The Drug War - good or bad?

[Berzerker]

I dont want to limit definitions of good and bad to strict body counts given there are many considerations, but I would like to know the following:

Does the drug war save lives?

If it does, I can at least understand some rationale for the drug war... So, I'd appreciate a debate about the pros and cons before voting.

Homicide rates go up during drug wars, the result of black market activity and the state's response. The rates fluctuate for various reasons, largely based on the intensity of enforcement and competition for turf. But this cost is worth it, right? All the cops and other people caught in the crossfire? What are their deaths buying us?

Ostensibly less drug use...

Otherwise, what would be the point?

We're sacrificing all those people who get killed in the war so fewer people will use drugs.

So is it true? Does the drug war reduce consumption? And if so, does it reduce consumption enough to "justify" the higher homicide rates? Nixon's war on pot led to Reagan's war on cocaine etc, did we see more addicts in 1965 or 1985? How about 1965 vs 2010?

Does anyone know of any websites that analyze the drug war to answer seemingly relevant questions to whether or not the war works?

 

[Synobun]

We're better off investing the money we use in the drug war to something like rehabilitation clinics and education programs. No government scare tactics, just plain facts. Obviously research would need to be increased in illicit substances as well.

Legalizing and providing ample opportunity for recovery and education for drugs will weaken cartels, weaken the black market, and improve national mental health and physical health. Along with this, we save money and get a good boost to the economy.

I loathe drugs from a personal standpoint, but I see no reason to try and crack down on it. It's a guaranteed lose war.

 

[Core Imposter]

I have a family member who is an opiate addict so this is personal to me.

I would not have a problem with hanging drug dealers. I'd do it myself. I'd have no problem at all with it.

But the drug war is simply a failure. Drugs are always available and always affordable and violence is awful. I can't tell you that things would be better or worse if we change what we are doing but what we are doing is not working.

So I am open to change. What change is debatable.

 

[ComradeDavo]

From a UK perspective, the war on drugs is a failure. I fully support calls to decriminalize cannabis, as Professor David Nutt has stated many times it's less harmful than alcohol and doing so would mean we would be able to both regulate it and earn tax money from it. Other drugs should have a focus on rehab for users, not on punishment.

Just pointing out that to decriminalize cannabis would free up alot of police resources to go after hard drug dealers as well.

 

[classical_hero]

If you consider becoming schizophrenic as a lesser side effect, then yes it is.

 

[Global Skeptic]

If you consider becoming schizophrenic as a lesser side effect, then yes it is.

Please give evidence and comparisons with other drugs including alcohol for general health risks.

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

One thing that really stood out to me about Holland (though my experience was essentially restricted to Ampsterdam) was the maturity that the locals showed in regards to drugs and alcohol. The vibe I got (very scientific I know) was that if you were addicted or consumed anything to an unhealthy degree of excess, you were essentially viewed as a dickhead. The liberal nature of the laws had stripped the glamour from drug use and people behaved accordingly.

 

[warpus]

Does anyone know of any websites that analyze the drug war to answer seemingly relevant questions to whether or not the war works?

No, but all those resources you guys are wasting on fighting this silly drug war would be much better spent going after gangs, illegal firearm owners, violent crime, and so on.

Instead the resources are wasted... soft drug users are filling up your jails..

It's a huge mess.

 

[History_Buff]

A government taking actions to reduce drug use could be A Good Thing.

The way the US (and Canada to a lesser degree) are bad implementations of a good idea.

 

[Agent327]

if you consider becoming schizophrenic as a lesser side effect, then yes it is.

lolwut

 

[TomYo689]

Legalize -> tax it -> fix deficit

 

[dutchfire]

The only thing I know is that your drug policy shouldn't be written by lobbyists from for profit prisons.

 

[Berzerker]

I have a family member who is an opiate addict so this is personal to me.

I would not have a problem with hanging drug dealers. I'd do it myself. I'd have no problem at all with it.

Two family members died from alcoholism, I dont blame the alcohol dealers... If I end up with cancer due to my 3 decades of smoking cigs, I wont blame the tobacco farmers and dealers. If I blame anyone it'll be myself, not the person who sold me what I wanted to buy.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

The Drug War has been a failure, especially for the people of Mexico.

 

[CaptainF]

The Drug War has been a failure, especially for the people of Mexico.

And Peru, and Colombia, and Guatemala, and Honduras, and Ecuador, and Afghanistan, and...

Don't forget the United States, which has the highest incarceration rate in the world bar none thanks to punitive drug policy and private prisons. Yet, we still consume more drugs than any other country in the world, bar none.

USA #1, indeed. We should declare a war on education, for then we would surely achieve enlightenment!

 

[Kaitzilla]

The Drug War has been a colossal failure by every possible measure.

 

[duckstab]

It's been about as successful as prohibition, meaning, it's significantly worsened the problem it was intended to solve.

Marijuana should be 100% legal, and taxed/regulated in exactly the same way as tobacco and alcohol. Not that I believe it's magically risk-free, but there's no way it can be seriously argued to be that much more dangerous than those substances.

I'm somewhat more conflicted about most other recreational drugs. If they could be legally obtained it would probably drive the price down and the drug lords would have to find other ways of making a living. But I'm also sensitive to the objection that it would, at least in the short term, encourage more drug abuse.

On balance, I'd probably favor dropping criminal sanctions for sale and possession of most drugs, with the exception of anything that tended to promote violent behavior in a significant number of users. And, of course, selling or furnishing any drug to a minor should be either a high misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the drug. But fundamentally I think adults have a basic right to make their own choices about what they put in their bodies.

The money we save by not locking up individual users could be better spent on education, addiction treatment programs, and focusing remaining enforcement efforts on the supply side.

 

[Perfection]

As a CIA-allied drug smuggler I support the higher prices for my product and the wonderful kickbacks it allows me to deliver to our nation's heros.

 

[Berzerker]

I understand the potential skewing of internet polls, but 25-2?

I was expecting it closer, surely there must be something accomplished by Prohibition that at least argues in its favor. I'm just having trouble finding it, while my bias is obvious I do try to argue both sides but I cant even say the drug war has reduced consumption. How would I find out and why haven't the Prohibitionists plastered such news of their great and glorious victory all over the media if it exists?

 

[History_Buff]

I was expecting it closer, surely there must be something accomplished by Prohibition that at least argues in its favor.

Prohibition accomplished some good stuff in it's day. But that doesn't mean that it was necessarily the best way to approach the problem, nor does it make all prohibitionist approaches a good idea.