The Country's Stupid War On Drugs...

[otterinbham 0]

Fascinating organization has been on the rise in the past few years: Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. It's purpose? To scrap the existing War On Drugs, which has been a colossal, costly failure. It has trampled the constitution, it has unwittingly increased violent crime, and has not made not dent in the usage of drugs in this country.

If you are objective and value freedom in this country, then you have to be very bothered by the dimension of this challenge to our civil rights and our society. It's the classic case of the cure being worse than the disease itself.

Mind you, this organization isn't comprised of a bunch of potheads. This organization is comprised of thousands of law enforcement officers who have seen the absurdity and dangers of this failed policy. Here's their web address: http://leap.cc

I'd be interested in your comments. And, no, I do not use drugs and never have.

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After nearly four decades of fueling the U.S. policy of a war on drugs with over a trillion tax dollars and increasingly punitive policies, our confined population has quadrupled over a 20-year period making building prisons this nation's fastest growing industry. More than 2.2 million of our citizens are currently incarcerated. In the last five years we have arrested 9 million people for nonviolent drug offenses--far more per capita than any country in the world. The United States has 4.6 percent of the population of the world but 22.5 percent of the world's prisoners. Every year we choose to continue this war will cost the United States another 69 billion dollars. Despite all the lives we have destroyed and all the money so ill spent, today illicit drugs are cheaper, more potent, and much easier to get than they were 36 years ago at the beginning of the war on drugs. Meanwhile, people continue dying in our streets while drug barons and terrorists continue to grow richer than ever before.

The stated U.S. drug policy goals of lessening the incidence of crime, drug addiction, and juvenile drug use, while stemming the flow of illegal drugs into this country, have not been achieved. Fighting a war on drugs has magnified our problems many fold but the U.S. still insists on continuing the war and pressuring other governments to perpetuate these same unworkable policies. This scenario is the very definition of a failed public policy. This madness must cease!

With this in mind, current and former members of law enforcement have created a drug-policy-reform group called LEAP. The membership of LEAP believe that to save lives and lower the rates of disease, crime and addiction, as well as to conserve tax dollars, we must end drug prohibition. LEAP believes a system of regulation and control is far more effective than one of prohibition.

The mission of LEAP is to reduce the multitude of harms resulting from fighting the war on drugs and to lessen the incidence of death, disease, crime, and addiction by ultimately ending drug prohibition.

LEAP's goals are: (1) To educate the public, the media, and policy makers about the failure of current drug policy by presenting a true picture of the history, causes and effects of drug use and the elevated crime rates--more properly related to drug prohibition than to drug pharmacology--and (2) To restore the public's respect for police, which has been greatly diminished by law enforcement's involvement in imposing drug prohibition.

LEAP's main strategy for accomplishing these goals is to create a constantly growing speakers bureau staffed with knowledgeable and articulate former drug-warriors who describe the impact of current drug policies on: police/community relations; the safety of law enforcement officers and suspects; police corruption and misconduct; and the excessive financial and human costs associated with current drug policies.

LEAP is a tax exempt, international, nonprofit, educational entity based in the United States that was modeled on Vietnam Veterans Against the War. They had an unassailable credibility when speaking out to end that terrible war and LEAP has the same credibility when its current and former drug-warriors speak out about the horrors of the war on drugs. LEAP's message both catches the attention of the media and rings true with many other drug warriors who are questioning current U.S. drug policies.

LEAP's Board of Directors is made up of Jack Cole, who retired as a lieutenant after 26 years in the New Jersey state police--14 years in their narcotic bureau; Jerry Cameron, a retired Chief of two Florida towns; Peter Christ a retired police captain from Tonawanda, New York; John Gayder a currently serving police officer with a department in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada; Eleanor Schockett, a retired Florida Circuit Court Judge; and Howard Wooldridge a former police detective from a department in Michigan.

[Tigermike 3,053]

Interesting read.

I agree with you, the WOD has been for the most pat a colossal and costly failure. The prisons and jails are over crowded with drug offenders and many of the big dealers walk free.

But no one can say drugs and the violence associated with them have not been a scourge on cities and families across the nation. Something needs to be done other than just saying it's OK do whatever drugs you want whenever and wherever you want. Sell them to whomever. wherever is not an option.

