# is there still a drug war? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 16, 2007, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153 "2007-12-16T02:01:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/1 "2007-12-16T02:01:30Z")
I’m watching _A Scanner Darkly_ as I post this, and it feels really dated… I mean, I know the book was written in the 60s, but I think 10 years ago it would have felt creepily prescient, but now it feels like a historic version of the future. Probably because terrorism has displaced it as the #1 public anxiety. The animation thing is cool though. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/2 "2007-12-16T02:07:17Z")
The answer to the question is yes, no doubt, 100% yes. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/3 "2007-12-16T02:33:05Z")
Whew! ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/4 "2007-12-16T03:08:41Z")
I’m concerned that you’re relieved. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/5 "2007-12-16T03:10:56Z")
Why is that? (ETA: Note that right now I have no idea whether or not we are even having the same conversation. My “whew” was ironic.) ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/6 "2007-12-16T03:18:41Z")
Are we turning the corner on that war on drugs yet? Is there light at the end of the tunnel? How 'bout if I smoke some more sticky icky – will I see the light then? ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/7 "2007-12-16T03:40:12Z")
[QUOTE=cricetus] Why is that? (ETA: Note that right now I have no idea whether or not we are even having the same conversation. My “whew” was ironic.) [/QUOTE] Well I suppose I didn’t get that your response was ironic. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/8 "2007-12-16T03:43:57Z")
OK, then. So let’s say the answer is 100% yes. Which of the slates of presidential candidates has made the drug war part of their platform? I haven’t noticed… not that I’ve paid much attention. I read about meth once in a while in the newspaper, but I just don’t feel drugs are what they used to be in the political arena. I can’t even remember the last PSA I’ve seen on the topic. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/9 "2007-12-16T03:53:28Z")
Ron Paul is _against_ the drug war. Now sure how strong he is on it though on his campaign. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/10 "2007-12-16T06:30:20Z")
Yes but it is taking longer to subdue the insurgents than the government thought. ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/11 "2007-12-16T06:42:51Z")
The WoD has long been institutionalized, and is a fixture on the American political landscape but mostly it remains in the background. Until some acute stimulus brings it within focus for a short time like the meth epidemic in the Western US, medical marijuana, Marijuana 2.0, the occasional Salvia Divinorum scare story …etc. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/12 "2007-12-16T07:26:45Z")
The drug war has been going on for 40 years or so now. It has been very effective. It is impossible to get street drugs in America. Crack and cocaine, heroin etc…all wiped out by our diligent efforts. lets hear it for our drug enforcement organizations that have accomplished so much. Plus weed is no longer available except for medical reasons. Be proud of what we have accomplished. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/13 "2007-12-16T07:34:39Z")
Is it true that you only go to war on the drugs you’ve got, not the drugs you want? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/14 "2007-12-16T16:39:10Z")
Creepy. I just started watching _A Scanner Darkly_ last night, myself. I noticed something that I didn’t see when I read the book. While the book is as strong as anti-drug messages can get, IMO - the movie makes a case for watching the interactions between government and private companies. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/15 "2007-12-16T17:50:13Z")
It’s been too long since I read the book to remember if the plot was the same, but it seemed like a good representation of Dick’s “universe” as I remember it. Much better than other film adaptations of his works I’ve seen (even Bladerunner, though I love the movie). Sorry to go all Cafe Society on you guys. ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/16 "2007-12-16T17:58:50Z")
Yes, though in an unexpected upset, the Drugs won. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/17 "2007-12-17T14:34:01Z")
[QUOTE=II Gyan II] The WoD has long been institutionalized, and is a fixture on the American political landscape but mostly it remains in the background. [/QUOTE] All you need to do is look to sentencing guidelines, the number of Americans incarcerated for drug offenses, and the value of seized property to see that there are a whole lot of people who are gaining - financially and/or politically - to see that the WoD is still going strong. And as long as folk are profiting from it, there is no reason to expect it to change anytime soon. Look at it from the other side - who profits from changing our current “lock-em up” policy? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/18 "2007-12-17T14:55:09Z")
[QUOTE=cricetus] OK, then. So let’s say the answer is 100% yes. Which of the slates of presidential candidates has made the drug war part of their platform? [/QUOTE] It’s at the point where you don’t need to make it part of your platform. It’s just assumed, because everybody knows all drugs everywhere are bad. That’s why they are illegal, because they’re bad. Only the legal ones are good. Did you see the government’s well-reasoned ads linking pot to terrorism a few years ago? Or have you had trouble getting cough medicine because one or two ingredients in cough medicine can be used in making crystal meth, which (according to the news) every single person in the Midwest is now fatally hooked on? There’s been a little bit of pushback; I remember hearing that judges are being allowed a little more discretion in sentencing crack users. But the stupid drug war is still on. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/19 "2007-12-17T21:28:43Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] It’s at the point where you don’t need to make it part of your platform. It’s just assumed, because everybody knows all drugs everywhere are bad. That’s why they are illegal, because they’re bad. . [/QUOTE] And by circular logic, they are bad because they’re illegal. Once you get to the point of something being illegal, then law enforcement is obligated to stamp it out, or at least try to. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153/20 "2007-12-17T21:47:41Z")
[QUOTE=Malodorous] Yes, though in an unexpected upset, the Drugs won. [/QUOTE] Unexpected? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-still-a-drug-war/430153.md?page=2)