# War on drugs



## enemyofreality (May 31, 2011)

I hope this isn't against the rules because I am not posting about a story or doing drugs but something going on right now that is very important. The UN has decided to try to end the war on drugs and needs signatures. Please sign if you believe the war on drug is unnecessary. This could be our chance.

Avaaz - 72 hours to End the War on Drugs


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## ArkaneDemon (May 31, 2011)

There's too much money in the anti-drug business, especially in the States, where they spend something like 500 dollars per second to fund this "war on drugs". I don't really see how a petition like this will stop it, but I will remain open minded about it. The thing I don't like about petitions is it gives people the illusion that they accomplished something important when in reality I can bet that most petitions don't accomplish anything at all. But we'll see. Smoke weed errday!


Just kidding


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## GuitaristOfHell (May 31, 2011)

Reality is the drug war will not end for awhile as shitty as it sounds. We're supplying the drug dealers with arms. how? Simple they cross the border and buy arms from us . So we're ( USA) fueling the drug war and trying to stop it. We need to stop giving them weapons but you can't ask them their immigration status. So you really can't tell.


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## -42- (May 31, 2011)

GuitaristOfHell said:


> Reality is the drug war will not end for awhile as shitty as it sounds. We're supplying the drug dealers with arms. how? Simple they cross the border and buy arms from us . So we're ( USA) fueling the drug war and trying to stop it. We need to stop giving them weapons but you can't ask them their immigration status. So you really can't tell.



Complete bullshit, most weapons the drug dealers use are produced outside of the US. Most people operate under the misconception that drug lords buy their arms from the US because they keep hearing that "90% of weapons retrieved in cartel crimes can be traced back to the US." However that statistic is incomplete, that "90% of guns" is actually only the guns retrieved by Mexican law enforcement that have been registered with the ATF, while most of the guns retrieved cannot be traced at all. I remember reading an article about a year ago which cited this 'damning' evidence but the captured weapons displayed were all Argentinean copies of the the Belgian FN FAL (which the Argentinean army had been offloading in order to replace it with a more modern rifle). In short, the war on drugs isn't caused by guns, but that's a different discussion.

Anyways, regarding the topic at hand. I despise the War on Drugs, not because I do drugs (I don't even drink) but because I am of the opinion that what a citizen does to their own body on their own time on their own property is their own business, and that the War on Drugs amounts to little more than legislated morality, something I firmly oppose. There are other, more pragmatic reasons for my stance (regarding both the monetary and social cost) but I feel that it is wrong on a fundamental level.


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## ArkaneDemon (May 31, 2011)

I hardly doubt that they're trying to stop it. There's TOO much money to be made off of throwing random people into private prisons, a lot of them for simple possession of marijuana or other soft drugs. It creates a lot of jobs and a lot of government funding goes into this, the people up high in the war on drugs hierarchy would not easily submit and be like "oh yeah, you're right, this war on drugs doesn't really do much except make drug dealers richer, drug cartels richer and stronger, and innocent people incarcerated" and just dismantle the whole war on drugs personnel and cut the government funding for it.


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## enemyofreality (May 31, 2011)

I'm not hear to argue about if this will do anything but I'm signing it anyway. It took me a minute to do it and even if they're is the tiniest chance of something happening from this. That minute of my time was worth it. We know how corrupt the US about the drug war(and everything else). It needs to stop. So I'm going to do what I can to stop it and I'm going to continue until it happens. More people are realizing whats going on now then ever and the drug war will end eventually


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## enemyofreality (May 31, 2011)

ArkaneDemon said:


> Smoke weed errday! Just kidding


 
Suree I gotcha


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## aslsmm (May 31, 2011)

I did a shit load of research on the war on drugs last term in college. Let me just say while there is money being made from the war, there is not nearly as much as youd think. Most of the stats (especially on forums) in relation to the drug war are either complete bullshit or are very one sided stats. Having said that the war on drugs needs to end. It would bring alot of bonuses to our country in terms of jobs, taxes and it is our right to use drugs as we would like. In the research i did you may be surprised to find that some of the biggest supporters of the war on drugs is pharmecudical companies. They have a monpoly on the drug market.


