Drug War casualties?

Our prisons are over flowing with people who are non-violent offenders. Pedophiles are given slaps on the wrist for sexually abusing children and teens. Murderers and rapists walk after serving only months of their sentence.

Ive read that the prison industry is one of the largest if not the largest industry in the US. Having sat in court rooms and seen how many people are involved with system, I can belive it. It is amazing how many people were in there for simple marijuana posession or posession of paraphanelia.

Considering how many tax dollars are chewed up by the courts, police, and prisons, how many peoples lives and families are damaged and destroyed, we can see the casualties are already very high. Just because someone else doesnt like the idea of another smoking pot or using any other recreational drug in their own homes.

Though the casualties are high they are all (almost) one sided. The general populace pays for the mess this drug war has caused. The people pay for the bloated police forces raiding clinics and kicking in peoples doors at night. The people pay by having their neighborhoods rot away by criminal elements thriving on the black market. The people pay by having the courts and law corrupted and made into a mockery of justice.

What if the tides turned. What if enough marijuana users were to get angry enough and assult the officer trying to harrass them for posession of a plant. What if pot smokers were to firebomb and target judges and local politicans and business leaders with violence? What if the cycle of violence as seen in the times of alcohol prohibition were to be displayed again today?

How many police, public servants, or business would have to be killed or destroyed before everyone screams enough is enough?

When the federal government steps in and shuts down and arrests doctors at a clinic for legally distributing marijuana to patients, or when the State sends paramilitary police into your home to arrest you for altering your consciousness, what options do we have left?

My friend, you make some very great points. I am totally with you on this, but I do have say this...

If "users" decided to take matters into their own hands, and use violence, you know what would happen...the government would now use these violent acts as even more reason to crack down on users, and tighten its strangle hold on our rights. The "drug war" right now is B.S. I mean think about it, if the government really wanted to stop all drugs from entering the country, dont you think they could search EVERY car, truck, train, plane, boat that enters the U.S.? It may sound like a lot, but if they have the resources to invade, occupy and bomb multiple countries at the same time, I'm sure they could find the manpower for such searches. But without all the drug busts, court costs and fines, the legal system would be missing out on huge amounts of revenue. Its kind of like the tobacco industry...its been proven that tobacco leads to disease and illness, so from a moral standpoint, shouldn't it be banned? Shouldnt the government be looking out for the health and well being of its citizens? Not when there is huge revenue at stake. Sorry, but the government cares more about $$$ then it does its citizens.

Originally posted by dno117
My friend, you make some very great points. I am totally with you on this, but I do have say this...

If "users" decided to take matters into their own hands, and use violence, you know what would happen...the government would now use these violent acts as even more reason to crack down on users, and tighten its strangle hold on our rights. The "drug war" right now is B.S. I mean think about it, if the government really wanted to stop all drugs from entering the country, dont you think they could search EVERY car, truck, train, plane, boat that enters the U.S.? It may sound like a lot, but if they have the resources to invade, occupy and bomb multiple countries at the same time, I'm sure they could find the manpower for such searches. But without all the drug busts, court costs and fines, the legal system would be missing out on huge amounts of revenue. Its kind of like the tobacco industry...its been proven that tobacco leads to disease and illness, so from a moral standpoint, shouldn't it be banned? Shouldnt the government be looking out for the health and well being of its citizens? Not when there is huge revenue at stake. Sorry, but the government cares more about $$$ then it does its citizens.

I have to agree with the bulk of the post by dno117. Citizens should not take violent action, cause it would just be used against them, but from what I have been reading and now understand it has gone too far. Too many innocent people are in jail, or being turned into lifelong slave informants.

I was recently lucky enough to find a website called www.novemeber.org and they really opened my eyes to this war on drugs. Also with my research into snitch culture, I realise they don't really care or they would not be letting criminals run loose to sell drug and protecting them under these informant programs.

The war has gone too far, but it really does not take violent action to get change, people really just have to wake up, find their moral centers and realise this is just another unjust war, and this one is costing more and doing more harm than good.

After reading some of the stories on November.org I realise that changes will have to be made. There are 2 milion Americans in jail, 55% for drugs, some serving life?

november.org...

I was so shocked and appauled by reading some of the stories of the woman. If you read some of these stories, I think you will see that this war has gone too far. They need to fix the maximum minimum for these things.

Also though I am against the legalisation of marijuana, I think they should consider decriminalising it. Too many people are getting hurt. I really did not know how wrong this whole thing was till recently. These websites have really opened my eyes to what's going on.

[edit on 4-9-2006 by Harassment101]

The war on drugs has taken a toll on our nation and it didn't just begin with Ronald Reagan, but the real tragedy is the pervasiveness of drug abuse in America. It is really tearing our nation apart. There are no easy answers, but my advice is to stay the hell away from drugs and the people who do them.