The benefits of exiting the War on Drugs are many:

• Without the high prices of illegality drug lords the world over would be out of a job — a simple supply and demand situation.

• It would cost taxpayers far less to fund educational and treatment plans than is now costing to try (unsuccessfully) to ban drugs.

• A clean drug availability would eliminate deaths from adulterated products.
• The immense cost of imprisonment would be lowered drastically.

• If coupled with punishment of employers of illegal aliens, there would be no more need to discuss fencing the border.

The downside:

• Politicians would find something else to ban.

Laws to suppress tend to strengthen what they would prohibit. This is the fine point on which all the legal professions of history have based their job security.

whoever thinks that locking up people into a small, encolsed space would reform criminals must be high...many times, committing a small petty illegal act will cause a person to go to prison...that same unfortunate person is often released worse habits posing a greater danger to themselves & society...i am not advocating the elimination of a justice system, but it is evident the current one in place in our nation is failing at best...by reforming our drug laws, we would be taking a step in the right direction

JOKE ARGUMENT AND QUESTIONS .

everybody except known nincompoops like *** knows that this is the answer.

Some of the Bush Family Income still comes from the TRADE, so no way is it going to be abolished.

Last I saw JEB was still ensconced; or ENSKUNKED , in Florida, so the Income is surely still INCOMING .

There is always talk about cutting off the demand, but the big money for the mainline drug producers/distributors does not come from street buyers, it comes from the cloaked investors who are upstanding (?) citizens just making a quick profit.  These are the real criminals and the small-time, non-violent users are just grist for their mills.  How do we let such tragedies endure?

The self-righteous will always seek to impose their views on everyone else. Can you blame them? If they are self-righteous, they must be correct, right? How can any decent person have a differing opinion? If there is a position that is oppositional, then it must be of a contradictional nature, and therefore, dismissive. There is no room for alternative positions. Inflexibility is the key to progressive thought, right? Do as we say, or else you should be killed. People have to be told how to live their lives, or else, jeez, they might like living or something. And we can’t have that. The ‘rapture’ is beyond our control, after all. We all know that drugs are the devil’s enticement. There are no alternatives to this spiral. Close that sphincter as tight as you can, or else, fun might occur.

I think that very few people would disagree that most drugs have a negative impact on society.  What I think needs to change is the reaction to them.  Putting drug addicts in prison doesn’t help anyone, and most especially doesn’t help the addict.  It only stigmatizes them for life, preventing them from being able to find a good job, eliminating financial aid for school, etc.

LEAP into a better world !

Let’s concentrate on the War in Iraq and lessen the war on drugs.  Laws should be inforced when a person drives under the influence of any kind of drug albiet marjuana or alcohol.  An addict needs support and encouragement for a sober life in society. Prison does not assist in a drug free life.

The prison guards Unions very powerful, lotsa votes, so they LIKE crazy laws. And politicians are scared of them....

VERY few accidents due to marijuana I believe, but have lost the french research on it .

read the LEAP site and weep.

criminal penalties for users and small time dealers don’t work; there’s a consensus here about that. however, even legal drugs can be abused, and adulteration would continue if dealers convinced users that there is “better” stuff than what’s legal. there would still have to be regulation, like for prescription drugs.

Is anyone suggesting marijuana or cocaine be “over the counter” or just available on the streee without any safety checks?

HI knocker

First idea OTC for me. but open to debate

Any transition needs a helluva lot of thinking through.
If , WHEN you find the good research on it wd like to know.

my firstthoughts on changing the law are oppo from prisonguards Unions, and the very well-connected Private Prison Corps.

Both have huge muscle.

For fun i recommend a google of “hemp” it is a truly fascinating story ...

more info at this story

Expect that the government will eventually decriminalize possession. There has to be a bigger market for all that Afganistan heroin that has resumed production - 87% of the world’s supply - now that the War/Drug Lords are back in control of that Narco State.

The war on drugs is actually a sort of addiction in and of itself to violence, and mindless punishment as a solution to all problems.

No matter what the drug may be, proper education on how to use it safely, and easy access under medical supervision (paid for by taxes on those drugs if they were legally available) would solve the problems of drug abuse far better than this extremely destructive war on drugs.

The war on drugs has solved nothing, made the problem worse in every way. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING GOOD has come from the war on drugs.

To say the drugs are the problem is oxymoronic, because the problems associated with drugs are a product of the war on drugs.

The “INDIVIDUAL/SOCIATAL” problems due to drug abuse have NEVER been approached as that. This country has NEVER ever provided a social structure that incorporates treatment and management of drug use as a solution to the ills associated with drug abuse. Therefore to say its impossible to do so is idiotic.