Cafferty: War on drugs is insane

[Prometheus]

Commentary: War on drugs is insane - CNN.com

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Here's something to think about:
How many police officers and sheriff's deputies are involved in investigating and solving crimes involving illegal drugs? And arresting and transporting and interrogating and jailing the suspects?
How many prosecutors and their staffs spend time prosecuting drug cases? How many defense lawyers spend their time defending drug suspects?
How many hours of courtroom time are devoted to drug trials? How many judges, bailiffs, courtroom security officers, stenographers, etc., spend their time on drug trials?
How many prison cells are filled with drug offenders? And how many corrections officers does it take to guard them? How much food do these convicts consume?
And when they get out, how many parole and probation officers does it take to supervise their release? And how many ex-offenders turn right around and do it again?
So how's this war on drugs going?
Someone described insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result each time. That's a perfect description of the war on drugs.


The United States is the largest illegal drug market in the world. Americans want their weed, crack, cocaine, heroin, whatever. And they're willing to pay big money to get it.
The drug suppliers are only too happy to oblige. The Mexican drug cartels now have operations in 230 American cities. That's 230 American cities!
And we're not just talking about border towns, but places such as Anchorage, Alaska; Boston, Massachusetts; Atlanta, Georgia; and Billings, Montana. They're everywhere. And they don't just bring drugs, but violence and crime as well -- lots of it at no extra charge.
They have been able to infiltrate those 230 cities because we have not bothered to secure our borders. In addition to illegal aliens who come here to work and avail themselves of our social programs, we have criminals from Mexico bringing drugs in, taking money and guns back, and recruiting American kids into their criminal enterprises while they're here. iReport.com: Is it time to legalize pot?
What do you suppose the total price tag is for this failed war on drugs? One senior Harvard economist estimates we spend $44 billion a year fighting the war on drugs. He says if they were legal, governments would realize about $33 billion a year in tax revenue. Net swing of $77 billion. Could we use that money today for something else? You bet your ass we could.Plus the cartels would be out of business. Instantly. Goodbye crime and violence.
If drugs were legalized, we could empty out a lot of our prison cells. People will use this stuff whether it's legal or not. Just like they do booze. And you could make the argument that in some cases alcohol is just as dangerous as some drugs. I know.
Like I said ... something to think about. It's time.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jack Cafferty.

Enough is enough. The abuses and excuses of the police state will grind to a halt once we end these idiotic war on drugs and guns.

 

[CulpeperMM]

i concur

 

[USMC_0311]

Me too

 

[tv1217]

Prison space would clear up tremendously. I hate to be a dick, but if the addicts want to destroy themselves, I say let 'em.

 

[Octomonkey]

This "war" is yet another drain on resources and a means of making people feel the need for a powerful State.

 

[jeremy]

It is not a "war" on drugs. It is smoke and mirrors. Kinda like evil Cuba. Oh damn there is nothing bad going on right now, let's bring out the war on drugs... Bah bah bah

 

[Truckerman79]

I'm sorry, I just don't believe in legalizing all drugs. I don't think we should put the drug USER behind bars. Drug addiction is a public health problem, not a criminal problem until the drug use leads to crime. We need to go after the high level dealers that prey on the addicts and use the drug money to fund other nefarious activities. Even if we legalize cocaine and heroin, where do you think it's going to come from? We certainly don't have coca plants or opium poppies growing in the good ole U.S. of A. Drugs will either come from FARC terrorists from Columbia and Taliban warlords in Afghanistan. About the only hard drug made in the U.S. is crystal meth and I don't know about you, but I don't want anyone I know or don't know within 100 miles of me under the influence of that stuff. The perverse behavior that most hard drugs induce is something that I don't want my kids around PERIOD.

 

[Chefcook]

Legalize drugs. Then educate young people as to the risks involved with using drugs. Allow people to make their own choices, but make sure they have all the factual knowledge needed to make their choice intelligently. Both of my teenagers have told me that most kids that do drugs do so because they are illegal. Its the excitement of doing something covert that draws them too it.

My father once said in conversation. "If you have a drug addict, give him all he wants. He will either have his fill and quit, or he will continue until he is dead. Either way problem solved." While this view may sound harsh there is a lot of truth in it.

There is nothing anyone can do to stop an addict from using short of locking them in a cage forever. An addict will do anything they have to to continue their habit. They will lie, steal, cheat, sell their body and soul, live under horrendous conditions etc. The only thing that stops an addict is himself or death. And many do die, but many others wake up one day and say to themselves OMFG WTF am I doing? This isn't me? Then they get help and get their lives together.