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## ArkaneDemon (May 31, 2011)

aslsmm said:


> some of the biggest supporters of the war on drugs is pharmecudical companies. They have a monpoly on the drug market.



Well, yeah. I've seen many documentaries on the positive aspects of marijuana use for medical reasons, from helping with blood pressure to lessening pain (especially for terminally ill patients), from lessening pressure in the eyes to glaucoma, and a myriad of other things. One doctor said that it's pretty much usable for up to 40 different ailments.

If it were legal, pharmaceutical companies would lose a lot of money, because a lot of their products (which are dangerous, first of all) wouldn't be used anymore since people can self-medicate or get prescriptions from doctors easier or just grow their own or whatever, and their "1 pill for 1 ill" bullshit would go away. So of course they would do everything in their power to support the war on drugs, no?


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## Overtone (May 31, 2011)

Not to mention what would happen to various industries if it became legal to grow hemp in the USA. Such a shame since it has potential to address a lot of areas where people are looking for new ideas. It's a plant that grows "like a weed"... it fends for itself, doesn't require much in terms of water, soil quality and nutrients, etc.. And at the same time it's a crop with a lot of yield, since the fiber and seed oil have many practical uses. But you know, we can't have that, people might get high... oh wait they already do. 

About the guns in Mexico, this is a must read. I won't say I know where the majority of the weapons are coming from... regardless this kind of thing is wrong. 
Agent: I was ordered to let U.S. guns into Mexico - CBS Evening News - CBS News


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## ArkaneDemon (May 31, 2011)

You can't get high off of industrial hemp, it grows almost everywhere, and is the strongest natural soft fiber on the planet. It can be used to make almost everything from paper to clothes to a TON of other things. If it were legal, a lot of industries and companies would lose money because hemp is way cheaper than other materials used in making the same products.


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## Overtone (May 31, 2011)

Correct... I should have been more clear... it's illegal to grow hemp in the USA simply because it looks like that other plant that is supposedly dangerous. So thanks to the war of drugs we can't even have things that aren't drugs. :rage And when you think about it, hemp was incredibly useful centuries ago but we haven't even seen what would be possible if the hemp industry had seen all the benefits of the last few decades of innovation. Corn is grown and turned into a variety of materials that you would never expect, so I'm sure that if it were a valid part of the industry there would be a lot of hemp research leading to similar uses. Since corn requires a lot of fertilizer (which in turn requires burning lots of natural gas) hemp is the better crop to use.


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## -42- (May 31, 2011)

Overtone said:


> About the guns in Mexico, this is a must read. I won't say I know where the majority of the weapons are coming from... regardless this kind of thing is wrong.
> Agent: I was ordered to let U.S. guns into Mexico - CBS Evening News - CBS News



That was part of an ATF sting, this does not reflect the true nature of weapons distribution in Latin America.

/thread drift


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## ArkaneDemon (May 31, 2011)

Overtone said:


> Correct... I should have been more clear... it's illegal to grow hemp in the USA simply because it looks like that other plant that is supposedly dangerous. So thanks to the war of drugs we can't even have things that aren't drugs. :rage And when you think about it, hemp was incredibly useful centuries ago but we haven't even seen what would be possible if the hemp industry had seen all the benefits of the last few decades of innovation. Corn is grown and turned into a variety of materials that you would never expect, so I'm sure that if it were a valid part of the industry there would be a lot of hemp research leading to similar uses. Since corn requires a lot of fertilizer (which in turn requires burning lots of natural gas) hemp is the better crop to use.



True enough. I know up here in Canada, half the budget for anti-drug enforcement goes just to weed, the other half to every other drug. That seems pretty stupid. I'd be more afraid of a meth addict than a guy smoking some dope


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## Treeunit212 (May 31, 2011)

Signed and shared on Facebook.

HEROIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Treeunit212 (May 31, 2011)

Overtone said:


> Correct... I should have been more clear... it's illegal to grow hemp in the USA simply because it looks like that other plant that is supposedly dangerous.



Actually, I found (through my extensive research for my recent nine page research paper on marijuana legalization) that the problem started during the Harlem Renaissance when Black musicians started smoking dope before each gig. One of the first arrests was made on a Mexican-American for crossing state lines with the drug. The report even claimed he fought back so aggressively that it took a dozen cops to take him down, which leads me to believe he was PROBABLY on PCP, not Marijuana. Great police work.

Before then (as in at the country's start), Hemp was the biggest cash crop in the country. John Adams actually endorsed it publicly. Not bad for a slave owning freedom fighter.

But I digress.. The Drug War is expensive, failing, and just a front for the biggest class warfare scheme of the century.


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## enemyofreality (May 31, 2011)

Which is why we gotta end it


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## Alimination (Jun 1, 2011)

I agree with all you guys! Pretty much nailed it dead on. Don't forget about the damn Opium farms in afganistan that they've been cought shipping here in the US too. It really is depressing though. :/ so currupt!


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## jaredowty (Jun 1, 2011)

In order to get elected in this country you have to be tough on crime and tough on drugs. There's no political capital in saying drugs should be legal. Kurt Schmoke, former mayor of Baltimore, was way ahead of his time by saying that the war on drugs should be a public health issue instead of a law enforcement issue back in the late 80s. You know what the media labeled him? "The most dangerous man in America". Most politicians know to keep their mouths shut if they have any interest in self-preservation in the system.

I agree with -42-: the government should not be able to tell us what we can or can't put in our own bodies. Period.

That being said, drug reform would be an absolute mess at first, undoubtedly. But it's clear that our current methods aren't working, so why not give something else a try? Oh right, I forgot.."progressive" is a dirty word in America.


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## Overtone (Jun 2, 2011)

It looks like the avaaz poll from the OP was a success...

BBC News - Global war on drugs &#039;has failed&#039; say former leaders
*Global war on drugs 'has failed' say former leaders*



But you know, I think the key there is _former_ leaders. Like the post above states, nobody wants to risk their careers... so most will keep their mouths shut until after they are out of office and THEN speak... it does no good.


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## Alimination (Jun 2, 2011)

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. 

XD


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## highlordmugfug (Jun 2, 2011)

Overtone said:


> It looks like the avaaz poll from the OP was a success...
> 
> BBC News - Global war on drugs &#039;has failed&#039; say former leaders
> *Global war on drugs 'has failed' say former leaders*
> ...


'Global War On Drugs Has Failed,' Former World Leaders Say : The Two-Way : NPR

And it's not like they're saying anything grounbdbreaking anyway, every single point is something that anyone with even half of a turd for a brain has known/been saying for years. If all of our politicians would stop peddling to the lowest common denominator, bigoted, ignorant type of people then maybe something would actually ever get done.

EDIT: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/02/us-drugs-commission-idUSTRE7513XW20110602


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## highlordmugfug (Jun 2, 2011)

The nonsense of a 'War on Drugs': The Wire's writers get it, governments consistently don't &#8211; Telegraph Blogs

Apparently the response is:
&#8220;We have no intention of liberalising our drugs laws. Drugs are illegal because they are harmful &#8211; they destroy lives and cause untold misery to families and communities. Those caught in the cycle of dependency must be supported to live drug free lives, but giving people a green light to possess drugs through decriminalisation is clearly not the answer. We are taking action through tough enforcement, both inland and abroad, alongside introducing temporary banning powers and robust treatment programmes that lead people into drug free recovery.&#8221;

I'll see your facts and logical arguments, and raise you the same unsupported shit we've been spouting for years. Derp.


EDIT: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304563104576359913339364414.html
Just throwing in any other sources I notice, don't mind me.


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## jaredowty (Jun 4, 2011)

highlordmugfug said:


> The nonsense of a 'War on Drugs': The Wire's writers get it, governments consistently don't &#8211; Telegraph Blogs



The Wire has taught me more about the war on drugs and the sociology surrounding it than any book, article or documentary I've seen, honestly. It's odd that a piece of fiction (a _television_ show at that) can say more about these social issues than more "respected" mediums.


