Zooman91
The Fly
It's just like that Boondocks cartoon in the newspaper, the government just kinda let it fade away. Maybe we should declare our own little war on drugs.
Whatever happened to the War on Drugs?
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Kieran McConville
ONE love, blood, life
The Onion (oh God, them again?) had a cute answer to that very question:
DRUGS WIN WAR ON DRUGS
CannibalisticArtist
War Child
D.A.R.E hahahaha
Knute Rockne
The Fly
Its obvious that you only believe something is being done if you hear it in the media. There are many things that at the top of the list of the media folk. There are other wars that they are worrying about.
-Knute
Johnny Swallow
Bad Daddy Johnny
Does anyone actually believe that a war on drugs could be successful?
Some people never learn, generation after generation of youths follow the same path down to destruction. A war against the very people you're trying to protect is one I doubt can be one.
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AIM: JuanSwallow
Some people never learn, generation after generation of youths follow the same path down to destruction. A war against the very people you're trying to protect is one I doubt can be one.
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This post brought to you by: Tomorrow "A mystery I have yet to unravel."
AIM: JuanSwallow
Kieran McConville
ONE love, blood, life
Ah, yes. It's pretty old, so if it's still retained on The Onion site, I could only suggest the society/health-type section of the archives.
The war on drugs and the war on terrorism have the same causes: abject poverty. And, for that reason, since it is painfully obvious that it is in the American business interest to keep them poor (who will be there to populate our sweatshops?), we'll never win them.
Melon
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"He had lived through an age when men and women with energy and ruthlessness but without much ability or persistence excelled. And even though most of them had gone under, their ignorance had confused Roy, making him wonder whether the things he had striven to learn, and thought of as 'culture,' were irrelevant. Everything was supposed to be the same: commercials, Beethoven's late quartets, pop records, shopfronts, Freud, multi-coloured hair. Greatness, comparison, value, depth: gone, gone, gone. Anything could give some pleasure; he saw that. But not everything provided the sustenance of a deeper understanding." - Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time
Melon
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"He had lived through an age when men and women with energy and ruthlessness but without much ability or persistence excelled. And even though most of them had gone under, their ignorance had confused Roy, making him wonder whether the things he had striven to learn, and thought of as 'culture,' were irrelevant. Everything was supposed to be the same: commercials, Beethoven's late quartets, pop records, shopfronts, Freud, multi-coloured hair. Greatness, comparison, value, depth: gone, gone, gone. Anything could give some pleasure; he saw that. But not everything provided the sustenance of a deeper understanding." - Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time
speedracer
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Melon, this is too simplistic. Drugs are as much a cause of poverty as they are a product of it.
Oh really? Tell that to the teenage drug runners in Columbia, who make several times more than even their parents ever could legitimately. The "war on drugs" will not win unless we can make legitimate jobs pay. The myth of the happy sweatshop worker is just that...a myth.
Melon
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"He had lived through an age when men and women with energy and ruthlessness but without much ability or persistence excelled. And even though most of them had gone under, their ignorance had confused Roy, making him wonder whether the things he had striven to learn, and thought of as 'culture,' were irrelevant. Everything was supposed to be the same: commercials, Beethoven's late quartets, pop records, shopfronts, Freud, multi-coloured hair. Greatness, comparison, value, depth: gone, gone, gone. Anything could give some pleasure; he saw that. But not everything provided the sustenance of a deeper understanding." - Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time
Melon
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"He had lived through an age when men and women with energy and ruthlessness but without much ability or persistence excelled. And even though most of them had gone under, their ignorance had confused Roy, making him wonder whether the things he had striven to learn, and thought of as 'culture,' were irrelevant. Everything was supposed to be the same: commercials, Beethoven's late quartets, pop records, shopfronts, Freud, multi-coloured hair. Greatness, comparison, value, depth: gone, gone, gone. Anything could give some pleasure; he saw that. But not everything provided the sustenance of a deeper understanding." - Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time
speedracer
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I think I misinterpreted what you said...I was referring to poverty in the US. (I assume you meant "Colombia" in your post above.)
