Waking Up to a Failed Drug War

Published July 04, 2009 @ 06:06AM PT

As the U.S. celebrates its 233rd independence day today, there's a feeling in the air that we're nearing the end of one of the most devastating failures in the history of our democracy - the war on drugs.

The media and the public have raised the level of drug policy discussion in recent months, perhaps sparked by a perceived opportunity for progress under the Obama administration. The summer issues of both Mother Jones and the American Prospect feature the war on drugs on their covers - and both take the positions we'd expect from these publications: fighting drugs by building prisons has been a failure, and the time has come to shape the policy of the next three decades. The political obstacles to drug policy progress are great and it will be extremely hard to forge a humane drug policy that prioritizes treatment over incarceration. I think we're up to the challenge, and now is the time.

Eli Sanders writes in the American Prospect, under the headline "The Last Drug Czar," that "one gets the distinct impression that (current drug czar Gil) Kerlikowske is positioning himself as a caretaker who can put an old model out to pasture while a new discussion is initiated."

It's a new day in the drug war. But can we end it?

Kevin Drum writes in Mother Jones (the issue is on newstands now and articles will be online soon) about the logistics of legalization. Drum, who has never inhaled, writes that he didn't much care about marijuana legalization when he began writing the piece. And then that changed:

Going into this assignment, I didn't care much personally about cannabis legalization. I just had a vague sense that if other people wanted to do it, why not let them? But the evidence suggests pretty clearly that we ought to significantly soften our laws on marijuana. Too many lives have been ruined and too much money spent for a social benefit that, if not zero, certainly isn't very high.

So is serious drug policy reform possible? Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper wrote in the Huffington Post this week that expanded coverage in progressive magazines and the blogosphere is important, but it will take a big step by Democrats in Washington to embrace this change and make something of it.

While many of our elected representatives privately support serious changes to our failed drug laws, they believe they are alone. They think if they stick their necks out they'll be handed their heads come election time.

Which is why we must rise up and let our elected officials know they are safe to support drug law reform. And in considerable political danger if they do not.

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Comments (16)

Matt, you are so right. Politicians are afraid to stick their necks out, presently. But the right time will come, and soon.

Currently, Congress is fighting literally a life and death battle for the unisured while embarking on a pivotal military manuever to secure Afganistan, Pakistan, Iraq and the USA.

President Obama admits to losing sleep over budget matters even whlie stabilizing the economy, affording health care and keeping US safe.

But the fog will lift in the coming months and it will be a prime oppurtunity to present the White House and Congress with options to reduce spending (prisons and more) and increasing revenues by regulating and taxing marijuana use.

Posted by Patrick Stanfill on 07/04/2009 @ 07:35PM PT
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I keep pleading with everyone to make this a complete drug transformation...you cannot specify A drug that needs to be legal. We need changes in the laws regarding rehabilitation versus incarceration.

We need changes in mandatory minimum sentences...We need the failed laws addressed and acted on..If we don't do the whole package..this will take more years than we can stand. It has been 33 years with these drug laws..not marajuana..but all drugs!!

Let's do this right...Let's move a mountain! YES WE CAN!!

Posted by carolyn brown on 07/04/2009 @ 08:13PM PT
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Although the drug war should be ended, so long as we are standing back hoping that some politician will do so, it will continue to go on in perpetuity. Even if you had a congress and president ready to end the W.o.D. today, they would not be able to. Ending the war on drugs would mean releasing hundreds of thousands of prisoners who were convicted or simple drug crimes, it would also mean losing the support of the police chief's union since they (police chiefs) would have to significantly reduce their staff since much of it (especially in the cities) has to do with non violent drug crimes (vice crimes). Ending the war would also mean that the politicians would lose support from organizations such as M.A.D.D. and their badge as a drug warrior keeping the children safe. With that being said, legalizing or decriminalizing all drugs is the right step to take. As far as I can tell, it's an absolute waste of time to try to convince a major politician to vote your way from you begging them to. If anyone wants to end the war on drugs, when you are on a jury of someone who's accused of a non-violent drug crime, nullify that law. Just set them free and write a letter to the judge and prosecutor letting him/her know how much you don't appreciate them wasting tax payer money to hear such a silly case. The more this is done, the more it will become clear that the people are not being this war. When the people stop supporting this war, it will end!

