Is it time for a serious debate about the War on Drugs?

Question

Some info:
• $45.5 Billion spent this year and $30.1 billion of that was incarceration alone.
• The total cost of drug abuse in the US is estimated at $143.4 billion… that includes indirect costs.
• Drug use has increased in every way measurable since prohibition.
• 20% of all drug traffic is interrupted. 75% interruption would be needed to begin effectiveness.
• The average markup for legal drugs, both pharm and recreational (tobacco, alcohol, etc) is 10-15%. The average markup for illegal drugs is 1000% reflecting the so-called “risk premium”.
• The illegal drug trade, by any standard, is a hugely profitable and successful business venture. Impossible to estimate, profits are believed to be in the hundreds of billions, annually.
• Illegal drugs and drug use are theorized to be responsible for a permanent underclass.
• Prohibition, in theory, creates a premium as reflected in price, creating a market for cheaper and usually more dangerous and destructive drugs like Meth, and Crack.

My question is simple. Isn’t there a better way?
Everyone can agree that drug abuse is a questionable practice on a personal level. But responsible drug use is entirely possible too. Isn’t it time we stopped kidding ourselves into thinking we’re eradicating drugs, solving more problems than we create?

And a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs

sharia_vigilant- Don't you see how racist that sentiment is. Why not ask yourself why drugs and gangs go together. Is there a better way besides 'muscle' to stop it? Perhaps if the drug trade wasn't so profitable, gangs and the poverty stricken wouldn't be interested in it.

Ken- you're right. but that's why we have second terms.

sharia_vigilant- I'm not buying it. You say gangs, you imply inner city black kids. You may be able to cover your tracks by listing other gangs, but when you say, “Execute gang members” it’s going to be an inherently racial issue.

sharia_vigilant- please. not covering your tracks is also part of being a man. YOU KNOW that when YOU say gangs, you think black kids, and I say that on YOUR track record of answers.

Answer 1

Not to mention the human cost. I think it is time to have a serious dialogue but in politics this is considered a taboo issue. If you suggest anything other than higher sentences for drug users and dealers, you are a fringe candidate. The only people talking about this are the libertarians, believe it or not. Even the candidates such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama who have admitted to prior drug use do not talk about decriminalizing even marijuana.

Danny: Good answer, that is exactly the dialogue that we are talking about. There are many alternatives to outright legalization. A rationale approach seems to me to be legalization of marijuana, use that funding for greater treatment options for other drug offenders, and continue to prosecute dealers of narcotics. That is just my opinion and I am sure they run the gamut from hang'em all to live and let live. The problem is that we cannot have a real dialogue as sensible people because some people have blinders on. US citizens do not even know the methods of dealing with drugs in other countries and the rates of success (me included). These are all things we should know.

Answer 2

I'm not sure I support legalizing drug use, which is where I think this is going. Consistent use of different narcotics, including marijuana, does produce a number of societal problems. I've watched too many friends become shiftless and useless over time.

That said, like a lot of other folks, I never liked the connotation of war being attached to it, the spending of billions, and the overselling of the problem to justify the huge investment being made. The book Freakonomics has an interesting chapter on this, the concept (in reality non-existant) of the "millionaire" drug dealer.

Particularly troubling is that we jail people for drug abuse the same way we do for violent offenders. This I can't come to grips with.

Answer 3

Repeat gang related drug dealers should be executed.

Added:
On the contrary it is you who implies that all gang related drug dealers are of a minority race.

I am talking about ALL gangs. The Mongols, Aryan Brotherhood, Hells Angels, the crips the bloods, ms13, the Triad.


You can say you don't buy it all day long. You made an incorrect assumption (twice now). That's on you, not me. Sometimes admission to fault is the best policy. That is part of being a man. Give it a shot.


Go ahead and provide 1 link where I have exhibited anything that resembles racist behavior on my behalf. Didn’t think so.

My wife is 2nd generation Mexican. Some of my best friends have been black. Surely you are not calling me a racist?

I suggest you stop with the accusations when you have absolutely no clue as to what you are talking about. Just because you have a problem with my views doesn’t mean you are free to slander.

In my original post I did not say black gangs. That thought came to YOUR mind, not mine. That shoe fits you well.

Answer 4

Yes. The "war on drugs" accounts for most of the crime here and abroad.
It is unfortunate that most of the extremely punitive drug policies were political. Nixon's use of the FDA to criminalize drugs was solely motivated by the civil rights movements and the anti-war protest.

Answer 5

the be conscious "warfare" is so misused interior the rustic, if warfare replace into to pass to the rustic im useful they wouldnt use the be conscious anymore......... that aside each and each of the rustic's wars are incorrect and in actuality for the wealthy to get richer and the undesirable to get poorer as for obama hes a puppet like bush different than he isnt decrease than the effect of alcohol each and each of the time and can placed some words jointly - -- - the classic obama 2d for me replace into while he stated isreal could cease taking land interior the west monetary institution and not something replace into stated in regards to the trillions in help given to isreal each and every 12 months, the unfastened nukes and weapons and there seems to be no bring about sight of the uda combating isreals enemies for them -

Answer 6

I'm all in favor of legalizing marijuana. Mind you, I don't smoke it, but I can't help but think that we should have learned during the 1920s that Prohibition doesn't work. I think that we should legalize marijuana and regulate it much the same way that we regulate alcohol use. That is to say, only people of a certain age should be able to use it and they shouldn't be allowed to drive or operate heavy equipment while under the influence.

Answer 7

If the US really wanted to end illegal drug imports, they certainly could. Like alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine, illegal drugs control the American people.

Answer 8

I think we need to decriminalize marijuna. We should also focus more on treatment instead of punishment for drug offenders. I think the war on drugs is lost and was a complete debacle.

Answer 9

Drug laws should be liberalized. We incarcerate more of our own citizens than Russia, China, any nation because of our paranoid drug laws.

Answer 10

Responsible drug use? What hippie commune did you come from? The 60's are over. Didn't you get the memo?