S
*Stormy*
Guest
This is sad but true. Most kids just make fun of it. When they are older, they do exactly what the kids of the past have done- experiment. Sometimes these anti-drug programs actually draw attention to drugs when they had never thought of them or heard of them before. I have seen this happen. Kids are like kids have always been, many will smoke, drink and try drugs because they think it's 'cool.' I am not saying this is a good thing, no, just that it is the truth and is still true today despite millions, possibly billions being poured into campaigns to condition kids from a young age that substance abuse is bad. I can honestly say I do not know a kid who does not make fun of anti-smoking and anti-drug commercials. Even if they do not smoke or do drugs and don't want to, they still think the commericals are lame. The millions wasted on those campaigns could go to much better use.
[This message has been edited by *Stormy* (edited 01-17-2002).]
Spiral_Staircase
War Child
oh really, tell that to my middle-classs friend Eric, who spent his early twenties selling drugs because he could make several times more than he could ever make in a legitimate job.
He wasn't poor. But that didn't mean that easy $$ wasn't appealing to him.
Legitimate jobs will never pay more than drug jobs unless we can reduce the demand for drugs.
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[This message has been edited by Spiral_Staircase (edited 01-17-2002).]
speedracer
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And about poverty in Colombia...
Not to say that low wages for coffee bean harvesters in Colombia aren't a problem, but
supposing that Colombia did become a less poor nation, it is conceivable that as more and more people gave up dealing drugs for legitimate work, the demand and hence the salary for drug dealers would rise correspondingly. (This generalizes the statement made by Spiral_Staircase.)
[This message has been edited by speedracer (edited 01-17-2002).]
S
*Stormy*
Guest
Sadly this is true. It's like the bootleggers back in the days of prohibition. What about all those gangland shootings in Chicago in those days, doesn't that kind of remind you of drive-bys and drug related killings today? Once booze was legalized again, it stopped, though moonshining on a small scale does continue to this day in some places!
[This message has been edited by *Stormy* (edited 01-17-2002).]
CannibalisticArtist
War Child
anybody notice that in one of the early TRUTH ads one girl's name was '420grl"??? i thought that was a hilarious little touch.
drugs have always been and always will be around. it's sad to see people dying from heroin, but it's even worse to see people becoming alcholics or killing and dying under the influence. the war on drugs is/was purely financial. cigs? alcohol? holland?
drugs have always been and always will be around. it's sad to see people dying from heroin, but it's even worse to see people becoming alcholics or killing and dying under the influence. the war on drugs is/was purely financial. cigs? alcohol? holland?
joyfulgirl
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It's also sad to see the serious problems my mother's arthritis prescription medication causes her while I can't legally smoke a relatively benign herb. Most of what's in the average American medicine cabinet is more dangerous than marijuana. It astonishes me that marijuana is still an issue in this country.
speedracer
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What???
If Afroman has taught us anything, it's that marijuana use will
-make you apathetic
-make you lazy
-make you do poorly in school
-get you fired
-make you make chicken-like noises
-get you in trouble with alimony and child support
-get you injured in police chases
-make you gamble your money away and default on your car loans
-destroy your sex life
-make you lose your home
-destroy your recording career
-impair your language skills
-make you do bad impressions of 50's doo-wop singers
Anyone else think it should be legalized?
joyfulgirl
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Well, I at least have been addressing my chicken-like noises in therapy.
bonoman
Refugee
Has anyone else noticed that the US always has to be waring againist something. Drugs, Sex, Terrorism...
The US thinks they are the great GOOD and must be fighting evil. Even though drugs at a small level are nowhere evil.
At a small level drugs can be very usefull and medicanal. Weed is one of the most harmless drugs. But Countries keep trying to fight againist when they should be focusing on the drugs that are expensive and that give the dealers much more money. Fighting weed at a large level is a waste of time. It will NEVER be contained or limited. Its actually comical the money that is thrown at the War on Drugs. It was the laughing stock of the world. Drugs will never go away. We must all accept it. But what we shouldnt accept is the availability of hard drugs (cocaine, crack, herion, speed, meth) these are the drugs that kill. The drugs that suck you in the first time. The drugs that cost much more and that are more profitable for the manufactures.
If i had my way we would de-criminalize weed and focus directly on the drugs that are actually harmfull.
