NEWS: War on Drugs (America) still ongoing

The latest report from Drug Strategies spells out that the American war on drugs is a resounding failure. Hundreds of police chiefs were interviewed by Drug Strategies and Police Foundation for the report. The majority of Police Chiefs also state that drug problems are at the top of the list (#1) in their communities. For decades, Americans have been bombarded with advertisements and political posturing regarding 'the war on drugs,' yet billions of dollars and thousands of ruined lives later, the war is larger with no end in sight.



The majority of Police Chiefs also state that drug problems are at the top of the list (#1) in their communities.

Current through 1998 a graphical view of the American drug war budget.

Under both Republican and Democratic administrations, the need for more vigorous efforts to combat drugs has been a central theme. However, for two decades,the direction of these efforts has not changed. Enforcement, interdiction and overseas programs to cut off foreign drug supplies continue to dominate spending, accounting for two-thirds of the Federal drug budget.

Where are things now?

With Fuzzy Math
Using new accounting procedures, this year�s White House Drug Strategy, released February 12, [2003] for the first time ever conceals billions of dollars spent on incarcerating drug offenders and certain law enforcement efforts by excluding these categories from the budget and including inflated expenditures on treatment services.

Operative word is conceals

Fast forward to the present- 2004 est. drug war budget-
Some groups claim up to $50 billion! Some people forget the monies paid by the states.
Some even have the audacity to claim the war on drugs is a sham..

How many billions of dollars go in to this sump before something is done to fix the program? America has the highest percentage of people in prison in the world. Is there hope for a free society? While the prison population is staggering growth seems to have slowed down a little.(USA Today)

Both pro-prisoner and pro-law enforcement groups say the growth in federal prisoners is the result of the Bush administration's policy of aggressively enforcing federal drug laws.

'Aggressively enforcing laws' that imprison and do not work!


Related News Links:
usgovinfo.about.com
www.signonsandiego.com
www.bop.gov


[edit on 5-12-2004 by Banshee]

I'd have to say the war on drugs is even dumber than the prohibition was.
When will we ever learn?why do certain people feel it necessary to control other people?all in the name of "morailty".
Keeping drugs illegal is the cause of the drug problem,their illegality is what makes them such a lucrative business.How much coc aine and heroine do you think we would have on our city streets if it was essentially worthless?not much.Crime lords wouldnt bother with it.they would spend their time and money on something with a return.casue we all know how much the underground cough medicine cartel makes.
What pisses me off even more is that our prisons are full.....FULL of small time drug offenders getting a first class education on being a real criminal,lockin up pot smokers with rapist and murderers............?
I dont think the war on drugs is even about drugs,its about big governments controll over it's "subjects" .
Power and Controll.plain and simple.

Our "leaders" are too brain dead to understand your point. Government is about power, control, money, and maintaining your cushy position. Common sense and intelligence don't factor into the equation. When is the last time you heard a politician speak anywhere near as intelligently on this subject as you have in your post?

We are the government... the people are supposed to control the government not the other way around.. its supposed to be a tool, .... right now we've turned the tool against ourselves and we're awling ourselves to death

The war on drugs is supposed to never end.. thats the point.. a never ending supply of money.... the war on terrorism is also a farce, its just a ploy like christmas to get your money... Terrorists are born everyday, if you take away the problem you have the solution... take away the oppressors....

[edit on 5/12/04 by dnero6911]

Originally posted by dnero6911
We are the government... the people are supposed to control the government not the other way around.. its supposed to be a tool, .... right now we've turned the tool against ourselves and we're awling ourselves to death

The war on drugs is supposed to never end.. thats the point.. a never ending supply of money.... the war on terrorism is also a farce, its just a ploy like christmas to get your money... Terrorists are born everyday, if you take away the problem you have the solution... take away the oppressors....

[edit on 5/12/04 by dnero6911]

This is what happens when you elect people based on false "morals" and then give said people the ability to tax and spend your money without transparence.you would imagine that the general population would demand results for their cash.and locking people up using draconian laws isnt the fix.

America is a nation at war. Within our own borders, we the people of the United States are fighting the following wars:

The War On Cancer
The War On Crime
The War On Deficit Spending
The War On Domestic Abuse
The War On Drugs
The War On Drunk Driving
The War On Gang Violence
The War On Global Warming
The War On Graffiti
The War On Heart Disease
The War On Homelessness
The War On Hunger
The War On Illegal Immigration
The War On Illiteracy
The War On Intolerance
The War On Medicare Fraud
The War On Obesity
The War On Political Divisiveness
The War On Pollution
The War On Poverty
The War On Racial Discrimination
The War On Road Rage
The War On Sexual Harassment
The War On Smoking
The War On Terror
The War On The Medfly
The War On Unemployment
The War On Violence

And that's a very incomplete list.

So when will America finally win the War On Drugs? Maybe after we win the War On Bovine Spongiform Encephaly, or perhaps the War On Turnstyle-Jumpers.

Now let's get out there, my fellow Americans, There's A War On!

we the people of the United States are fighting the following wars: * * *

Let's start a new one: a war on dishonest and corrupt politicians and government minions who use their positions to advance selfish personal agendas through lies, half-truths, and disinformation, all the expense of the average American in terms of both money and their very lives!

A drugs war is a war that willnever be one. All down to the fact that people will always want and seek out these drugs. The only way to reduce criminal activities is to legalise it, there is no other choice. Take the power away from the drug lords/barons and street dealers.

I realise that you will still find people robbing to get money for their next hit of crack, but this will happen whether it is legal to buy drugs or not.

Originally posted by Kriz_4
A drugs war is a war that willnever be one. All down to the fact that people will always want and seek out these drugs. The only way to reduce criminal activities is to legalise it, there is no other choice. Take the power away from the drug lords/barons and street dealers.

I realise that you will still find people robbing to get money for their next hit of crack, but this will happen whether it is legal to buy drugs or not.

yeah, but without over blown prices from an illegal market, plus with government regulation it would make the drugs much more safe, plus cheaper.