War on drugs, what to do...?

Question

I see three options in the war on drugs. 1) we cut off the supply, and to some extent that is being attempted 2) we arrest users and throw them in jail with little or no rehabilitation and mess up their already messed up life, and this is being done 3) we turn our heads and let the addicts self destruct, thus saving tax dollars to go after the real bad guys and free up the space and cost, and to some extent this is also being done. What are your thoughts?

Another aspect is legal Rx drugs which cause more harm and death then illicit drugs every year. The whole mess has become a major cottage industry for treatment centers and we have revolving doors at our jails. And let's not forget the drug lobbies and the alcohol and tobacco lobbies - they certainly do have a vested interest in keeping all illicit drugs illeagl.

Answer 1

While your logic is good, the chances of completely irradicating drugs from this country or any country are slim to none.

Keeping drug addicts in jail is doing nothing but overcrowding already crowded prisons and jails.

Those addicts are someones father/mother, brother or sister. It's kind of hard to watch the people you love destroy their lives while you watch.

In this case, reform is not necessary. A giant overhaul is required.

Answer 2

We need to understand what a "drug" actually is. Why is a relatively harmless drug such as pot so illegal, but a drug that when used as intended,will kill you,is sold freely and advertised! The prohibition against pot has been in effect for 70 years! What is the point of it? Millions of otherwise law-biding citizens have had there lives ruined by being arrested. All the "hippies" are old and grey or even long gone. Nixon pushed the war on drugs as a way to go after the young war protesters. Then the "Law and Order" crowd got behind the drug laws to further their political careers. The phrase "Law and Order" was just a code for repression and racism. The "Law" word represents the drug war, the "Order" word stood for the resistance to Civil Rights. The war on drugs is just another way the Fascists use fear to control the masses!
When Bush is Impeached,we should go ahead and legalize pot as a good will gesture!

Answer 3

Well i really doubt you could cut off the supply completely there are a lot of people in the world so somebody would start supplying it again. I say turn your head because these people want to do what there doing and if they want to quit they can. If they get caught selling or using they should be sent to jail with rehabilitation once and after that let them live there life and hopefully they will quit one day. I say power to us that don't do it. Those people who are using drugs want to, so let them enjoy their freedom. I agree its bringing down the economy though, the only solution is to legalize it but then we would have a corrupt business market. I think we should just let it be and that way our business market will stay clean for the most part. Every country has drugs so therefor every country is competing on a level playing field. Its not just one country who has a black market which is bringing down the economy, every country has it so we are all in a sense even when it comes to competing.

Answer 4

As a retired police officer, I have definite opinions on this one. There really isn't a "good" answer that isn't a HYBRID of what you've already mentioned.

What *I* think should happen is this:
(1) legalize EVERYTHING. The drug dealers aren't going to go to all this trouble if the financial benefits aren't there any more. If we legalize everything, the price PLUMMETS.
(2) The GOVERNMENT should be the source/'supplier', and should tax the hell out of it. Why not? They've been doing it with cigarettes and alcohol for years... things which have wrecked just as many lives, if not MORE.
(3) If an "addict" wants to get clean, the government should underwrite the rehab using the funds derived from #2 above. Keeps the perp OUT of jail and perpetuates the "want help?/get help/don't want help?/fine-it's-your-funeral" circle.

If someone is hell-bent on self-destruction, there is NOTHING that is going to stop them... whether it's cocaine, alcohol, "cutting", or an eating disorder.

Self-destructiveness is as unique as addiction... if you have 100 people who are trying to 'off' themselves, you'll have 100 different methods of doing so!

With my idea, you've got
- a national debt that I reckon will be paid off in less than five years (more taxes).
- You've got LOWER operating costs for law enforcement, prisons, courts, etc., etc....
(the sham "war-on-drugs/just say no" bullshit hasn't worked since the Reagan era... get over it and move ON already!)
- Lower crime/fewer victims (in some areas, drug-related crime is around 40% of totals.)
- a "happier" populace (yeah, so what, they might be walking around high... alcohol has the same "double-edged sword).