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Running to Stand Still-"you gotta cry without weeping, talk without speaking, scream without raising your voice."
"we're not burning out we're burning up...we're the loudest folk band in the world!"-Bono
The US thinks they are the great GOOD and must be fighting evil. Even though drugs at a small level are nowhere evil.
At a small level drugs can be very usefull and medicanal. Weed is one of the most harmless drugs. But Countries keep trying to fight againist when they should be focusing on the drugs that are expensive and that give the dealers much more money. Fighting weed at a large level is a waste of time. It will NEVER be contained or limited. Its actually comical the money that is thrown at the War on Drugs. It was the laughing stock of the world. Drugs will never go away. We must all accept it. But what we shouldnt accept is the availability of hard drugs (cocaine, crack, herion, speed, meth) these are the drugs that kill. The drugs that suck you in the first time. The drugs that cost much more and that are more profitable for the manufactures.
If i had my way we would de-criminalize weed and focus directly on the drugs that are actually harmfull.
------------------
Running to Stand Still-"you gotta cry without weeping, talk without speaking, scream without raising your voice."
"we're not burning out we're burning up...we're the loudest folk band in the world!"-Bono
joyfulgirl
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Here are some highlights from the War on Drugs in 2001:
Jan 12 It's revealed that the nephew of Attorney General-designate John Ashcroft received probation after a felony conviction in the state court for growing 60 marijuana plants with intent to distribute the drug in 1992--a lenient sentence, given that the charges against him often trigger much tougher federal penalties and jail time. Ashcroft was the tough-on-drugs Missouri governor at the time.
March 9 William J. Allegro, 32, of Bradley Beach, NJ, is sentenced to 50 years in prison for growing marijuana in his home. Allegor's previous criminal record was made up of several nonviolent offenses, including the sale of marijuana.
April 20: Christian missionary Veronica Bowers and her infant daughter Charity are killed when their small plane is shot out of the sky by a Peruvian military jet as part of a CIA-backed program that patrols the Amazon basin for drug couriers.
May 5 The US is voted off the United Nations Narcotics Control Board, a 13-member board that monitors compliance with UN drug conventions on substance abuse and illegal trafficking.
June 5 The California State Senate votes 22-12 to decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. The offense will now carry a maximum penalty of a $100 fine, with no criminal record. The measure also bars state prosecution of doctors who recommend marijuana to their patients, and allows caregivers to cultivate marijuana cooperatively for medical purposes under the auspices of the state Department of Health Services.
June 6Thirty-two-year old Susanna Tchilibon, a doctoral student at the Hebrew University's School of Pharmacy in Jerusalem, discovers that a substance taken from marijuana can be effective as an anti-inflammatory drug for rheumatoid arthritis. For her work, Tchilibon is named winner of one of the university's Kaye Prizes for Innovations and Inventions.
[This message has been edited by joyfulgirl (edited 01-17-2002).]
Jan 12 It's revealed that the nephew of Attorney General-designate John Ashcroft received probation after a felony conviction in the state court for growing 60 marijuana plants with intent to distribute the drug in 1992--a lenient sentence, given that the charges against him often trigger much tougher federal penalties and jail time. Ashcroft was the tough-on-drugs Missouri governor at the time.
March 9 William J. Allegro, 32, of Bradley Beach, NJ, is sentenced to 50 years in prison for growing marijuana in his home. Allegor's previous criminal record was made up of several nonviolent offenses, including the sale of marijuana.
April 20: Christian missionary Veronica Bowers and her infant daughter Charity are killed when their small plane is shot out of the sky by a Peruvian military jet as part of a CIA-backed program that patrols the Amazon basin for drug couriers.
May 5 The US is voted off the United Nations Narcotics Control Board, a 13-member board that monitors compliance with UN drug conventions on substance abuse and illegal trafficking.
June 5 The California State Senate votes 22-12 to decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. The offense will now carry a maximum penalty of a $100 fine, with no criminal record. The measure also bars state prosecution of doctors who recommend marijuana to their patients, and allows caregivers to cultivate marijuana cooperatively for medical purposes under the auspices of the state Department of Health Services.
