[Dialogue] Emailing: This Is The US On DrugsOnly cops and crooks have benefited from $2.5 trillion spent fighting trafficking. - CommonDreams.org.htm
Harry Wainwright
h-wainwright at charter.net
Sat Jul 5 16:45:41 EDT 2008
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Published on Saturday, July 5, 2008 by The Los Angeles Times
<http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-fleming5-2008jul05,0,3
205714.story>
This Is The US On Drugs
Only cops and crooks have benefited from $2.5 trillion spent fighting
trafficking.
by David W. Fleming and James P. Gray
The United States' so-called war on drugs brings to mind the old saying that
if you find yourself trapped in a deep hole, stop digging. Yet, last week,
the Senate approved an aid package to combat drug trafficking in Mexico and
Central America, with a record $400 million going to Mexico and $65 million
to Central America.
The United States has been spending $69 billion a year worldwide for the
last 40 years, for a total of $2.5 trillion, on drug prohibition - with
little to show for it. Is anyone actually benefiting from this war? Six
groups come to mind.
The first group are the drug lords in nations such as Colombia, Afghanistan
and Mexico, as well as those in the United States. They are making billions
of dollars every year - tax free.
The second group are the street gangs that infest many of our cities and
neighborhoods, whose main source of income is the sale of illegal drugs.
Third are those people in government who are paid well to fight the first
two groups. Their powers and bureaucratic fiefdoms grow larger with each tax
dollar spent to fund this massive program that has been proved not to work.
Fourth are the politicians who get elected and reelected by talking tough -
not smart, just tough - about drugs and crime. But the tougher we get in
prosecuting nonviolent drug crimes, the softer we get in the prosecution of
everything else because of the limited resources to fund the criminal
justice system.
The fifth group are people who make money from increased crime. They include
those who build prisons and those who staff them. The prison guards union is
one of the strongest lobbying groups in California today, and its ranks
continue to grow.
And last are the terrorist groups worldwide that are principally financed by
the sale of illegal drugs.
Who are the losers in this war? Literally everyone else, especially our
children.
Today, there are more drugs on our streets at cheaper prices than ever
before. There are more than 1.2 million people behind bars in the U.S., and
a large percentage of them for nonviolent drug usage. Under our failed drug
policy, it is easier for young people to obtain illegal drugs than a
six-pack of beer. Why? Because the sellers of illegal drugs don't ask kids
for IDs. As soon as we outlaw a substance, we abandon our ability to
regulate and control the marketing of that substance.
After we came to our senses and repealed alcohol prohibition, homicides
dropped by 60% and continued to decline until World War II. Today's murder
rates would likely again plummet if we ended drug prohibition.
So what is the answer? Start by removing criminal penalties for marijuana,
just as we did for alcohol. If we were to do this, according to state budget
figures, California alone would save more than $1 billion annually, which we
now spend in a futile effort to eradicate marijuana use and to jail
nonviolent users. Is it any wonder that marijuana has become the largest
cash crop in California?
We could generate billions of dollars by taxing the stuff, just as we do
with tobacco and alcohol.
We should also reclassify most Schedule I drugs (drugs that the federal
government alleges have no medicinal value, including marijuana and heroin)
as Schedule II drugs (which require a prescription), with the government
regulating their production, overseeing their potency, controlling their
distribution and allowing licensed professionals (physicians, psychiatrists,
psychologists, etc.) to prescribe them. This course of action would
acknowledge that medical issues, such as drug addiction, are best left under
the supervision of medical doctors instead of police officers.
The mission of the criminal justice system should always be to protect us
from one another and not from ourselves. That means that drug users who
drive a motor vehicle or commit other crimes while under the influence of
these drugs would continue to be held criminally responsible for their
actions, with strict penalties. But that said, the system should not be used
to protect us from ourselves.