Posted by Clifford Georges on 07/05/2009 @ 05:17AM PT
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A scathing review of the drug war also appeared in the May/June 2009 issue of Foreign Policy magazine and can be viewed here:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4861

"The addiction to a failed policy has long been fueled by the self-interest of a relatively small prohibitionist community—and enabled by the distraction of the American public. But as the costs of the drug war spread from remote countries and U.S. inner cities to the rest of society, spending more to cure and prevent than to eradicate and incarcerate will become a much more obvious idea."

Posted by mikey johnson on 07/05/2009 @ 09:20AM PT
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The article you reference Mikey is almost an indictment of the policy makers, the only thing missing is one of our stalwart political "grand Jury's" indicting the people responsible for such a huge expenditure (waste) of tax dollars that continuously supports these failed policies for the past 30 years. The finger pointing would be endless. It would be enlightening to know who controls the companies that are the recipients of the money earmarked to support these interdiction efforts are.

When our government machine gets behind an idea...like prison building to stop drug use... some politically connected company almost always ends up with the lucrative contract for it. The same obviously occurs when they award contracts for the enforcement of the "drug laws" to private companies. The fact that our military and police forces are in this "drug war" to the end fuels the idea that the manufacturers of military and police equipment stand to lose huge amounts of income were the drug war suddenly altered to a more intellegent and benign approach. Legalize drugs? You gotta be joking....it would shift billions of tax dollars to non-military industrial complex corporations and that, my friends, is not gonna happen.

Posted by mark schmanke on 07/06/2009 @ 05:13AM PT
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Prohibition strikes a blow at the base of the values from which this country was founded. Individual freedom is our right and until this "drug war" is brought to an end our government is the root cause civil unrest.

Posted by Kimberly Schmidt on 07/06/2009 @ 06:23AM PT
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We need to let politicians know that they'll have their heads handed to them if they don't have the courage to end the drug wars.

Posted by Patrick Gillett on 07/10/2009 @ 01:33PM PT
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We are spending billions fighting the drug war and losing but we have managed to save the poppy fields in Afghanistan,and instead of destroying them and possibly disenfranchising local farmers will intradict the crop when inbound to our country,,,, Simply amazing. They are going to allow the poppy farmers to sell the opium to the cartels(CIA) and then try to catch them before they get here. Man are we making money at this game or what?

Posted by Norman Gooding on 07/10/2009 @ 02:50PM PT
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The aforementioned ploy has convinced me that the cartels are

already entrenched in the very federal agencies that are our

supposed frontline defense against drugs.

If stopping drugs was the real reason they existed,why would they gamble on any of them getting through. They would buy all the poppy crop,and napalm it,end of 2009 crop,and maybe we can all get tickets to the 2010 burning,what a hoot.

Posted by Norman Gooding on 07/10/2009 @ 03:09PM PT
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Most taxpayers are not aware that they are paying the price financially for this War on Drugs.

Until your family is thrown into this nightmare, you really don't know what has been happening for he past 33 years and the fact that we all have unknowingly paid for it to happen. It's unbelievable to me that this injustice can happen in this country.

People have to spread the word so that change can happen. Call, email or write your congressman to let them know it's ok to stand up for this reform, it is desperately needed to restore American families.

Posted by Melanie Finney on 07/12/2009 @ 05:29PM PT
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I hope everyone realizes that the expenditure on the drug war is a leftover cultural war from the 60's. It's just too profitable for the government to stop fighting an invisible enemy, your tax dollars are too sorely needed to pay people in the gov't that pretend to have things under control. Those automatic rifles and helicopters and swat teams dont come cheap, how else will we lock up all the dangerous recreational pot users!? Anarchy, thats what you have when you dont suppress the masses somehow! Oh and this was all sarcastic, its funny how people know the truth yet are too busy watching the bachelor to go stand in front of a big white house with a sign anymore. too much to lose I guess. Oh wait no, there's nothing left to lose in America! we're for sale!

Posted by John Giordano on 07/15/2009 @ 03:08PM PT
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I would like to know why our drug Czar has changed his tune since taking the job??

How can he go to California and lie to the public? Truth must be reinstated in proper ethics in a job, especially working in the public trust.