June 6Thirty-two-year old Susanna Tchilibon, a doctoral student at the Hebrew University's School of Pharmacy in Jerusalem, discovers that a substance taken from marijuana can be effective as an anti-inflammatory drug for rheumatoid arthritis. For her work, Tchilibon is named winner of one of the university's Kaye Prizes for Innovations and Inventions.
[This message has been edited by joyfulgirl (edited 01-17-2002).]
Anthony
Refugee
Speedracer;
Yes, marijuana does of course present many dangers, however, other drugs present even deadlier dangers. I think marijuana should be legalised so that the government can concentrate its resources on the particularly harmful drugs. After all, some European countries legalise marijuana and they have a better handling on drug problems than most countries. ie - Netherlands.
Ant.
Yes, marijuana does of course present many dangers, however, other drugs present even deadlier dangers. I think marijuana should be legalised so that the government can concentrate its resources on the particularly harmful drugs. After all, some European countries legalise marijuana and they have a better handling on drug problems than most countries. ie - Netherlands.
Ant.
speedracer
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Ant,
My post was a light-hearted reference to Afroman's single "Because I Got High". (Didn't it hit #1 in the UK?)
Seriously though, I agree that other drugs (most notoriously, tobacco) are more dangerous than marijuana, but I still think marijuana needs to be regulated.
Anthony
Refugee
Oh yeah, speedracer, I remember now, and I remember why I didn't get it the first time; I switched the radio off or changed the channel when I started hearing it, it really pissed me off.
Ant.
Ant.
brettig
New Yorker
classic Klod.
in answer to this question- wasnt George Bush snr. the instigator? i guess it faded like he did...its not something that the media would sustain on the front pages for long periods, so governments lose interest...
The War on Drugs is and has always been a FRONT. Its goal is to justify U.S. support for brutal counterinsurgency programs and bioterrorism in Central and South America, which in turn enable us to keep "friends" of our business interests in power. Unfortunatly for the people living in those countries, these friends nearly always turn out to thugs, mass murderers, and human rights abusers.
Think about it. Heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and all the other illegal drugs COMBINED cause far far far less deaths and injuries than either tobacco use or alcohol use, even when you factor in the crime aspect of the equation. I mean, it's not even close. Why would one focus on the wrong drugs?
The importance of Columbia to the U.S. has nothing to do with drugs. It has lots to do with coffee companies, livestock, and other corporate concerns, and even more to do with military control of the Panama Canal - an absolutely critical factor in helping our economy and hurting other countries' economies. (i.e. anyone not economically and politically friendly to the U.S. has to travel around Argentina to get from Atlantic to Pacific, at incredible cost - that's quite a weapon)
Study after study has shown that prevention and treatment programs SAVE LIVES in fighting drug-related problems. I mean hundreds of studies, good studies. No study has shown that PLAN COLUMBIA, which funnels 1 billion dollars to the Columbian government and its marauding paramilitaries and death squads, has any hope of controlling drug imports to the U.S. or of treating drug-related disease. This is no secret to our educated government officials. Drugs certainly have nothing to do with why we're spending that money. The U.S. has major economic interests in that country, and does not want to see socialist change there. Hence, despite the fact that Columbia has one of the world's WORST human rights abusive governments (16,000 kidnappings per year, "disappearing" people is commin, torture, etc.), they are I believe the 3rd leading recipient of U.S. aid (following other human rights standouts Israel and Turkey).
Similarly, the "War On Terrorism" is simply a way to justify U.S. intervention wherever it feels its control over critical natural resources is threatened. Control over the Central Asian oil pipelines is now ours. We are now moving to the Phillipines apparently - lots of natural resources in that part of the world (can you say oil, rubber, tin?) - and our prior endeavors to maintain control of that region's resources have not been kind (stories of U.S. soldier conduct in the 1905 U.S.-Phillipines "war" are not for the queasy).
Solving the drug problem would be easy given the immense resources of the U.S., if that was what we really wanted. Terrorism is certainly tougher, but we already know how to solve the drug problem - we're just not interested in doing it.
Think about it. Heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and all the other illegal drugs COMBINED cause far far far less deaths and injuries than either tobacco use or alcohol use, even when you factor in the crime aspect of the equation. I mean, it's not even close. Why would one focus on the wrong drugs?
