who genuinely think that those things are better off illegal, and in a lot of ways I think the anti-drug laws are a combination of all these things, the benefits to society just being the veneer those with less honourable motives have to keep them in place.

I agree that I think it would save a lot of lives to just cut our losses and make the things legal. Regulate them, tax the Hell out of them, and use the tax money to fund rehab clinics for those who can't responsibly use in moderation. It can't possibly cost the state any more than the tons of non-violent drug users being locked up in prisons now. Having used (responsibly) a very small amount in the (now) distant past, I can't honestly say that some of the lighter drugs are any more or less dangerous than alcohol; alcohol is just more socially acceptable for whatever reason. It surprises me that more people don't see the parallels between the Prohibition and the War on Drugs now. Prohibition killed plenty of people back then, too.

You are right though, in that something needs to be changed. I don't think it's a matter of the government realizing it's not working, though; I think they know it doesn't work. It will take the general population realizing that it doesn't work, and what a futile waste of time and energy it is, before anything changes.

[sweetfreak]

Originally Posted by jinwicked

You are right though, in that something needs to be changed. I don't think it's a matter of the government realizing it's not working, though; I think they know it doesn't work. It will take the general population realizing that it doesn't work, and what a futile waste of time and energy it is, before anything changes.

Yes, exactly right! It's impossible to fight a "war on drugs" anyway, considering the fact that drugs are not the problem. People are the problem. Creating more laws does not teach people responsibility, all it does is take away more of our freedoms.

[ralph124c]

One of the side effects of the US invasion of Afghanistan is the huge increase of opium poppy production there. Now, the street price of heroin is cheaper than ever..so addicts are turning away from marijuana and oxycontin, and swoitching to heroin.
What idiocy! Where once we had mellow people high on weed, now we have heroin addicts. Yeah, the "War on Drugs" never made LESS sense!

[Eleusis]

This is more GD than MIPSIMS, IMHO.

The war on drugs CAUSED her death.

Why didn't the goverment learn this during the first prohibition?

[MrFantsyPants]

Lets face it. No politician is going to get elected to a high office in the US on a platform of legalizing drugs. It's not what the majority of voters want. Your best hope, Abbie, is to talk to people you know would be against legalization for the traditional reasons, and convince them of the need for change.

Because you are right. The current system isn't working.

[Abbie Carmichael]

Update: they nabbed 3 guys last night suspected of killing her.

[Barbarian]

Another difference between countries in North America: in Canada, politicians can and do get voted into office based on treating drug addiction as a health problem, not a criminal one.

So far as I can tell, the only reason the war on drugs continues in the U.S. is because it justifies having lots of cops around who don't do much else...

[glee]

I'm sorry about the tragedy.

The 'War on Drugs' is just a fanciful title to make it look like politicians are doing something.
There are of course no objectives, no targets and no deadlines. It's purely for publicity.

Why are alcohol + tobacco legal? They are dangerous, even if used as intended. They are addictive.
Of course the companies selling these drugs make large donations to politicians. So that's all right then.