The definition of insanity is to try the same thing over and over again expecting different results...

A person will change when the pain or remaining the same outweighs the pain of the change...

 

[USMC_0311]

I'm sorry, I just don't believe in legalizing all drugs. I don't think we should put the drug USER behind bars. Drug addiction is a public health problem, not a criminal problem until the drug use leads to crime.

You don't believe in legalizing but yet you say drug addiction is a public health problem, not criminal. So if it’s not criminal then it shouldn't be illegal. Just seems a little contradictory to me.

We need to go after the high level dealers that prey on the addicts and use the drug money to fund other nefarious activities.

They have been trying to do just that, remember Panama, Noriega. It does not work. I know I fought the war on drugs. When you remove one dealer a new dealer takes his place. Dealers are not the problem. Get rid of the need then they have nothing to offer. Legalize them take the money saved (Billions) and use it to educate the public. With a stroke of the pen you can put every dealer out of business.

Even if we legalize cocaine and heroin, where do you think it's going to come from? We certainly don't have coca plants or opium poppies growing in the good ole U.S. of A. Drugs will either come from FARC terrorists from Columbia and Taliban warlords in Afghanistan.

That is just not true. The free market will take of itself, if legalized companies would adapt. Why couldn't the good ole U.S. of A. produce it s own? Legalization will stop the funding of those terrorist organizations.

About the only hard drug made in the U.S. is crystal meth and I don't know about you, but I don't want anyone I know or don't know within 100 miles of me under the influence of that stuff. The perverse behavior that most hard drugs induce is something that I don't want my kids around PERIOD.

If drugs were legalized you would not see a mad dash of all ready straight people lining up to use drugs. They key is education and to attack the addiction. By making these drugs illegal we only empower the dealers. You don't know for sure about the guy next door or 100 miles away now. You still protect you and your family by educating them on the dangers. Legal or not you will all ways have to worry about your kids.

 

[causerofwait]

I wonder what the breakdown of this war on drugs is in regard to the different drugs, i.e., how many jail cells are occupied and how much money is spent on marijuana, cocaine, heroine, meth, etc. It seems to me that the most common of these, and the one used by a much broader group of people, is marijuana; and therefore the largest portion of money/time spent to prevent it. Marijuana could be grown and processed (dried) by the end user, no differently than tomatoes or jalapenos. Also, I don't think there is much processing that needs to be done to coca or poppy either, certainly not like meth. Maybe we need a law that states that it's only legal to use if you grow it yourself. What's the drawback of having more gardeners/botanists in the country? It seems like this would take a big chunk out of the system. And I don't think it should be taxed either. Do individuals pay taxes on their onion crop? Is some portion of each batch of salsa that I make from my garden the property of the state? No. It's part of the individual freedom that I have (at least for now) as an American. I think that most would agree (maybe not admit) that marijuana users are typically not violent and that most of the violence associated with the sale and transfer of marijuana is due to the high profits that can be made. If the user doesn't need to buy it, then the supplier doesn't have as much money to protect. Also, a comment on the whole "gateway drug" argument that most people/politicians make in regards to marijuana: people I knew in HS would tell me that one of the reasons that they used different drugs after having tried marijuana (which was usually after trying alcohol and cigarettes) was because none of the things that they were told about marijuana were true (reefer madness anyone?); therefore maybe the things they were told about all the other drugs weren't true either, so they tried them. If we were more truthful in our education we might have less problems. If we allowed people to excercize individual rights that don't harm others, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess.
On a similar rant, I think Indiana is wasting a valuable resourse. From what I've seen on TV, we have substantial amounts of "ditch weed" growing naturally (or at least as a result of all the hemp that was grown for wartime uses [Hemp for Victory!?!]). I have an idea for Mitch, quit wasting resourses trying to erradicate a natural weed and start harvesting and processing it. Why burn it when you can make stuff with it. We could create an entire new industry. I even have the new license plate design for Indiana; a picture of a field of hemp with the tagline, "Indiana, Home of the Hemp Revolution".
Ok, I'm done. Mods, delete this if you need too.

 

[cce1302]

Would the manufacture of, say, meth, be legalized, too? or just the use of it?

What I'm asking is, will lab rats joe and mary be able to have a meth lab in their apartment until it blows up and takes everyone in the building with them, or can we still outlaw that and haul them off to jail for doing it?

I think drugs are an awful idea (I rarely even take tylenol) but outlawing the use of them is a little like outlawing suicide. If a person wants to ruin his or her life, that's not much of my business, but when he tries to convince my son or daughter to ruin their lives, or when his drug influenced behavior affects my life, it becomes my business.