The importance of Columbia to the U.S. has nothing to do with drugs. It has lots to do with coffee companies, livestock, and other corporate concerns, and even more to do with military control of the Panama Canal - an absolutely critical factor in helping our economy and hurting other countries' economies. (i.e. anyone not economically and politically friendly to the U.S. has to travel around Argentina to get from Atlantic to Pacific, at incredible cost - that's quite a weapon)
Study after study has shown that prevention and treatment programs SAVE LIVES in fighting drug-related problems. I mean hundreds of studies, good studies. No study has shown that PLAN COLUMBIA, which funnels 1 billion dollars to the Columbian government and its marauding paramilitaries and death squads, has any hope of controlling drug imports to the U.S. or of treating drug-related disease. This is no secret to our educated government officials. Drugs certainly have nothing to do with why we're spending that money. The U.S. has major economic interests in that country, and does not want to see socialist change there. Hence, despite the fact that Columbia has one of the world's WORST human rights abusive governments (16,000 kidnappings per year, "disappearing" people is commin, torture, etc.), they are I believe the 3rd leading recipient of U.S. aid (following other human rights standouts Israel and Turkey).
Similarly, the "War On Terrorism" is simply a way to justify U.S. intervention wherever it feels its control over critical natural resources is threatened. Control over the Central Asian oil pipelines is now ours. We are now moving to the Phillipines apparently - lots of natural resources in that part of the world (can you say oil, rubber, tin?) - and our prior endeavors to maintain control of that region's resources have not been kind (stories of U.S. soldier conduct in the 1905 U.S.-Phillipines "war" are not for the queasy).
Solving the drug problem would be easy given the immense resources of the U.S., if that was what we really wanted. Terrorism is certainly tougher, but we already know how to solve the drug problem - we're just not interested in doing it.
joyfulgirl
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what sv said
speedracer
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I'll believe that illegal drugs cause far fewer deaths than tobacco and alcohol. But if you count the number of years of life taken away by drugs, my guess is that it's a bit closer. Tobacco for the most part kills only users, and that at a relatively late age. Alcohol probably doesn't kill too many users--its primary victims are those involved in drunk driving accidents. People who die from using illegal drugs or from drug-related-crime die at a relatively young age, I would guess.
joyfulgirl
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I don't know how reliable these stats are from the Honolulu Weekly, but here are some more:
Estimated U.S. deaths in year 2000 attributed to
TOBACCO: 400,000
ALCOHOL: 110,000
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: 100,000
SUICIDE: 30,000
MURDER: 15,000
OVER-THE-COUNTER PAINKILLERS: 7,600
MARIJUANA: 0
Not to change the subject, but just to further point out that there are more important subjects for a "War on" than drugs, how about a War On Rape? Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.
from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice:
In 2000, there were 261,000 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault:
Of these 261,000, 114,000 were victims of sexual assault, 55,000 were victims of attempted rape, and 92,000 were victims of completed rape. Because of the methodology of the National Crime Victimization Survey, these figures do not include victims 12 or younger. While there are no reliable annual surveys of sexual assaults on children, the Justice Department has estimated that one of six victims are under age 12. [Child Rape Victims, 1992]
[This message has been edited by joyfulgirl (edited 01-18-2002).]
Estimated U.S. deaths in year 2000 attributed to
TOBACCO: 400,000
ALCOHOL: 110,000
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: 100,000
SUICIDE: 30,000
MURDER: 15,000
OVER-THE-COUNTER PAINKILLERS: 7,600
MARIJUANA: 0
Not to change the subject, but just to further point out that there are more important subjects for a "War on" than drugs, how about a War On Rape? Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.
from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice:
In 2000, there were 261,000 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault:
Of these 261,000, 114,000 were victims of sexual assault, 55,000 were victims of attempted rape, and 92,000 were victims of completed rape. Because of the methodology of the National Crime Victimization Survey, these figures do not include victims 12 or younger. While there are no reliable annual surveys of sexual assaults on children, the Justice Department has estimated that one of six victims are under age 12. [Child Rape Victims, 1992]
[This message has been edited by joyfulgirl (edited 01-18-2002).]
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