JoeJustJoe
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Global Commission: War on Drugs A Failure
The Global Commission on Drug Policy has just released a report finding that the "War on Drugs" is a failure.
No big surprise there, and it also isn't a surprise that both the US and Mexico rejected the Global Commission findings as misguided. The only thing
misguided if you ask me is the continued fighting the losing "War on Drugs."
The report believes that some drugs that are now illegal should be legalized, and calls for the decriminalization of drug use. Amen to that because
nearly half or perhaps more of our the prison inmates In the US are in prison because of drug charges, and it's probably the same in Mexico.
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Who is on the commission:
Former Paul Volcker, the former President of Colombia Cesar Gaviria, the current Prime Minister of Greece George Papandreou, former UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan, and the former leaders of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil.
The BBC reports:
Their report argues that anti-drug policy has failed by fuelling organised crime, costing taxpayers millions of dollars and causing thousands of
deaths...."Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the
evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be
won," the report said.
The report is available here in both English and Spanish:
http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/Report
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Skeet/Loreto
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Joe;
THE BOSTON TEA PARTY !!!! That is what everyone is waiting to hear from you Joe.
All the posters need for you to answer Ole Skeets Question to You.
Comon give us a Break and Answer him.
Are you a "Scardy Cat"" Are you a "Chicken Liver" Are you still in Hi School and only know What the Internet tells you????
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vgabndo
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Since Richard Nixon coined the phrase "war on drugs" it has become increasingly clear that this concept flies in the face of human nature.
I streamed an excellent discussion on the subject of this report last night on Aljazeera/English I believe. It should be archived.
I recommend it.
I found the link: http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/insidestory/2011/06/...
Hey Skeeter, when you sober up, did you know that Nixon was the last Republican President to leave (be thrown out of) office WITHOUT raising the
federal deficit as a percentage of the GDP? Maybe if he'd had more time.....
[Edited on 6-3-2011 by vgabndo]
[Edited on 6-3-2011 by vgabndo]
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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Bajahowodd
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Anyone find it interesting that there was immediate push back from both the White House and the Calderon administration? Remember, Calderon went to
Harvard.
The war on drugs, although started by Nixon to supposedly punish the "hippies" he believed were causing him so much grief over the Vietnam war, has
taken on its own life with a combination of religious and social activists, who want to dictate how everyone should live their lives, and the stark
reality that it is a multi-billion dollar cash cow for so many, mostly connected to the appropriations teat in DC .
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajahowodd
Remember, Calderon went to Harvard.
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What degrees did he come away with? I don't know.
The right money will put Porky Pig in Harvard.
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MrBillM
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Changing Direction
Calling the whole thing a "War" is laughable. Wars SHOULD be Hell on the combatants.
Let's get serious.
Quickly execute EVERY person caught Dealing Drugs.
IF, after a couple of years or 10K executions (whichever comes first), we aren't making a dent in the problem, we can try a different approach.
Like my earlier idea of poisoning the supply and seeing where that gets us.
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Bajahowodd
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajahowodd
Remember, Calderon went to Harvard.
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What degrees did he come away with? I don't know.
The right money will put Porky Pig in Harvard. |
Master of Public Administration in 2000 from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Obama is a graduate of Harvard Law.
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Iflyfish
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vgabndo
Very interesting video and dialogue. Thanks for sharing this. It is clear that the "War on Drugs" is a failure, and a very expensive one for the
USofA. Two Trillion dollars spent and use increases every year. Drug abuse is a medical problem and can be dealt with in that way, I have seen this
with my own eyes and Portugal, Holland and the Swis provide us with excellent models. The X President of Colombia is a co-author of this report.
People seem to forget that we have gone through a similar history with Alcohol and Prohibition. The drug runners (revenuers, moonshiners and the mob
in those days) became legitimate businessmen, for the most part, violence decreased and the market was highly regulated and taxed.
A point I have not heard before and it makes sense to me is the following "Do you see wine producers and alcohol manufacturers killing each other?" I
saw Ron Paul address a Republican debate and as a Libertarian Conservative propose the legalization of drugs. He was met with cat calls until he asked
the following question. "Ok, I want to do a pole, how many of you would use heroin if it were legalized?" No one raised their hands. Holland's
experience with legalization was an immediate, though slight uptick in use followed by a decrease in use. I have talked with people living in
Amsterdam who have told me that the general population sometimes gets high but the real problem is Americans who come over and spend two weeks in a
state of constant marijuana use and they make fools of themselves by crashing into lamp poles etc. Sounds like Spring Break in Mexico eh? where
college students from the USofA get drunk and obnoxious and then go home.
This is a public health problem and deserves to be dealt with in that way like we have with tobacco use and AIDS prevention, Immunizations etc. This
is a Public Health Problem if there ever was one.
Bajahowodd,
I am old enough to remember Nixon/Agnew taking on the hippies and their drug of choice, marijuana. Nixon/ Bebe Reboso and friends all drank scotch and
boy did they get loaded!! Nixon sat down with Agnew to plan their campaign for their second term and came up with the concept of a Silent Majority,
code words for not Hippies, and a "War on Drugs", the particular drugs used most by the Hippies. Before this campaign strategy was emplyoyed Congress
was seriously considering legalization of marijuana. Read the history of this, I am not making this up. I was alive and conscious of all of this at
the time.
Public Health approaches i.e. Public Education and Social Stigma have profoundly decreased the amount of tobacco use in the USofA. People will always
smoke cigarettes, even though they kill thousands of people each year. We don't lock smokers up in prison!!! We provide treatment and support for
people to resolve their addiction. We provide public education and require immunizations to protect us all and certain devistating illnesses have all
but disappeared i.e. polio and smallpox, which crippled and killed millions.
Social Stigma is a powerful shaper of human behavior and has been a very important part of the strategy for reducing tobacco use. Shame is a very
powerful emotion and the only one that modifies other feelings. Shame has it's place and purpose and we now see smokers skulking around to have their
smokes, often out in the cold. I have heard many x smokers tell me that this was a major contributor to their quitting. Shame and self loathing over
their addicition and personal pride in overcoming what is probably even a harder drug to come off of than heroin.
Thanks again for this very informative and educational post.
Iflyfish
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