History Channel starts war on drug series.

Chuck Grassley, a Republican senator from Iowa, is known on twitter for expressing his yearning for the History Channel to finally show some history. Here are two of his many tweets on this subject:

The good news for Grassley, and for everyone else, is that starting Sunday night and running through Wednesday the History Channel is showing a new four-part series called “America’s War on Drugs.” Not only is it an important contribution to recent American history, it’s also the first time U.S. television has ever told the core truth about one of the most important issues of the past fifty years.

That core truth is: The war on drugs has always been a pointless sham. For decades the federal government has engaged in a shifting series of alliances of convenience with some of the world’s largest drug cartels. So while the U.S. incarceration rate has quintupled since President Richard Nixon first declared the war on drugs in 1971, top narcotics dealers have simultaneously enjoyed protection at the highest levels of power in America.

Cut the partisan social engineering out of your mind for a second, and if you're a Republican, realize that is large government spending. That spending has not proven any results, and in most cases sends non violent weed offenders to prison on our dime.

As a Democrat realize this money is taking away from social programs (the only two I care about is education and health care reform).

Either way, society suffers. Billions of dollars spent a year for a system many on this site realize perpetuates the cycle and enriches a few.

The biggest point however is the subject of war. The US spends more than the next ten countries combined on the military to project "freedom".

I doubt the "history Channel" will delve deeply onto the matter, but sadly in our society we must at least acknowledge this "reality" TV network is going back to what their brand implies.



The Intercept

a reply to: CriticalStinker

That's cute, the history channel wants to take credit for something that AlJazeera America & Vice News have been doing for years.

Also, Gary Webb was suicided for reporting the same truth that the history channel is now taking credit for.

That being said, I'll still give it a watch. It will be a break from all the Ancient Aliens reruns.

a reply to: ColdWisdom

I can't argue with anything you've said.

Unfortunately, I celebrate mainstream society for casting a glimpse of what many have known.

I don't this is a milestone, but merely something to bring up.

Many Americans reject the notion we have fat more to address internally than externally.

That would ruin the superiority complex.

Hash tag high society.

People still use payed chennel these days?

originally posted by: Pandaram
People still use payed chennel these days?

Most, unfortunately.

a reply to: CriticalStinker
Bout time. But, that article is wrong, the war on drugs did exactly what it set out to. Create a system where the CIA create a monopoly with inflated profits to fund their black budget, with the nice side effect that it keeps the private prison system afloat.

War on drugs, great for profits, like all wars

a reply to: CriticalStinker

The plan would have worked if wasn't for them damned meddling aliens!

a reply to: CriticalStinker

For decades the federal government has engaged in a shifting series of alliances of convenience with some of the world’s largest drug cartels. So while the U.S. incarceration rate has quintupled since President Richard Nixon first declared the war on drugs in 1971, top narcotics dealers have simultaneously enjoyed protection at the highest levels of power in America.

The war on drugs, like the war on terror, poverty, crime, gangs, ad infinitum... is fake.
its a war for terror, poverty, crime, gangs, and oh yah... drugs.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

We knew while hippies in 67 Summer of Love as we lived, loved and marched against the war in 'Nam.
It was the GOVERNMENT supplying or looking the other way regarding drugs in general.

The government and general consensus back then was to keep 1/2 of people mellow and that will keep the protesting and b--chin' to a minimum.

The whole History Channel series will be an eye opener for many who never knew the facts....

a reply to: mysterioustranger

I'm 67 and this how I remember the war on drugs starting. Nixon started a campaign against drugs because he linked marijuana with anti war protestors. It was a campaign slogan or mental maneuver. Arrests increased and more had to go underground to smoke weed. Damn hippies, public enemy number one. About the government supplying drugs, I don't know, but just say no.

If youd like to know more, read, 'Bad Trip' by Joel Miller.
EXCELLENT dive into this countries hypocritical, deceitful practices.

I'd like to see Congress address this issue and resolve all of this madness this session.

Including a type of "amnesty law" that provides a route of relief for past drug offenders to get released from prison early.

Maybe even a law that prohibits or severely restricts the govt ability to conduct raids over drugs or to pose as dealers/buyers and entrap people.

Oh and a prohibition on civil forfeiture when they only have money and nothing illegal too!

Stuff like this is needed.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially declared that prescription drug abuse [1] in the United States is an epidemic

claad.org...

Who on Ceres cares anyway. Get your Soma in this War on Everything, the profits are awesome!

The war on drugs was started as a way to smear anti-war protestors.

It's no wonder who so many "conservatives," vehemently oppose cannabis legalization.

originally posted by: RomeByFire
The war on drugs was started as a way to smear anti-war protestors.

among other things...

a reply to: CriticalStinker

It is excellent to see this on the History Channel. It will reach a massive audience and probably go viral.

It appears that someone is deciding to put the seeds into the minds of the masses that will bring an end to the drug war.

Really it is a generational thing, those with the mindset that non-violent drug offenders deserve drugs are dying off. We have countries like Portugal who give a an idea of what ending the drug war will look like.

You hit the nail on the head by calling for the funding of Education and Healthcare with the money being used to lock people up and perpetuate the conditions of the illegal trade.

originally posted by: odzeandennz

originally posted by: RomeByFire
The war on drugs was started as a way to smear anti-war protestors.

among other things...

Basically a show of force by the federal government saying "you want drugs? You can't have 'em! Unless they are our drugs, like alcohol, tobacco, and prescription narcotics!"

A giant middle finger and "# you," to the American populace regarding our ever-eroding freedoms.

The war on drugs is a war on people. Ending it shouldn't be a partisan issue, it's pragmatism.

Only when people let go of the false idea that punishing people for drug offenses helps the person or society in some way, will we start to see a change.

Then, we can move forward and start actually changing this country for the better.

originally posted by: RomeByFire
The war on drugs was started as a way to smear anti-war protestors.

It's no wonder who so many "conservatives," vehemently oppose cannabis legalization.

how many do you suppose there are on this site? I sure haven't seen many. Why do so many "liberals" say things that aren't true just to get approval from others?

a reply to: CriticalStinker

I have said for years that the "war on drugs" was in reality a cover name for the war on competitors in the drug trade.
How many "users" have been put into jail as compared to high level sellers?