Global Commission on Drug Policy has declared War on Drugs is lost.

[billybroome]

It appears people are finally realizing prohibition of any sort will never work.

Major panel: Drug war failed; legalize marijuana

By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press.

NEW YORK – The global war on drugs has failed and governments should explore legalizing marijuana and other controlled substances, according to a commission that includes former heads of state, a former U.N. secretary-general and a business mogul.

A new report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy argues that the decades-old "global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world." The 24-page paper will be released Thursday.

"Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won," the report said.

The 19-member commission includes former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former U.S. official George P. Schultz, who held cabinet posts under U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. Others include former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, former presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, writers Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa, U.K. business mogul Richard Branson and the current prime minister of Greece.

IMO the criminalization of drug use only gives strength to gangs who traffic in the market. It happened in the days of the prohibition of alcohol, and with a study of what's happening in Mexico today, it is only gotten worse. Legalize it and tax it. Take the profit out of the cartels hands for crissakes! Empty our over crowded prison systems of non violent offenders. I know this will be a hard transition for a country like the United States, but repealing prohibition wasn't an easy task either.

The time has come to do this, and I'm a pretty right leaning guy who could pass any piss test. We are fighting a war that can never be won. The arguments against this policy by our drug czar Gil Kerlikowske only echos other statements by past government officials year after year after year, yet the drug use continues. It will never stop, and anyone who thinks otherwise is extremely misguided. If there is a market for a product, someone will step in to fill it. It's one of the statutes of capitalism. America's need for drugs fuels the violence south of the border. I believe legalization of drugs can stem this because what we've done for the past 50+ years sure hasn't worked.

How long are we going to bang our heads into the same wall?

[JerryK]

I have 2 problems, neither of them 'moral':

Technology, and the broad range of human intellect.

Automobiles and Firearms weren't around thousands of years ago when this stuff was being discovered. Despite current laws to make alcohol 'safe', some of our most esteemed citizens will still get wasted and drive a car.

We're too stupid to handle the responsibility.

[billybroome]

I have 2 problems, neither of them 'moral':

Technology, and the broad range of human intellect.

Automobiles and Firearms weren't around thousands of years ago when this stuff was being discovered. Despite current laws to make alcohol 'safe', some of our most esteemed citizens will still get wasted and drive a car.

We're too stupid to handle the responsibility.

I can't argue the "stupid" part. I work with them every day and the vast majority does not use illicit drugs! Also I don't see why you felt the need to tie in firearms here though. They have been around long before someone stuck four wheels on a cart and planted an engine in it. You may as well start a thread about how effed up the chinese are for inventing gunpowder!

[JerryK]

I can't argue the "stupid" part. I work with them every day and the vast majority does not use illicit drugs! Also I don't see why you felt the need to tie in firearms here though. They have been around long before someone stuck four wheels on a cart and planted an engine in it. You may as well start a thread about how effed up the chinese are for inventing gunpowder!

I threw in firearms only because they're a technology that didn't exist long ago, and are probably safest if we're not using them while stoned. In 2000 bc, your camel won't drive into a tree and you can't get drunk and shoot your ex on a whim.

I'm not morally opposed to drugs, cars, or firearms. I just think giving (gluttonous self-indulgent) humans all 3 at the same time is unwise. Perhaps we can mix it up..drugs for a year, then cars/firearms for a year.

[slats]

I think Franklin Pierce ran over and killed a woman while riding a horse drunk.

Anyway, as to the panel, rarely has there been a better opportunity to use the phrase, "no sh*t, Sherlock." This "war" was lost long ago, but nothing's going to change here anytime soon. This country is way too uptight.

[CTM]

duh

[T0mShane]

I can't be trusted with a six pack and/or a prescription for Hydrocodone. Honestly, if you allowed me to walk into a store and buy weed, I'd drop out of society altogether within weeks.

[slats]

I can't be trusted with a six pack and/or a prescription for Hydrocodone. Honestly, if you allowed me to walk into a store and buy weed, I'd drop out of society altogether within weeks.

Is this an argument for or against legalization?

[Falcon63]

nuke teh ganstars

[T0mShane]

Is this an argument for or against legalization?