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## Treeunit212 (Jun 5, 2011)

jaredowty said:


> The Wire has taught me more about the war on drugs and the sociology surrounding it than any book, article or documentary I've seen, honestly. It's odd that a piece of fiction (a _television_ show at that) can say more about these social issues than more "respected" mediums.



No political bullshit filters.


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## Alimination (Jun 5, 2011)

I know this news is a little old by now, but you guys hear about the marine in arizona who returned from Iraq just to get shot by a swat team raiding his house for drugs? Just to find no drugs at all.


man shit like that.. it's a damn shame you know? :/


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## Treeunit212 (Jun 5, 2011)

Alimination said:


> I know this news is a little old by now, but you guys hear about the marine in arizona who returned from Iraq just to get shot by a swat team raiding his house for drugs? Just to find no drugs at all.
> 
> 
> man shit like that.. it's a damn shame you know? :/



This is one of those rare things the media SHOULD blow up on.

Ridiculous.

Edit: But they won't.


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## Sephael (Jun 5, 2011)

simple facts, a lot of anti-drug support comes from prison guard unions who want to get more pay and more jobs; prison builders who want to keep their's one of the fastest growing industries; and cops who really shouldn't have a say, they're lot in the government system is enforcement not policy dictation.


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## -42- (Jun 5, 2011)

Sephael said:


> simple facts, a lot of anti-drug support comes from prison guard unions who want to get more pay and more jobs; prison builders who want to keep their's one of the fastest growing industries; and cops who really shouldn't have a say, they're lot in the government system is enforcement not policy dictation.



The money and lobbying isn't the issue as much as the fact that most voters are morons who seem to feel that legal adults cannot ingest with any substance they see fit. The gut reaction of most people is to blame the problem on politicians, or corporations or any powerful entity that is not they themselves (this is perfectly natural, humans are born with the self serving bias) but as voters they (not 'we' for I am seventeen and cannot vote) have placed incompetent officials in charge because they are easily swayed by pathos (i.e. "think of the children).

Sorry about the excessive parenthesis use.


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## Treeunit212 (Jun 5, 2011)

-42- said:


> The money and lobbying isn't the issue as much as the fact that most voters are morons who seem to feel that legal adults cannot ingest with any substance they see fit. The gut reaction of most people is to blame the problem on politicians, or corporations or any powerful entity that is not they themselves (this is perfectly natural, humans are born with the self serving bias) but as voters they (not 'we' for I am seventeen and cannot vote) have placed incompetent officials in charge because they are easily swayed by pathos (i.e. "think of the children).
> 
> Sorry about the excessive parenthesis use.



I know a girl whom thinks all drugs should be illegal because AND I QUOTE:

"People aren't collectively smart enough to handle any of it."


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## Origin (Jun 5, 2011)

All the 'war on drugs' does is create criminals for no good reason. I like the way Penn Jillette put it: 'In a free country, you have the right to put ANYTHING you want into your own body. ANYTHING else is bullshit.' Pretty much how I feel. The way I've come to see it, refusing to compromise by doing this retarded 'war' is equivalent to closing your eyes and plugging your ears and pretending drugs don't exist. They do, and the 'crackdown' has only made the dosage stronger and the profits higher.


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## Sephael (Jun 5, 2011)

Land of the free? 

"In 2008 approximately one in every 31 adults (7.3 million) in the United States was behind bars, or being monitored (probation and parole)." 

At year end 2007 the United States had less than 5% of the world's populationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States#cite_note-population-24 and 23.4% of the world's prison and jail population.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States#cite_note-RoyWalmsley-4


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## -42- (Jun 5, 2011)

^Granted, most of the world is still in a state of abject poverty, and most nations do not have the resources to maintain a large prison system, and/or have completely ineffectual police forces.