[otterinbham 0]

Interesting read.

I agree with you, the WOD has been for the most pat a colossal and costly failure. The prisons and jails are over crowded with drug offenders and many of the big dealers walk free.

But no one can say drugs and the violence associated with them have not been a scourge on cities and families across the nation. Something needs to be done other than just saying it's OK do whatever drugs you want whenever and wherever you want. Sell them to whomever. wherever is not an option.

I would agree with you on all points. I think the point they're trying to make is that by regulating their use, we are much better able to control the sale and usage of drugs than what we're doing right now. For example, it will become much more difficult for a teenager to score coke under a new system than it is right now. Why? Because Walgreen's will be far more attuned to the consequences that Jamal down on the streetcorner.

Further, the violence in our inner cities is directly attributed to drugs illegality...as in drug dealers duking it out over turf. I was a reporter for several years, and I cannot begin to count how many murders occured because the street corner drug deal went bad, or two dealers were shooting it out over terriitory. By eliminating their distribution system, you eliminate a lot of the roots of violent crime.

As far as families are concerned, I agree. But those problems would occur regardless of whether the drugs were legal or not. By ending this insanity, I would offer that a lot fewer 17-year-olds will be getting drugs, not more. By ending prohibition on alcohol, we implicitly agreed as a society that there would be problems. However, the social costs of outlawing alcohol were far greater than controlling it. And I am fairly certain the same would be true for drugs.

As far as selling to just anybody, I think the same degree of regulation as alcohol and cigarettes would probably resolve matters.

Most importantly, I think we need to recognize that the current policy is a total disaster. We need to broom it and rethink every bit of it. Empty the prisons of everybody doing tiime for possession, put them in some form of rehab, and turn them into useful citizens again.

[Tigermike 3,053]

By ending this insanity, I would offer that a lot fewer 17-year-olds will be getting drugs, not more. By ending prohibition on alcohol, we implicitly agreed as a society that there would be problems. However, the social costs of outlawing alcohol were far greater than controlling it. And I am fairly certain the same would be true for drugs.

As far as selling to just anybody, I think the same degree of regulation as alcohol and cigarettes would probably resolve matters.

I'm not so old that I can't remember how easy it was to get beer and liquor when I was in HS & college, well before I was old enough to purchase legally. Today's teens have much more disposable $$$$$ than most of us could dream of in the 50's & 60's. They can't keep kids from buying cigarettes or alcohol now. Why would they do better with drugs?

Most importantly, I think we need to recognize that the current policy is a total disaster. We need to broom it and rethink every bit of it. Empty the prisons of everybody doing tiime for possession, put them in some form of rehab, and turn them into useful citizens again.

Agreed, but before it is scraped, a good policy needs to be in place. A complete vacuum could and would most probably filled with something no one expects or intends. I will be the first to admit that I don't have the answers (I know that surprises some here).

[channonc 466]

Until there a sure fire test to see how "high" someone is, and potentially what they are high on, I will be against legalizing drugs. I want to know that the police will be able to stop those who are high and driving, etc. Something similar to the breathilizer but for drugs.

[otterinbham 0]

Until there a sure fire test to see how "high" someone is, and potentially what they are high on, I will be against legalizing drugs. I want to know that the police will be able to stop those who are high and driving, etc. Something similar to the breathilizer but for drugs.

Something tells me that wouldn't be hard to do. Of course, they're already high and driving as it is. So how would it affect matters?

[Bottomfeeder 244]

Everyone knows that the war on drugs is a war for who controls the tax-free sale of drugs (most moenies to political parties are derived from tax-free drug sales). One in which the US taxpayer secures the cost of acquiring those drugs for resale in the US market. Just like the oil-war, again control over the commodity itself. Who foots the bill? We do. One can argue all day long about the reasons and threats of Islamo-fascist, but at the end of the day, it's about money (US Dollar hegemony), oil (and access to all reserves) and control over countries and their assests (natural resources and capital). It's an all out war on the rest of the world in the name of democracy (freedom or liberty), Christo-fascism and capitalism. You could call it a multi-tiered crusade.