War on Drugs a failure
by Monte Lieberfarb
http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_9428695?source=most_viewed
For those readers who may have seen the "Yes on Measure B" paid
advertisement in
which 79 inland Mendocino County's fine physicians endorsed the measure, I
would like
to explain why my name was not among them (in case anyone noticed).
My reason is simple: I oppose the War on Drugs, which came into existence
in 1970
under Nixon, and it is really the War on Drugs that is the problem. The
fact Measure
G invited abuse is self-evident at this time, no doubt. But that abuse
exists only
within the context of a legal system in which recreational and therapeutic
drugs have
been categorized by their potential to help or harm, often arbitrarily and
certainly
by other people's estimation.
The net result of this puritanical approach to human behavior that people
want to
feel better than they do has been the criminalization of millions of
otherwise decent
fellow citizens, the ruination of their families, and the loss to society
of
immeasurable potential. Not because of the drugs themselves, or their
immediate or
long-term health consequences, but because of the results of involvement
in the
criminal justice/penal system created to capture, prosecute and penalize
those whose
only real crime was using a substance someone else didn't approve of.
It is easy to argue that more harm than good has occurred over the past 38
years to
individuals and society because of the drug war. Billions of taxpayer
dollars have
been spent. Lives have been lost and careers wasted. Whatever may have
been the
motivation at the time, the War on Drugs has failed utterly to solve that
which it
intended: To create a drug-free America.
Instead it has helped create a world of secondary crime, often violent,
where little
if any existed before. It has helped create an incarceration industry and
spawn a
police state to deal with offenders. It brought about drug cartels, and
governments
at times in collusion and at others times in battle with them. It commonly
corrupted
those involved, the pursuers and the pursued. And there are far more
illegal drugs to
be used now than 1970, and more people using them.
I hope you will not misunderstand my point. I am not pro-drug use of any
sort.
Ideally, no one would use or have a need to use any drug of any kind,
including
alcohol and tobacco. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Sooner or later,
we all
take something for some perceived ailment or pleasure, self-diagnosed or
medically-diagnosed; acute, chronic or potentially fatal. That "something"
may be
legal or illegal, prescription or over-the-counter, pharmaceutical or
herb, used to
treat disease, relieve symptoms, alleviate pain, or lessen mental duress.
Some people use drugs to get high, some to relieve suffering. Everyone
ultimately is
trying to feel better than they may be otherwise.
Trying to feel better is not immoral, nor should it be illegal. Doing so
and hurting
others in the process is a different story altogether. Kids doing drugs is
also
another story, as their nervous systems are still in development and
should be
drug-free in order to develop normally. That goes for pregnant women as
well.
If the issue with Measure B is actually commercial pot growing, we need to
ask the
fundamental question: "Why would anyone want to produce anything
commercially?" The
answer is very simple: Because there is a profit to be made. However it is
the
illegality of something that creates a black market for that item and
hence an
unnatural and inflated profit that would not otherwise exist.
We have learned to accept alcohol and tobacco, with certain use
limitations, despite
knowing their downside risks, thus avoiding the added calamities of
illegality.
Placing consumption taxes on them helps add to the public coffers.
When an item must be procured outside of legal markets, these funds are
lost to
society. Its price will have little to do with its intrinsic value, its
production
cost, or even its availability. The law of supply and demand will still
prevail, but
in a perverted way. In particular, as long as marijuana is illegal
anywhere, its
price and profitability will flourish, and there will be those who will
want to join
in.
Let's allow our criminal justice/penal system to put its resources to work
instead on
those who truly hurt others and society by their lying, cheating,
stealing, maiming
and killing. Those are the things we must have protection from. Let's
reallocate
those funds and energies away from criminality, punishment and
incarceration of drug
offenders, and towards education and therapy instead.
Save the jails for those who really do harm.
The War on Drugs itself is a bust, as was Prohibition, and it must end if
we are to
move on as a society. In the meantime, I'll abstain from Measure B, as I
abstained on
its predecessor, Measure G, and keep advocating for real change.
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I intend to last long enough to put out of business all COck-suckers
and other beneficiaries of the institutionalized slavery and genocide.
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"The army that will defeat terrorism doesn't wear uniforms, or drive
Humvees, or calls in air-strikes. It doesn't have a high command, or
high security, or a high budget. The army that can defeat terrorism
does battle quietly, clearing minefields and vaccinating children. It
undermines military dictator****ps and military lobbyists. It subverts
sweatshops and special interests.Where people feel powerless, it
helps them organize for change, and where people are powerful, it
reminds them of their responsibility." ~~~~ Author Unknown ~~~~
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