 

[bigg cheese]

That's exactly the problem. I hate this fantasy-land that people have where nothing they do affects anyone. That's a load of crap. If someone wants to ruin their life on a remote desert island, good luck to them. But I'll be damned if I am passive about it if they do it where my family can see it.

If a kid sees someone at school smoking pot, he may be shocked at first. But the more he sees it, they more he thinks it's socially acceptable. Children are easily the most impressionable of the population. They have less experience, wisdom, and intuition. The more often they see a certain behavior, the more likely they are to be desensitized and will no longer see it as taboo.

Drug dealers have a vested interest in getting people hooked on their wares. It's simple capitalism. Get people to want what you have. For the next logical step in capitalism -- find people to target/"advertise." The most easily convinced, young people, are easily the best choice!

I'm all for teaching kids to abstain from all sorts of unhealthy behavior. However, as an uncle (not a parent yet ), I feel responsible to control the environment to the benefit of my sister's kids until they have enough experience, wisdom, and intuition to make an educated decision on their own.

 

[agentl074]

Some people can't be rehabilitated. They are going to screw themselves up with something.... Why waste our resources? Lock up our boarders, and take out the gangs. If drugs are legalized, the gangs are just going to do murder for hire and other crap they are doing now. The gang task forces need to have all of the resources fighting the "drug war" diverted to that real fight yesterday.

 

[Principal Skinr]

It is 6 in one 1/2 dozen in the other. If it were legalized, we'll have even more addicts and more welfare to pay out to them, as well as health care.

Next thing you know, we're back to the same cost.

 

[causerofwait]

No to manufacturing meth. Meth labs go boom and kill people, hell, even the fumes are toxic. Plants sway in the wind, look pretty and give off oxygen. If someone tends a garden and uses in their private dwelling then leave them be. If someone uses in their private dwelling then gets in a car and harms someone else, then prosecute.

 

[tv1217]

They way I see it, they should handle it the same way alcohol is handled. Can an idiot produce it? Beer, wine, mead, etc can basically be produced by sticking sugary or starchy things in a bottle and letting it sit, quality won't be great, but it's pretty safe. You can stick some cannabis seeds in a pot and shine a lamp at it and it'll grow, but it'll probably suck. Set and forget.

Producing your own spirits creates fumes and then if you don't do it right, you end up with blind customers from all that extra methanol that you didn't get rid of.
If Billy Bob and Cletus are running a meth lab in their garage, and they mess something up, the neighborhood gets a free crater and a free debris shower.

 

[Prometheus]

But I'll be damned if I am passive about it if they do it where my family can see it.

If a kid sees someone at school smoking pot, he may be shocked at first. But the more he sees it, they more he thinks it's socially acceptable.

It happened at my school all the time at that was back in the early 90's.

Time to put the phobias aside. A guy smoking a joint in a proper location (and not DUI/DWI) isn't any different than the liberals bitching about how "dangerous" it is for their kids to see you open (or concealed) carrying a pistol on your hip. As a society we have laws about public intox and public consumption. Drugs would fall into that same category. We wouldn't even need to make more laws. Just insert the marijuana (or whatever) wording into the current laws.

There is no danger. It's all in your head.

With all the paranoia being displayed here we'd think that potheads are arguing against themselves

 

[Truckerman79]

You don't believe in legalizing but yet you say drug addiction is a public health problem, not criminal. So if it’s not criminal then it shouldn't be illegal. Just seems a little contradictory to me.

There is a difference between decriminalization and outright legalization. There is a difference between the drug addict and the criminal drug pusher.

They have been trying to do just that, remember Panama, Noriega. It does not work. I know I fought the war on drugs. When you remove one dealer a new dealer takes his place. Dealers are not the problem. Get rid of the need then they have nothing to offer. Legalize them take the money saved (Billions) and use it to educate the public. With a stroke of the pen you can put every dealer out of business.

I don't think that crime will necessarily cease and the dealers will be put out of business. When you bring government regulation into the picture there will most likely be problems with the quality and potency of the product. The pros will still be lurking in the shadow flooding the market with high potency stuff. The criminals that are put out of business I suspect will extort the law abiding distributors in order to make up for the money they no longer have coming in due to legalization.

That is just not true. The free market will take of itself, if legalized companies would adapt. Why couldn't the good ole U.S. of A. produce it s own? Legalization will stop the funding of those terrorist organizations.

I, for one, will not stand for the manufacture of inherently evil substances such as cocaine and heroin in my country. We have all seen the destruction and perversity that crystal meth production produces.