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## Sephael (Jun 5, 2011)

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"According to [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bureau of Justice Statistics (2006)[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] figures, nearly 45,000 state and federal prisoners are behind bars for having committed some type of cannabis-related offense...This means that US taxpayers are currently spending over $1 billion annually to incarcerate Americans for pot."

And honestly that $1 billion/yr is probably greatly low balled. 
[/FONT]


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## Sephael (Jun 5, 2011)

-42- said:


> ^Granted, most of the world is still in a state of abject poverty, and most nations do not have the resources to maintain a large prison system, and/or have completely ineffectual police forces.


also large portions of the world imprison large numbers of people over political views and we still out incarcerate them.


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## 1000 Eyes (Jun 6, 2011)

Sephael said:


> also large portions of the world imprison large numbers of people over political views and we still out incarcerate them.



Your prison system is privatised isnt it?..They are in the business of locking people up for revenue.

The war on drugs is tosh..where is the war on tobacco or the war on alcohol?
Both of which destroy way more lives than weed for example. Its a sickening state of affairs.


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## Uncle Remus (Jun 6, 2011)




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## avenger (Jun 6, 2011)

Sephael said:


> Land of the free?
> 
> "In 2008 approximately one in every 31 adults (7.3 million) in the United States was behind bars, or being monitored (probation and parole)."
> 
> At year end 2007 the United States had less than 5% of the world's population and 23.4% of the world's prison and jail population.


 Those facts are stunning.


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## -42- (Jun 6, 2011)

1000 Eyes said:


> Your prison system is privatised isnt it?..They are in the business of locking people up for revenue.
> 
> The war on drugs is tosh..where is the war on tobacco or the war on alcohol?
> Both of which destroy way more lives than weed for example. Its a sickening state of affairs.



Our prison system is run by state and federal government entities. The issue is ignorance and a lack of political efficacy, not profit.


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## -42- (Jun 6, 2011)

Sephael said:


> also large portions of the world imprison large numbers of people over political views and we still out incarcerate them.



The amount of authoritarian regimes which imprison people politically are insignificant compared to the number of nations where criminal entities have enough political clout to have free reign. Take Mexico, one of the better developed and richer nations in the world (11th largest GPD) yet it is estimated that around 33% (500 billion dollars) of the wealth in Mexico is unrecorded criminally acquired wealth, think of the political power wielded by organizations which produce that kind of wealth (legitimate or not). They have the ability to avoid consequences (i.e. incarcerations).

And as for those actual authoritarian regimes, most are fairly poor, and bullets are cheaper than cells.


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## 1000 Eyes (Jun 6, 2011)

-42- said:


> Our prison system is run by state and federal government entities. The issue is ignorance and a lack of political efficacy, not profit.




The drug issue is indeed ignorance, but when I mentioned revenue I was talking about the prison system in the US.

CORRECTIONS: Prison Privatization and the Prison Boom

http://tiny.cc/7gvyv


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## -42- (Jun 6, 2011)

Private prisons are still contracted and regulated by the state and only house 99,000 out of a prison population of 2.5 million (only 4% of the total prison population). In the scheme of things, privately owned prisons are inconsequential.

/drift


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## Treeunit212 (Jun 6, 2011)

-42- said:


> Our prison system is run by state and federal government entities. The issue is ignorance and a lack of political efficacy, not profit.



For the most part, yes. But privatized prisons do still exist, and more are trying to be pushed into existence.

Edit: Did not notice the extra post under.


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## Sephael (Jun 7, 2011)

BBC News - Mexican army destroys drug cartel &#039;narco-tanks&#039;

Mexican drug "tanks"


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## Treeunit212 (Jun 10, 2011)

I didn't even know about this before. Wish I did for that essay though.


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## titan amps (Jun 12, 2011)

The war on drugs in the US isn't going anywhere. Too many jobs would disappear, and too many people would have to be released from prison. Then, there's our puritanical concept of morality to contend with.

Making something illegal doesn't do anything to prevent it.


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## Sephael (Jun 12, 2011)

you know the system is fucked up when the criminal organizations want to keep their activities illegal.