He declared in a state were doctors who listen to their patients say cannabis helps many medical problems. Doctors have said cannabis could replace up to 80% of the foul chemicals the legal boys push. But this public servant has the balls to say cannabis is bad and has no medical value. I say bull shit depressed, social anxiety, turrets, Parkinson's, caner and thousands of other medical conditions that the patients say cannabis helps them. He is calling all these people the doctors and providers plus any scientific study plus the 20 million that smoke to relax, THAT THEY are all full of shit...

WE MUST DEMAND OUR PUBLIC SERVANTS TELL THE TRUTH!! STOP THE LIES AND PROPAGANDA DUMPED ON US AND SOME ACTUALLY BELIEVE IT...

CFJ

Posted by Cherokee Fred Jesus on 08/03/2009 @ 12:17PM PT
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The main cost of the war on drugs...Millions of young, poor, mainly of color children pay the price. Being enslaved having thier lives destroyed becoming a felon for growing a weed.

Can you not see when you take a non-violent child and throw him in jail with the predetors. You make them predetors and expand the criminal element. I am a dumb old man but I can see time in jail changes a person for life. Our current system perpetuates criminal activity by putting people in prison that do not belong there but adapt....

CFJ

Posted by Cherokee Fred Jesus on 08/03/2009 @ 12:26PM PT
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FACTS:

Judges have been accused of taking bribes to insure for profit jails stay full.

Millions are paid under the table to ensure stiff sentences with jail time to insure corporate profits. It is called slavery where I come from. Wonder how much it cost to get the federal mandatory minimum sentence put in place? Grow one plant 5 years in jail and it is almost guaranteed you will do the five years..

Our representatives continue to take money and vote to jail us. Rather than help us.

They sell their vote and sacrifice millions to slavery to ensure they receive millions in contributions. We must stop the selling of our representation to the highest bidder.

Cops are caught planting drugs.

You have done nothing and are stopped for DWB if you don't kiss the cops ass they will plant drugs on you.

Plus is you know any cops they all have a quota systems. They are expected cover their cost by the fines and arrest they make to feed the system (system=jailers, cops, judges, jails, bailiff, jail food suppliers, inmate transportation, lawyers or any of the thousands that make their living supporting this war on drugs)

Legal drugs kill hundreds of thousands every year yet remain legal.

A herb that has never killed anyone based on written history for thousands of years of use is illegal.

The war on drugs was started mainly for racist reasons. It was viewed as a way to re-enslave the people of color. It is still working as designed today..

The secondary reason is greed. They did not want hemp to compete with oil and tree farming. So they made it illegal as well although you can't get a high from it. It would replace oil and tree farming if our leaders stopped taking bribes to keep it illegal.

The legal drug pushers liquor, beer, chemical drugs, cigarettes. Pay big bucks to keep cannabis illegal. They would lose too much money and could not competed with cannabis, any one can grow in their flower garden. hundreds of billions would be lost to these corporations every year so they pay to ensure the only choice we have is their products....

I could do this for days more later

Cherokee Fred Jesus

Posted by Cherokee Fred Jesus on 08/03/2009 @ 12:54PM PT
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Our present prison system is already bursting at the seams, with a maximum of 3 million beds, and approximately 2.8 million Americans in jail. JUST SUPPOSE we 'won' the war on cannabis tomorrow, where would we put the 20-25 MILLION Americans who have used in the last year?!

NOWHERE! We can't afford to WIN the 'War on Drugs,' it's time to admit it! Or are we going to build an additional TEN TIMES as many prisons as we have now?

Or is it preferable to create a permanent criminal underclass, that is a larger segment of the population than Asian-Americans?! 15 millions Asian-Americans in the US, versus 25 MILLION Americans who have used cannabis in the last 12 months. Along with the requisite harassment and destruction of citizen's lives, so we can 'protect' them from a substance less physically addictive than caffeine, and NO lethal dose?

Thanks for the oppression, but I'm done with it now. I suggest you stop, before we MAKE you stop!

Posted by Clayton Cleverly on 08/04/2009 @ 08:14AM PT
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Prohibition was bad enough but when greed kicked in with the war on drugs it has been crazy ever since.

If we don’t get pissed and organized to fight this it will get worse. Join the Drug War Coalition at…

http://drugwarcoalition.ning.com/

CFH

Posted by Cherokee Fred Jesus on 09/19/2009 @ 07:36AM PT
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Matt has worked and volunteered in various capacities in criminal justice reform for several years. When he's not blogging, he works as the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project. Views expressed here are Matt's, and don't represent the positions of the Innocence Project.