Ha! Awesome.

[JetsFanInDenver]

Any war can be fought and won.

The problem is all these programs become money making machines for the people supposed to fight these wars and then they want these wars to continue forever!

[Bugg]

Any war can be fought and won.

The problem is all these programs become money making machines for the people supposed to fight these wars and then they want these wars to continue forever!

True. We could decriminalize(not legalize) and make it a public health problem rather than a criminal one. But courts, cops, DAs, court clerks, court-ordered treatment programs and defense attorneys would have to find honest work.

[JetsFanInDenver]

True. We could decriminalize(not legalize) and make it a public health problem rather than a criminal one. But courts, cops, DAs, court clerks, court-ordered treatment programs and defense attorneys would have to find honest work.

And it goes beyond that. We provide other countries with billions of dollars to fight this war. And what they do in most cases is put up a dog and pony show to make it sound like they are doing something.

[CTM]

make it all legal, govt tax it, deficit reduced..

it's soo stupid.. booze is worse for you then any of this other stuff, but perfectly legal.. the one thing is that for booze there's an on the spot test for DUI.. whereas drugs, no

[Larz]

they don't want to win it. never did.

[JerryK]

I'm going to be a hypocrite and change my opinion a bit. (actually, just complicating it)

I think pot/hemp could be legalized with a few improvements in roadside testing. Billions being saved by halting the 'war' could certainly give us a test that police could use to determine impairment.

And industrial hemp being illegal is just stupid. Here's why:

It has STRONG genetics and almost no THC. What does this mean? It means people who grow the drug version outdoors will have their crops destroyed *for free* by honeybees. Crossing cannabis with hemp yields (mostly) hemp. Cannabis growers will be driven indoors and large crops tougher to grow.

We pay for thousands of federal agents to do nationwide eradication that honeybees would gladly do for free.

Similarly, hemp has more uses than cotton (and can be grown everywhere, not just the South). Farmers need a new crop like this to take advantage of.

[JerryK]

make it all legal, govt tax it, deficit reduced..

it's soo stupid.. booze is worse for you then any of this other stuff, but perfectly legal.. the one thing is that for booze there's an on the spot test for DUI.. whereas drugs, no

I think another reason booze is unique is you can have just a little (1 or 2 drinks) without being 'stoned'.

Every other drug is really an on/off switch.

[slats]

I think another reason booze is unique is you can have just a little (1 or 2 drinks) without being 'stoned'.

Every other drug is really an on/off switch.

That's not true. Any other drug can be used recreationally in small amounts. It's common for marijuana users to take one hit and go on their merrier way.

[JerryK]

That's not true. Any other drug can be used recreationally in small amounts. It's common for marijuana users to take one hit and go on their merrier way.

I won't go into the details of my past since I may run for public office someday

..but I don't know any marijuana users who only want to be 'a little' buzzed. And depending on who you knew when I was a kid, one hit took you from normal to staring at clouds & having million-dollar ideas you couldn't remember an hour later.

[rillo]

shocking.....but nothing will change, it's a money maker.

[SenorGato]

I feel like someone admits this publicly every year to deaf ears. We're such a full of sh*t people...

[Jets Voice of Reason]

make it all legal, govt tax it, deficit reduced..

it's soo stupid.. booze is worse for you then any of this other stuff, but perfectly legal.. the one thing is that for booze there's an on the spot test for DUI.. whereas drugs, no

I don't smoke it, but I completely support this stance. Economically it makes a ton of sense to legalize and tax it. Also, like someone else mentioned, if it's legalized, you take away from the black market in the US, which finances some bad sh*t.

Problem is the moral outrage people get about it. Why they don't make the same stink about alcohol as they do weed is beyond me.

[Jets Voice of Reason]

Don't know how known this is, but the Supreme Court just made a ruling on the Fourth Amendment.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=306449

The police now have the right to enter your home without a warrant, as long as they hear "unlawful activity" going on before entering. Basically, there was a drug sting at a house in Kentucky. Police announced their presence and the people inside obviously started to flush evidence. The police did not have a warrant (which they could've easily obtained) and seized evidence before it disappeared. The State Supreme Court ruled that it violated the fourth amendment, but thankfully, the Supreme Court decided that it was not in violation of the fourth amendment.