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## Ryan-ZenGtr- (Jun 15, 2011)

My favourite free the drugs arguments are these (for the lulz)

1. All the best drugs are naturally occurring plants, weeds and shrubs. To make them illegal is to make the work of God illegal.



2. If it were legal to grow your own crop all of the drug dealers would be working in McDonalds and the farmers market would be a lot more fun.



The whole Vietnam thing, the Cocaine Cowboys in Miami and all the conspiracies look to have worked out really well for the authorities. At one point the Cocaine Cowboys claimed they had to buy more houses to put their money in (whole house full of money as they couldn't bank it). After banking with Noriega (can't remember the spelling sorry!) in Panama it was seized. All those dollars being lost... Serious economic catastrophe for the nation, but someone benefited.


what I can't understand is why people bother with drugs in the first place. 

They only make people unpleasant to be around, which is odd as they are commonly used as a social drug. Backfire!

Hypothetically, let's say you think a trip will be really good, surely people know that the better the trip the worse the comedown... And let's be honest who wants to become a criminal to get a really expensive hangover... And fund nefarious practices... 

Have a look for the documentary: "the cocaine cowboys"

It's a US special forces unit who, after serving in Vietnam, couldn't find jobs on their return home. So they turned to their old skills and made billions... which disappeared from Panama.


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## Overtone (Jun 15, 2011)

with all due respect, you don't know what you're talking about


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## Mexi (Jun 15, 2011)

I'd have to agree. drug users don't hang out with non-drug users, or people who are so judgmental about their choices that they'd be "unpleasant" to be around.


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## JohnDillingerJr (Jun 15, 2011)

Being an ex-user of speed and various other drugs, I came to learn that the biggest danger in the drug market is the dealers themselves. These people don't give a flying fuck whether you live or die. What they care about = $$$. They're willing to rip you off and kill you if it comes to it. 
I've been in a few bad situations where I could of been hurt or even killed, and part of what led me to turn away from the whole world of drugs was the people it surrounded me with, more so than the drugs themselves. If drugs were decriminalized, what market would there be for dealers? And what reason would you need to put yourself in dangerous situations to get said drugs? Illegal business is a hell of a lot more dangerous that legitimate business, so why not decriminalize drugs in the future? 
People also have the right to accurate information about drugs produced by pharmaceutical companies, instead of propaganda and misinformation incited by fear and ignorance. At some point, methamphetamine used to be prescribed for adhd (and from a few people that I have talked to that were prescribed it in the past said it was probably the best treatment they have tried for their adhd, due to its long half life and lack of side effects), heroin was used for killing pain in surgical operations, and cocaine was used as a topical anesthetic. Hell, Ibogaine, a pretty unpopular recreational drug due to its long lasting effects, is used effectively in the treatment of opiate withdrawals. So why is it a Schedule I drug?
And if regular Joes want to use drugs, let them. If you had a child that kept reaching for a stove top and you have to keep stopping him while yelling "No! Thats hot! No touchey!", at what point will he truly learn how hot it is? If people want to use drugs a feel the sting of withdrawal and addiction, let them. Pretty much all of the drug users I knew were completely aware of the side effects of what ever drug they were using, and they knew it could lead to a life of addiction, yet they continued to use. It's their decision, whether or not drugs are illegal.


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## Sephael (Jun 15, 2011)

Mexi said:


> I'd have to agree. drug users don't hang out with non-drug users, or people who are so judgmental about their choices that they'd be "unpleasant" to be around.


i know plenty of pot users that hang out just fine with non users, just because someone doesn't use, myself among them, doesn't mean that they have anything against someone else who does, and firmly believes in the need for reforms in the law.

Hard drugs on the other hand do tend to preclude interactions with others who don't, in most cases.


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## jymellis (Jun 15, 2011)

i aint signin shit, im tired of crack heads and meth addicts.


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## Mindcrime1204 (Jun 16, 2011)

I don't do cocaine, I just like the smell of it.









 jk


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## jymellis (Jun 16, 2011)

Mindcrime1204 said:


> I don't do cocaine, I just like the smell of it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
thats where it gets difficult. is an occasional, responsible coke user ok? where do you draw the line ?


