AP: "US drug war has met none of its goals"

[solarbird]

An award to the AP for stating the obvious: AP IMPACT: US drug war has met none of its goals. No shit. On the other hand, it has cost around US$1T, militarised the police force, hammered away property rights, and screwed millions of people, so if you're unkind and suggest that the real goal was increasing government power, then, well, mission accomplished! But in terms of stated goals, it's a complete failure. That's not really disputable.

Get this defence of the drug war from former U.S. drug czar John P. Walters:

"To say that all the things that have been done in the war on drugs haven't made any difference is ridiculous," Walters said. "It destroys everything we've done. It's saying all the people involved in law enforcement, treatment and prevention have been wasting their time. It's saying all these people's work is misguided."

Um, yeah. That is what it's saying. That's exactly what it's saying. Well spotted! And why is it saying that? Because it's true.

Comments

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

...not to mention the fact that it's also the war on medicine :/

[westrider.livejournal.com]

Off topic, but: Tigerlily Jones Icon FTW!

[solarbird]

Indeed it is; but I tend to think that's considered "acceptable collateral damage" rather than legitimate potential target. I could be wrong, of course.

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

i think that being anti-science is a big goal. as is being, say, racist, so it's not alone.