The Drug War is Basically an Employment Program for Criminals
One of the least impressive arguments you’ll ever here from drug war supporters is that we have to keep drugs illegal otherwise all the drug offenders will move on to other more horrible types of crime. Check out how LEAP’s Howard Wooldridge rips it apart in a Wall Street Journal LTE:
It’s really just that simple. People like to sell drugs because it’s ridiculously easy and profitable, not because they’re all born criminals. I can’t say for sure what all of them will do if we regulate them out of business, but I can tell you what they won’t do: sell drugs on the street to anyone with a $5 bill. And that’s the point.
We’re the only people entering this discussion with a plan to actually stop people from selling drugs on the sidewalk in our communities. Our plan may not be perfect, but the alternative is a proven disaster.
I learned something about how drug prohibition generates crime during my 18 years of police service. Eighty percent of my property-crime case load was caused by addicts needing money to pay sky-high prices for crack, etc. Legal crack would cost an addict about a dollar per day, as would heroin and amphetamines.
Ronald Shafer (Letters, Dec. 30) worries about what drug dealers would do without their prohibition-generated jobs. The one million teens who sell drugs would begin flipping burgers and mowing yards. Serious thugs will rob banks where we will capture or kill them. Or was Mr. Shafer suggesting to continue prohibition as a jobs program for bad guys?
It’s really just that simple. People like to sell drugs because it’s ridiculously easy and profitable, not because they’re all born criminals. I can’t say for sure what all of them will do if we regulate them out of business, but I can tell you what they won’t do: sell drugs on the street to anyone with a $5 bill. And that’s the point.
We’re the only people entering this discussion with a plan to actually stop people from selling drugs on the sidewalk in our communities. Our plan may not be perfect, but the alternative is a proven disaster.
Looking for the easiest way to join the anti-drug war movement? You've found it!
CNN's Lou Dobbs: The poster boy for Prohibition
William Aiken
No other TV commenator with a national platform has done more reporting on the Drug War in Mexico. Each night Dobbs goes into the gory details of the rising murder rate due to President Calderon's decision to declare war on the Cartels. The stories reflect the unintended consequences and one failure of drug policy after another, however, Dobbs determinely sticks to the motto that we need is more of the same old, tired, get-tough tactics.
But Dobbs's criticism of those who even suggest a discussion of legalization reached a new high for stupidity on his show last night.
DOBBS: You know, people are getting a little too cute by half, sitting there talking about whether or not there should be a continuation of the war on drugs. Obviously, the members of that council really should have -- they should have their brains carefully checked, as well as their hearts. I mean, to tolerate what has been a failure to secure that border and to permit Mexico to remain the principal source of methamphetamines, heroin, cocaine and marijuana into this country, and then have some local yokel sitting there talking about, well, should we really think about trying to stop this while we've got a bunch of national yokels in Washington, D.C. who refuse to look honestly at this administration and respond honestly and responsibly for the benefit, the welfare, the safety, of the American public. It's extraordinary. Legalize drugs and end the war, that was the intimation on the part of the city councilman, against drugs -- that sounds like utter cowardice, and fear.
WIAN: And the mayor who vetoed that resolution says it doesn't have a chance of passing.
DOBBS: He's got to be a little embarrassed that he has a council that would even think and act that way. Congratulations to the mayor for having political courage. Extraordinary. Thank you very much, appreciate it, Casey Wian.
Dobbs has it backwards when it comes to political courage. The Mayor caved into the pressure of old school thinking that legalization equals political suicide. Dobbs had LEAP on his show and dismissed them as idiots. He needs to hear the fallacies of his position from all of us who oppose the drug war. You can send him your thoughts at
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?9
CNN Corporation
And it is a corporation who's pretty much a mouthpiece for the govt/Bush/fill-in-the-blank. CNN was the ONLY media corporation who was invited to GWB's "meeting" where he talked about how successful the drug war is and how drug use among teens is down 25%. And it was Lou Dobbs who got the story back when it first became public.
Pay someone enough and they'll say anything. Journalistic integrity has become secondary to profit,and what we used to know as news/perspective has become a dog and pony show.
Joe The Plumber has morphed into Joe The War Correspondent, a CNN correspondent has morphed into our new Surgeon General.John King is a guest on the Daily Show admitting that they helped get Obama elected and that he's the beginning of The New World Order.
Given all this I'm not at all surprised by Dobbs',but maybe,just maybe,behind the slick hair and Armani suit,some of these celebrities/journalists still retain a modicum of self. Maybe there's still a part of them that remembers and remains true to why they became journalists in the first place, and the least we can do is attempt to appeal to that.
That's why we should not give drug users criminal records
Guess what people choose to do when they have have connections to drug dealers and doors to legal employment are slammed shut because of a criminal record for marijuana possession?
The number of people selling drugs annually has skyrocketed over 300% during the past 15 years. That's what the drug warriors call deterrence!
Marijuana, Inc.
"Marijuana, Inc." a one hour documentary will be aired on CNBC this month. It will be January 22nd and 25th, at 9:00 AM and 1:00 AM (EST). Meanwhile, it would be nice for all the marijuana friends getting this to go to the You Tube video and leave a positive comment on this subject, which you can do by going to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUQOQyNx-rU – that is of course – if you have something positive to say.
Send this to everyone on your email list for them to add their positive comments on this subject also.
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