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## Mindcrime1204 (Jun 16, 2011)

jymellis said:


> thats where it gets difficult. is an occasional, responsible coke user ok? where do you draw the line ?


 
I know some users who you would think never touched the stuff. They have normal lives and jobs and are doing just fine. Coincidentaly(sp) they all smoke herbage primarily and I think that's what keeps them calm and collected.


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## jymellis (Jun 16, 2011)

Mindcrime1204 said:


> I know some users who you would think never touched the stuff. They have normal lives and jobs and are doing just fine. Coincidentaly(sp) they all smoke herbage primarily and I think that's what keeps them calm and collected.


 
i fall into this category  wife, 5 kids, mortgage, new car, new minivan, professional career.


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## Overtone (Jun 16, 2011)

Some members of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition tried to meet with the Obama drug czar but he snubbed them, so they just dropped off this report at his office about the failed drug war. It's interesting how one argument is that the drug war keeps them in business.... yet we see in their poll that the majority of police against the drug war. So maybe that argument doesn't apply to cops as much as it does to the prison workers and lawyers, court workers, etc..

40th Anniversary of the &#8220;War on Drugs&#8221; | LEAP


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## Konfyouzd (Jun 16, 2011)

JohnDillingerJr said:


> Being an ex-user of speed and various other drugs, I came to learn that the biggest danger in the drug market is the dealers themselves. These people don't give a flying fuck whether you live or die. What they care about = $$$. They're willing to rip you off and kill you if it comes to it.


 
Not when you buy pot from hippies... 

But seriously, that's not necessarily the case with all dealers when you deal in other drugs either. I think it's more a matter of who you know like everything else. 

For some ppl desperate times--like a dry spell--call for depserate measures and they're willing to take a risk and deal w/ unfamiliar folk. It's a risk you take in dealing in the black market. But I think a lot of that risk could be alleviated if these things hadn't been "forced"--so to speak--into the black market. 

I'm with the group that believe the gov't should not be able to tell me what I can put in my body, particularly since they allow you to consume alcohol and/or pharamceutical drugs that carry the same potential for abuse and yield the same consequences.

If my choice affects me and only me then it should not be left up to a third party to regulate it. Once my decisions begin to affect my peers/community, take me to jail. 



jymellis said:


> i fall into this category  wife, 5 kids, mortgage, new car, new minivan, professional career.


 
Ditto... Well kind of... No wife. No kids. But I am a hard working professional. A software developer at that... Tooting my own horn has never been my thing but when you consider that programmers and other techies are generally accepted as intelligent folk and the average pothead isn't...


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## jaredowty (Jun 16, 2011)

JohnDillingerJr said:


> And if regular Joes want to use drugs, let them. If you had a child that kept reaching for a stove top and you have to keep stopping him while yelling "No! Thats hot! No touchey!", at what point will he truly learn how hot it is? If people want to use drugs a feel the sting of withdrawal and addiction, let them. Pretty much all of the drug users I knew were completely aware of the side effects of what ever drug they were using, and they knew it could lead to a life of addiction, yet they continued to use. It's their decision, whether or not drugs are illegal.



Exactly.

You can't beat someone over the head and say "stop using drugs", or even "don't use drugs in the first place!". It's their decision to start, and if they want to quit, then it has to be based on the will of the individual, which is why a treatment-oriented approach instead of a law-enforcement approach would work much better.