The ramifications of this are horrible, imo. How easy is it for the police to forcibly search your house without a warrant and claim that they heard noises going on.

[slats]

It's always supposed to be about the children, too. Thing is, any schoolkid will tell you that's it's easier for them to get weed than it is to get alcohol. Remove the illegal market thru legalization, and it becomes tougher for kids to get their lungs on it.

[CTM]

It's always supposed to be about the children, too. Thing is, any schoolkid will tell you that's it's easier for them to get weed than it is to get alcohol. Remove the illegal market thru legalization, and it becomes tougher for kids to get their lungs on it.

Was definitely true for me from 16-18, way easier to get pot, lsd, mushrooms.. then alcohol

[JohnnyHector]

[CTM]

Don't know how known this is, but the Supreme Court just made a ruling on the Fourth Amendment.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=306449

The police now have the right to enter your home without a warrant, as long as they hear "unlawful activity" going on before entering. Basically, there was a drug sting at a house in Kentucky. Police announced their presence and the people inside obviously started to flush evidence. The police did not have a warrant (which they could've easily obtained) and seized evidence before it disappeared. The State Supreme Court ruled that it violated the fourth amendment, but thankfully, the Supreme Court decided that it was not in violation of the fourth amendment.

The ramifications of this are horrible, imo. How easy is it for the police to forcibly search your house without a warrant and claim that they heard noises going on.

If that's true it's complete bs... police have too much power as it is

[Larz]

If that's true it's complete bs... police have too much power as it is

it is BS

and the citixens if Indiana stood up for themselves. Can't believe this wasn't a bigger story

[billybroome]

Problem is the moral outrage people get about it. Why they don't make the same stink about alcohol as they do weed is beyond me.

I can see now why your name is "Voice of Reason". Compare the statistics of deaths caused directly by the use of alcohol or any other drug. There IS no comparison! The legal drug is far and away more dangerous! It's pure hypocrisy on how we as Americans write our laws.

[JerryK]

I can see now why your name is "Voice of Reason". Compare the statistics of deaths caused directly by the use of alcohol or any other drug. There IS no comparison! The legal drug is far and away more dangerous! It's pure hypocrisy on how we as Americans write our laws.

Our laws are very specific about drunk driving, public drunkenness, and open containers in vehicles. Are our laws really so bad, or is the problem humanity's willingness to obey them?

Humans are gluttons, they're lazy, and they're pathologically selfish. We're kind to our families and friends, but beyond that we don't really give a sh**t. Downtown at the Christmas parade, in front of the huge tree, our children will watch the cool people lighting joints and shooting heroin, because they can. Plan on needles in every beach. Addiction will drive a wave of white homeless into the cities to greet their largely minority counterparts. Party on! (but party in the backyard, because incidents of children being mowed down next to the street will be going up too)

[CTM]

Our laws are very specific about drunk driving, public drunkenness, and open containers in vehicles. Are our laws really so bad, or is the problem humanity's willingness to obey them?

Humans are gluttons, they're lazy, and they're pathologically selfish. We're kind to our families and friends, but beyond that we don't really give a sh**t. Downtown at the Christmas parade, in front of the huge tree, our children will watch the cool people lighting joints and shooting heroin, because they can. Plan on needles in every beach. Addiction will drive a wave of white homeless into the cities to greet their largely minority counterparts. Party on! (but party in the backyard, because incidents of children being mowed down next to the street will be going up too)

bahahahaha.. was that serious?

[billybroome]

bahahahaha.. was that serious?

That dude is a goofball!

[New York Mick]

This isn't political but drug testing for welfare is???????? I need to start drinking more

[billybroome]

This isn't political but drug testing for welfare is????????

I can understand this train of thought. I'm employed as an F.A.A. certified aircraft mechanic, and I'm subject to random drug testing. I've never asked for a free handout, and have never been given one. I see the point of drug testing people living off the working mans dime. If you're living free on me, you better not be getting high.

[JerryK]

That dude is a goofball!

No, I'm just very aware of the quantity of stupid people in every city.