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If There's No "War on Drugs" Anymore, Then What's the Helicopter For?

Submitted by smorgan on
If the new drug czar wants us to stop thinking of our drug policy as a "war on drugs" maybe he should tell police to stop trying to impress school children with their noisy war machines:

The students at the High Point Elementary & Adolescent Schools were greeted two special visitors who landed an Army National Guard helicopter on the school's baseball field in May.
…
Once the dust had settled and the rotor had stopped spinning, students were invited to get an up close look at the Kiowa, which is equipped with counter drug equipment for surveillance and heat sensing. Officer Chiaco explained that observation helicopters like these help fight the war on drugs by assisting the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and local police departments with counter drug operations. [Ashbury Park Press]

See, this is why the drug czar's new plan to pretend there's no war on drugs is destined to fail. People who hate the drug war will find no shortage of examples of gratuitous militarized drug war excesses to point towards. And the drug soldiers themselves will always bask gleefully in the perceived glory of their epic crusade.

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