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## Mexi (Jun 16, 2011)

jymellis said:


> thats where it gets difficult. is an occasional, responsible coke user ok? where do you draw the line ?



well it really depends how you define "ok". I'm a pretty regular pot user and I'll occasionaly use cocaine/ecstasy or lsd/mushrooms but never to the point that using any of those substances negatively affect my family, social or academic life. hell, I wrote some of my best undergraduate papers high on all sorts of shit, so I think the _kind _of user needs to be taken into consideration when evaluating just how dangerous they are. though I think what we think of when drug use is "okay" is when its socially acceptable. maybe doing blow used to be socially acceptable in the 80s party circuit, but I'm sure it'd be very difficult to have a "normal" life (wife,2.5 kids) and be an occasional cocaine user and honestly, I'm sure those people probably have enough things to worry about in life than to deal with a coke habit too.
that said, in my late teens I abused alot of pharmaceuticals with blow/e and all that and it was pretty hard to get out of all that and re-focus my life. and for me, there lies the biggest problem, that pharmaceutical drugs are the most used/abused drugs and they're the most legitimized form of drug use.


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## jymellis (Jun 16, 2011)

Mexi said:


> that pharmaceutical drugs are the most used/abused drugs and they're the most legitimized form of drug use.


 
and those are the ones i make for a career


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## jymellis (Jun 17, 2011)

just so everyone knows /\ i wasnt kidding  i make pharmaceuticals for a living (professionally and legally


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## Overtone (Jun 17, 2011)

You gonna hook us up or what?


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## Treeunit212 (Jun 18, 2011)

Overtone said:


> You gonna hook us up or what?



Yeah man, what gives? I got tests to study for. GIMME DAT RIDDELIN!!!!!


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## scottro202 (Jun 23, 2011)

jymellis said:


> thats where it gets difficult. is an occasional, responsible coke user ok? where do you *draw the line* ?


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## Sephael (Jun 23, 2011)

So the Global Commission on Drug Policy has urged for the legalization of cannabis, stating that doing so will not only reduce crime but also reduce usage rates.

Also Connecticut has recently decriminalized weed.


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## highlordmugfug (Jun 23, 2011)

*HR 2306: Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011*



Members Of Congress Introduce First Federal Measure Since 1937 To Legalize The Adult Use Of Marijuana


*House lawmakers introduced legislation in Congress today to end the federal criminalization of the personal use of marijuana.* The bipartisan measure, HR 2306 &#8211; entitled the *&#8216;Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011&#8217; *and sponsored by Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank and Texas Republican Ron Paul along with Reps. Cohen (D-TN), Conyers (D-MI), Polis (D-CO), and Lee (D-CA) &#8211; prohibits the federal government from prosecuting adults who use or possess marijuana by removing the plant and its primary psychoactive constituent, THC, from the five schedules of the United States Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Under present law, all varieties of the marijuana plant are defined as illicit Schedule I controlled substances, defined as possessing &#8216;a high potential for abuse,&#8217; and &#8216;no currently accepted medical use in treatment.&#8217;
The &#8216;Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act&#8217; seeks to federally deregulate the personal possession and use of marijuana by adults.* It marks the first time that members of Congress have introduced legislation to eliminate the federal criminalization of marijuana since the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.*
Language in this Act mimics changes enacted by Congress to repeal the federal prohibition of alcohol. Passage of this measure would remove the existing conflict between federal law and the laws of those sixteen states that allow for the limited use of marijuana under a physicians&#8217; supervision. It would also allow state governments that wish to fully legalize and regulate the responsible use, possession, production, and intrastate distribution of marijuana for all adults to be free to do so without federal interference. (To date, lawmakers in six states have introduced legislation to legalize and regulate the adult use of cannabis, and separate statewide initiative measures are planned for 2012 in several additional states.)
Speaking in support of the measure, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said, &#8220;The federal criminalization of marijuana has failed to reduce the public&#8217;s demand or access to cannabis, and it has imposed enormous fiscal and human costs upon the American people. *It is time to end this failed public policy and to provide state governments with the freedom to enact alternative strategies &#8212; such as medicalization, decriminalization, and/or legalization &#8212; without running afoul of the federal law or the whims of the Department of Justice.&#8221; *
NORML, along with representatives from the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), and the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), worked closely with members of Congress in drafting the measure.


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## Blake1970 (Jun 23, 2011)

*Ron Paul, Barney Frank to jointly offer bill to end war on weed*



Ron Paul, Barney Frank to jointly offer bill to end war on weed - latimes.com


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