Ending drug prohibition, taxing and regulating drugs and spending tax
dollars to treat addiction and dependency are the approaches that many of
the world's industrialized countries are taking. Those approaches are ones
that work.
David W. Fleming, a lawyer, is the chairman of the Los Angeles County
Business Federation and immediate past chairman of the Los Angeles Area
Chamber of Commerce. James P. Gray is a judge of the Orange County Superior
Court.
C 2008 The Los Angeles Times
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8 Comments so far
1.
Ullern July 5th, 2008 12:39 pm
Pot makes Peace.
2.
Mordechai Shiblikov July 5th, 2008 12:58 pm
"Pot makes Peace."
Hear, Hear! But for most Americans, the drugs of choice are Money
and Death.
3.
skippyagogo41 July 5th, 2008 1:33 pm
Can't say no to the valid points this article makes.
Best pot story;
I was in Amsterdam, totally buzzed on some excellent weed that I
bought and smoked in a nice cafe. Walking to one of the really excellent
museams that the city has I passed a group of schoolchildren. One of the
little anklebiters piped up and said that 'if it wasn't for his glasses you
couldn't see his eyes'. Long after they had gone their merry way I came up
with a nice comeback, 'thanks for speaking french, I wouldn't have
recognised you as such an arsehole as my eyes were closed.' Still glad I
didn't actually say that to the kids.
4.
Newday July 5th, 2008 1:57 pm
The largest group that this article fails to mention is the CIA. Do
you recall Iran-Contra? That $69Billion does nothing but provide seed money
for so many "black-op" projects.
It is in the interests of our current geo-political relationships to
keep drugs flowing. Not only does it provide a safe flow of cash for the
covert economy, but it reinforces the submission to the class structures
established here and abroad.
Our "security" community (CIA, NSA, FBI, HSA etc) learned so very
well from the Mafia Dons of yore. The drug game is just one example.
I await the day when our Country attempts to do what Al Pacino's
character promised in The Godfather; "One day our dealings will be 100%
legit."
5.
sparkemup July 5th, 2008 2:54 pm
Isn't the war on drugs really another campaign in the war on
freedom. The billions that "we" spend on this farce ends up financing the
oppression of citizens rights in this country and all over this planet. How
much energy is wasted struggling against the current of self destruction and
utter insanity so prominent in the human being addicted to fear and war.
Must be some kind of aikido thing that could apply to politics in regards to
dealing with opposing force that we're not seeing. This could be the big
change that we're looking for. If we don't truly believe that this is
possible, it isn't. PEACE TO US ALL.I'M NOT AFRAID TO INHALE.OR EXHALE
6.
Maplefudge July 5th, 2008 3:20 pm
Clearly with so many criminal organizations making money from
prohibition we have to suspect the motives of any policy maker who supports
the drug war in the face of its overwhelming failure. The fix is in folks.
7.
Turce July 5th, 2008 3:27 pm
o
8.
alexnosal July 5th, 2008 3:54 pm
The authors failed to mention the pharmaceutical companies that
profit from this. Not only from the sale of 'drug testing equipment' (a
billion dollar industry by itself) but from forcing people to buy THEIR
drugs instead of ILLEGAL drugs, the pharmaceutical companies lobby
government endlessly to keep up their pressure against the 'competition'.
Your third group. "those people in government who are paid well to fight the
first two groups" could have been expanded a bit more and pointed out the
direct connection between the MIC (military industrial complex) and the War
on Drugs. Everything from Black Hawk helicopters to M16's are donated to
criminal groups abroad completely subsidized by the US taxpayer. DyneCorp
and other mercenary groups then employ demented or morally absent
individuals to carry out their righteous war on completely innocent
strangers around the world.
With the power that these companies have over our elected officials, it
would seem that your logical solutions are a long shot at best. It would
take a real democracy, an open debate and an unbiased MSM to bring about
tangible changes in our failed drug policies.
Ain't goin' to happen in my lifetime!
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