If drugs were legalized you would not see a mad dash of all ready straight people lining up to use drugs.

I wholeheartedly disagree with that. Just as young people are enticed to do things because they are illegal, others will be enticed to try out a drug because it legal or socially acceptable.

To all those who think that a raving drug addict doesn't hurt anyone else but himself; I can tell you from personal experience that is not true. A drug addict can be a husband, wife, father, mother, brother, etc. Drugs destroy families, which happens to be the social fabric of this country.

Weed is different though. All it ever made me do is raid the pantry and enjoy music.

 

[bigg cheese]

You're not serious are you, Prometheus?

I don't have some unreasonable fear of drugs. I have a very reasonable fear of what stimuli can do to my family. Limitless experiences are out there for the taking, but when someone says, "Trust me, you dont' want that," all it does to us humans is make us want to do it more.

I have very good friends that have come out of drug culture (my parents and other extended family included).

What the heck is a "proper place?" The only thing I can imagine is the scenario I already put forth... on a desert island... all alone with no chance of coming into contact with anyone until the effects and addiction subside.

I'm not saying arrest users either. However, it is a much different thing to condone moronic behavior with passivism. Dealers -- go to jail for a long time. Users -- give them an option. Rehab with a three strikes rule (with jail time for repeat offenders) or total isolation, so that can't do anything remotely dangerous while under the influence...

Last, with the exception of the above, no additional expenditure to help them. If they lose three strikes, then no more government aid. (welfare, etc.).. This is the same thing as insurance companies penalizing smoking and obesity. If a person is knowingly harming themselves, the insurer charges more.

 

[USMC_0311]

There is a difference between decriminalization and outright legalization. There is a difference between the drug addict and the criminal drug pusher.

Decriminalization and outright legalization? Do you agree with either one?
I guess I am missing something; I am not sure how this addresses my comments. The addict creates the need, so that is were the problem starts. The dealer is just reacting to the need. My point is OUR money would be better spent on treating the addict.

I don't think that crime will necessarily cease and the dealers will be put out of business. When you bring government regulation into the picture there will most likely be problems with the quality and potency of the product. The pros will still be lurking in the shadow flooding the market with high potency stuff. The criminals that are put out of business I suspect will extort the law abiding distributors in order to make up for the money they no longer have coming in due to legalization.

Crime will never cease that’s why we carry guns.
We have Government regulation now on alcohol now, how does it affect quality and potency? For example if marijuana was legal the free market would have it more potent in very short time and it would be cheaper.
“I suspect will extort the law abiding distributors in order to make up for the money they no longer have coming in due to legalization"
This is based on? You suspect. To really understand the war on drugs you have to understand economics.

I, for one, will not stand for the manufacture of inherently evil substances such as cocaine and heroin in my country. We have all seen the destruction and perversity that crystal meth production produces.

I don't want a meth lab next door either. What are you going to do about it? It is happening right now maybe next door to you or down the street a few blocks. Seriously how many alcohol stills do you think you will find compared to meth labs.

I wholeheartedly disagree with that. Just as young people are enticed to do things because they are illegal, others will be enticed to try out a drug because it legal or socially acceptable.

You can disagree all you want, that is what I like about this country. Nobody is right if everybody is wrong. Again I find that statement contradictory. Some do it because it is illegal and some will do it because it is not. I for one would not, and most people I know wouldn't either.

To all those who think that a raving drug addict doesn't hurt anyone else but himself; I can tell you from personal experience that is not true. A drug addict can be a husband, wife, father, mother, brother, etc. Drugs destroy families, which happens to be the social fabric of this country.

I know were you are coming from I too grew up with an abusive alcoholic father. I watched drugs and alcohol slowly kill my brother. I have carried the bodies of my fellow Marines who died fighting it.

Weed is different though. All it ever made me do is raid the pantry and enjoy music.

What you don't enjoy music anymore.
Only difference is the effect to the user, the same dealer networks control it.

I can appreciate your concerns and we will just have to agree to disagree. Not saying you have not done your research but I get most of my info from personal experience fighting this crapping war in the jungles of South America and from my mother who has been a drug counselor for 25 years (she has a master degree). I argued your same a stance even but I now see the light. The ONLY way we can win the war on drugs is to stop the need/want. Just like prohibition back in the 1930's cutting off the source is impossible. I don't do drugs and I don't want my son to do them either. I know the only control I have is teaching him the dangers of drugs. I am just tired of the waste of money fighting it. This mentality that we need to escalate what is not working is very similar to the anti-gunners strategy.