The only thumbs-down I see with my idea is that the laws for operation of ANY type of machinery (including driving a car) should be increased and HEAVILY enforced... a three-strikes system, perhaps?

(1) FIRST OFFENSE: a MINIMUM of $5000 fine and 2 years in jail (NOT "pleadable" or bargainable).
(2) SECOND OFFENSE: Fine: $15,000-$20,000 and ten years in FEDERAL prison.

and, the bottom of the barrel... GOD FORBID if someone were to get behind the wheel of a car while high and kill someone (DWI, DUI, whatever)... they get the death penalty. NO negotiations, no questions asked, NO SECOND CHANCES. BOOM - right to the chamber/chair.

THAT will keep your DUI's off the street, my friend.

Just my two cents. It'll never happen, but as a cop, I find the idea satisfying. And yes, I lost my brother to a drunk driver, so you might say I have an "agenda".

Answer 5

you are blind to the only logical answer...
We need to quit arresting minor offenders ( pot smokers and possibly opium users) legalize and heavily tax controllable substances (pot). As for meth and other unnatural manmade drugs.... we need to rehabilitate users and then anihalate the sources. Jailing offenders is a waste of my and your money, that and the fact it doesn't work should help change the countries status. By the way beer used to be illegal but people fought it and got it made legal. I think the statistics of deaths due to alcohol abuse should serve as an example to why other equally dangerous substances should also be legalized (marijuana mainly, there is no addiction to it; unlike cigarettes (research has proven it)).

Answer 6

First of all our law enforcement is messed up. They use the crack heads to snitch on the drug dealers and make them a deal and put them back on the street. The drug dealers don't spend much time in lock up either because the jails and prisons are over crowded. Then you have the people in the neighborhoods who is too afraid to speak out on whats going on in their community. Everybody everywhere see and don't see. Murder is on the rise stemming from drugs. Our nation is in trouble in all areas.

Answer 7

When the USA gets out of the drug business{illegal} we will win the war.We can tell the time of day from 800 miles+above the earth on a mans wrist watch, standing,but cannot stop the drug flow into the USA,come on.

Answer 8

additionally, the conflict on cancer, started below President Nixon and cancer expenses are as intense or greater than ever. the subject is that we are making use of the incorrect metaphor- specifically "conflict". In government language, this suggests that we will spend billions of our tax money making use of a similar failed mindset as before. No large innovations or ideas have ever come out of those "conflict" courses. particularly, we've large bureaucracies and government contractors feeding off tax money with none consequences. In turn, those government contractors save contributing to politicians' campaigns to maintain the money coming. they're rightly disturbing that if the subject became quite solved, they does not get to any extent further money, so it is quite against their hobbies to resolve the subject. The greater they might create a disaster attitude between the inhabitants, the extra money they might get because of the fact human beings think of that spending extra money on the subject will resolve it. In coping with government, you get rewarded for failure, not for fulfillment. If there's a subject in the faculties, the respond is extra money for the faculties, not much less money as there may be in the interior maximum sector. the two dems and repubs work together in this "conflict" mentality. it is an element of our gadget. So, we waste billions of greenbacks and accomplish not something and can't even detect a manner out of this occasion. the militia-business complicated that President Eisenhower warned us approximately has taken over our government in the type of countless "wars" on drugs, poverty, terrorism, cancer, etc. Too many everybody is making too plenty money not fixing those issues and feeding on our tax money. we are merely too naive to verify it. thank you for mentioning this concern.

Answer 9

Education.
Religion.
Family.
Friends.

You can't stop the growth of poppies because the same drug is used for the pharmaceutical industry too. So it has to start from oneself. When oneself knows that drugs will bring nothing but living hell, one will avoid it and live a life that is worthy of living.

Answer 10

honesty, imho, you're so far off I don't know where to start ... I'm guessing you're throwing out ideas but you dont have much personal experience

Prohibition has never worked, and never will

Drugs and chemical dependency are social issues, not criminal

Drug companies pretty much run this country, and the most dangerous drugs are legal

... I don't think you even comprehend the problem