Now that the election is over, I for one have been enjoying the fact that I have been able to spend time on actual issues. I have been calling my reps about various things like Universal Health Care (I'll be joining the national call-in in support of HR 676 on 2/12), prosecuting bush Administration criminality, ending the rudderless wars, etc.
One issue that really gets under my skin though is the 40 year 'War on Drugs' (tm) I believe the American people are far ahead of their elected leaders in Washington (and in their states for that matter) on the issue of drug use, legalization, etc. and I think it's time for all people of good will to get on the goddamn horn to demand that their representatives stop throwing good money after bad in their quest to 'win' the endless 'war on drugs'.
I just read over at the Wall Street Journal (head on over and comment!) that 3 former Latin American heads of state have blasted the U.S.-led drug war as a failure that is 'pushing Latin American societies to the breaking point.'
From the article:
The commission, headed by Mr. Cardoso and former presidents Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico and César Gaviria of Colombia, says Latin American governments as well as the U.S. must break what they say is a policy "taboo" and re-examine U.S.-inspired anti-drugs efforts. The panel recommends that governments consider measures including decriminalizing the use of marijuana.
I agree we need to re-examine our anti-drug efforts (as in end them), but what's the fetish everyone seems to have with 'decriminalization'? Decriminalization, as far as I understand it, doesn't allow governments to tax/regulate it. Nor would it, in any proposal I have heard to date, 'decriminalize' the movement of large quantities of drugs; in other words, drug cartels would continue to fight over the distribution of large quantities of drugs. Everyone needs to stop half-stepping and just LEGALIZE drugs outright. All of them. They're too dangerous to be left in the hands of criminals.
More from the article:
The report, by the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy, is the latest to question the U.S.'s emphasis on punitive measures to deal with illegal drug use and the criminal violence that accompanies it. A recent Brookings Institution study concluded that despite interdiction and eradication efforts, the world's governments haven't been able to significantly decrease the supply of drugs, while punitive methods haven't succeeded in lowering drug use.
John Walters, former director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said, "It's not true that we've lost or can't do anything about the drug problem," and cited security improvements in Colombia.
What is it with drug warriors and Colombia, anyway? I'm no expert on the situation in Colombia, but it doesn't exactly sound like a thriving showcase of human rights. Is it better off than it was 25 years ago? My knowledge is almost entirely annecdotal, but it sounds a lot more militarized (like the US) to me.
The report warned that the U.S. style anti-drug strategy was putting the region's fragile democratic institutions at risk and corrupting "judicial systems, governments, the political system and especially the police forces."
The report comes as drug violence is engulfing Mexico, which has become the key transit point for cocaine traffic to the U.S. Decapitation of rival drug traffickers has become common as cartels try to intimidate one another.
I have an idea... let's take the money right out of the cartels' hands by legalizing/regulating/taxing drugs just like we do cigarettes & (occasionally violence-inducing) alcohol? Would opponents of legalization rather that there be violence in the streets and people poisoning themselves with homemade drugs?
The article, of course, includes the standard assertion that we're 'winning' by senior US anti-drug officials, who apparently had enough time to unattach himself from his government money-teat long enough to say this:
U.S. law-enforcement officials -- as well as some of their counterparts in Mexico -- say that the explosion in violence indicates progress in the war on drugs as organizations under pressure are clashing.
"If the drug effort were failing there would be no violence," a senior U.S. official said Wednesday. There is violence "because these guys are flailing. We're taking these guys out. The worst thing you could do is stop now."
Thanks for the viewpoint from upside-down world Mr. Senior US official! I'm no Senior US official (or even a Mexican law enforcement official), but it seems to me if we were winning violence would be going down, not up. I suppose what he's saying is that we will have finally 'won' when everyone is dead. Talk about a Pyhrric victory! This guy sounds like bush himself. I guess what this the Senior US official is saying is that we should give the war hundreds of billions of more dollars, imprison even more people and continue to trash the constitution for some unspecified period (80 more Friedman units?) so that we can really win this thing! The dude arrested for possession in your community today? That could be the final arrest that wins this war! Or maybe not:
Latin American governments have largely followed U.S. advice in trying to stop the flow of drugs from the point of origin. But the policy has had little effect.
Even in Colombia, usually held up as an example in the drugs war, billions of dollars in U.S. aid have helped the Colombian military regain control of much of the country from the hands of drug-financed communist guerrillas and lower crime, but the help hasn't dented the amount of drugs flowing from Colombia or the amount of land under cultivation for cocaine or marijuana.
No shit, Sherlock. In the conference call, the members of the panel suggested that Latin America should adapt a more European approach, based on treating drug addiction as a health problem.
As we enter George bush's Greater, er, Greatest Depression, and our government finances deteriorate, does it not make sense to start ending programs that have almost nothing to show for themselves after 2 generations of effort? We should not waste another dime on this so-called war. We should take the money out of the drug cartels' hands and put it into our own treasury thru complete legalization.
Will any Democrats have the balls to be accused of being a 'pot smoking hippy' by their supposedly 'small government' Republican colleagues? Will any Republicans not named Ron Paul EVER stand up for actual freedom and common sense?
If you think this is important, start getting involved! Here are some links you might find useful (please feel free to add more in the comments):
Marijuna Policy Project
NORML
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
A motherlode of links that I found at Common Sense for Drug Policy
Contact your US House member here
Contact your US Senator here (the site doesn't seem to be up right now)