US waves white flag in disastrous ‘war on drugs’

Hugh O’Shaughnessy
London Independent
January 18, 2010

After 40 years of defeat and failure, America’s “war on drugs” is being buried in the same fashion as it was born – amid bloodshed, confusion, corruption and scandal. US agents are being pulled from South America; Washington is putting its narcotics policy under review, and a newly confident region is no longer prepared to swallow its fatal Prohibition error. Indeed, after the expenditure of billions of dollars and the violent deaths of tens of thousands of people, a suitable epitaph for America’s longest “war” may well be the plan, in Bolivia, for every family to be given the right to grow coca in its own backyard.

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

The “war”, declared unilaterally throughout the world by Richard Nixon in 1969, is expiring as its strategists start discarding plans that have proved futile over four decades: they are preparing to withdraw their agents from narcotics battlefields from Colombia to Afghanistan and beginning to coach them in the art of trumpeting victory and melting away into anonymous defeat. Not surprisingly, the new strategy is being gingerly aired in the media of the US establishment, from The Wall Street Journal to the Miami Herald.

Prospects in the new decade are thus opening up for vast amounts of useless government expenditure being reassigned to the treatment of addicts instead of their capture and imprisonment. And, no less important, the ever-expanding balloon of corruption that the “war” has brought to heads of government, armies and police forces wherever it has been waged may slowly start to deflate.

Prepare to shed a tear over the loss of revenue that eventual decriminalisation of narcotics could bring to the traffickers, large and small, and to the contractors who have been making good money building and running the new prisons that help to bankrupt governments – in the US in particular, where drug offenders – principally small retailers and seldom the rich and important wholesalers – have helped to push the prison population to 1,600,000; their imprisonment is already straining federal and state budgets. In Mississippi, where drug offenders once had to serve 85 per cent of their sentences, they are now being required to serve less than a quarter. California has been ordered to release 40,000 inmates because its prisons are hugely overcrowded.

READ FULL ARTICLE

Comment Rules

130 Responses to “US waves white flag in disastrous ‘war on drugs’”

Toecutter Says:
January 21st, 2010 at 12:04 am
@ Ola.
It’s called liberty pecker. I/you/they own their body. They may do as they wish so long as they do not violate the rights and liberties of others. Maybe you would like to make everyone wear tan shoes and pink shoe laces. Or maybe that’s not what you want them to wear. Dont dictate to me. You pick it, freeman or subject.
Toecutter Says:
January 21st, 2010 at 12:55 am
Drugs will be illegal till the day those that operate the drug trade (the gov) can put in place a means of generating the same amounts of money through newly permitted legal outlets. Like treasury regulated pharmacies.

This has always been able to fix.

The war didnt need to carry on for 40 years (it’s not over). It could have been prevented by decriminalization of the substance. Yet the war was prosecuted to the enrichment of the all branches of government. Mostly the Judiciary, law enforcement and the private sector contractors (prisons). The monies were used to fund wars and black op’s globally, create slush funds, and increase the influence of those that promote a new world order.

Now that it’s over (yeah), the third world drug cash crop nations, may begin to prosper a bit from it after they recoup from the loss of funds from the war booty.

Yet here at home, we will still have an expanded police presence, and established admiralty court system, the worlds largest prison system, and a enhanced military presence.
blanka Says:
January 21st, 2010 at 4:14 am
ya were hooked on downers. up with hope down with dope
Chris ~ Says:
January 21st, 2010 at 5:41 am
Yes, in 1937 the government knew that paper demand would drop because of the creation of the internet, so they made hemp illegal.

I think you went straight from smoking pot to droping acid.
frederick m pearson Says:
January 21st, 2010 at 12:40 pm
The goverment of the US is not going to stop the war on drugs.The US goverment will loose most of their control of us if they did stop the war on drugs. Stoping drugs was never the purpose of the war on drugs but controling the citizen was.
Dstone Says:
January 23rd, 2010 at 12:43 am
The war on drugs will always be a colossal failure. People who are using cocaine (mostly) along with other hard drugs, are probably addicts. The drug “epidemic” is the same sort of problem as that of alcoholism. To be an addict means that NO repercussions or consequences will be enough to stop the addict from getting high. More dope on the street for cheaper prices have many benefits, the main for society being that if you HAVE to get high, it will be more affordable. That would mean less robberies, muggings, theft.

If society is to do anything about its drug problem, it must shift its priorities from punishment (look at the record, it isn’t having any effect anyways) to treatment.
Only coach handbags Says:
January 26th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
I bookmarked this guestbook., fake coach purses [url=http://blog.bakililar.az/fakecoachpurses/#1]fake coach purses[/url], ), replica coach purses here [url=http://blog.bakililar.az/replicacoachpurses/#1]replica coach purses here[/url], 2760, Best knock off designer purses [url=http://blog.bakililar.az/knockoffdesignerpurses/#1]Best knock off designer purses[/url], 7049, Real coach purses [url=http://blog.bakililar.az/coachpurses/#1]Real coach purses[/url], 4483, Only coach handbags [url=http://blog.bakililar.az/coachhandbags/#1]Only coach handbags[/url], lqzmtj,
fake coach purses Says:
January 28th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
comment3, indian reservation cigarettes information [url=http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/indian_reservation_cigarettes/#1]indian reservation cigarettes information[/url], 8[, Buy fake coach purses [url=http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/fake_coach_purses/#1]Buy fake coach purses[/url], >:OO, knock off designer purses discount [url=http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/knock_off_designer_purses/#1]knock off designer purses discount[/url], rwdvwo, cheap cigarettes [url=http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cheap_cigarettes/#1]cheap cigarettes[/url], ukskzk, knock off coach purses here [url=http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/knock_off_coach_purses/#1]knock off coach purses here[/url], =-((,
Pharmd31 Says:
January 28th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
Very nice site!
Pharmd939 Says:
January 28th, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Very nice site!
jiceajus Says:
January 31st, 2010 at 5:29 am
wynmSH cuvzeirljvas, [url=http://iehwwyppexbf.com/]iehwwyppexbf[/url], [link=http://zfojsxzrumpa.com/]zfojsxzrumpa[/link], http://ughundpuqwnv.com/
Buy carmen electra sex tape Says:
January 31st, 2010 at 11:13 am
comment5, http://www.ipetitions.com/peti....._sex_tape/ carmen electra sex tape price, :OO,
ray j sex tape discount Says:
January 31st, 2010 at 4:16 pm
comment6, ray j sex tape discount [url=http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ray_j_sex_tape/#1]ray j sex tape discount[/url], 4711,
lizlnlvwxik Says:
February 1st, 2010 at 11:50 am
sbS3l5 tgwxcgwzwaad, [url=http://tvcsrlqeckdp.com/]tvcsrlqeckdp[/url], [link=http://jpyubyerunka.com/]jpyubyerunka[/link], http://cxuqsbanrewl.com/