Has the war on drugs been successful?
546361
The War on Drugs has been one of the most silliest things to happen in our, oh so civilized, country in the past 200 years.\nIt is a war that cannot be won.  People are overdosing because they don't know how to use the drug responsibly.  We have imprisoned a large percentage of the population and the use rate of drugs such as Marijuana have grown six fold since prohibition.  If there is a will there is a way and people want to use drugs so all the money goes into the hands of what most people would call gangs.\nThere are over 89 million self admitted drug users in the United States alone.  Can you imagine the taxes for supporting these people in prison?  The war on "Drugs" is a miserable failure and we have done nothing but drain our social programs.  ie Social Security, Welfare,...
118009
That is a great question - you hit the nail totally on the head at the absolute ridiculousness of the supposed "war on drugs". \n\nWhy are we telling people not to take "illegal" drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis, etc., when "legal" drugs such as prozac, seroxat and zoloft are used in pretty much exactly the same way.\n\nIt comes down to money and control. Pharmaceutical companies make billions of dollars from psychiatric drugs and GPs seem to hand them out to people like candy. And what do these drugs actually do? They certainly do not cure anyone of anything. Mental illnesses are not physical diseases. Taking prozac for "depression" is not like taking insulin for diabetes. Psychiatry is total junkscience. All these drugs do is simply change the normal chemistry of the brain to create a false psychological state. Long-term use, like any other drug, can be seriously harmful, both physically and mentally, and yet many people swear by them as some sort of modern day wonder. These same people, i'm guessing, at the same time, are probably telling their kids about the dangers of smoking weed or snorting coke...! It's totally crazy.\n\nAll psychoactive drugs are harmful, whether "legal" or "illegal". Instead of fussing about the legality and costs of recreational drugs, or being blinded by the giant pharmaceutical companies' propaganda regarding "psychiatric medications", governments should look into what is missing in society for people to turn to mind-affecting drugs in the first place.\n\nMike\n\n--\nDecoding Psychiatric Propaganda\nhttp://groups.msn.com/psychbusters\n\n\n--------------\nNOTE ADDED: 03 Feb 2006\nFairyNanook, Of course... anyone who has even the slightest criticism of Psychiatry must be a Scientologist! LOL! Do me a favour! And as for your claim that "depression is a physical disease, just like every other disease out there" I would simply say this: PROVE IT! Provide me with some SCIENTIFIC PROOF! No one has been able to so far, including the NIMH, NAMI or the American Psychiatric Association. Only last July did the president of the APA, Dr. Steven Sharfstein admit that "We do not have a clean-cut lab test". Check the DSM IV and it even says it in there. There is no evidence that ANY mental illness is a physical disease. If you have been told differently then know this: YOU HAVE BEEN LIED TO. Check http://groups.msn.com/psychbusters for more info.
983489
Not yet it isn't but there are thoughts of doing so, and the costs will rise year on year. It's been tried in the past already. We will get addicts becoming more dependent. Doctors inundated with work. What if some people pretend to be addicts so that they can get supplies in order to get young children 'hooked' on drugs? What if some Doctors start drug dealing? It is open to all kinds of abuse. Money would be better spent trying to prevent people taking drugs in the first place and getting addicts off drugs.  This is a typical example of what's wrong with this Country. What are we trying to do? Give the Police less work? We want a visible Police Force with more manpower to tackle crime, not a nanny force.
1030353
DUCK, man, DUCK!!!!! boy are you in for it. You should know by now you can't talk sense here.\n\nTry saying that when we declared war on terror, it meant we are never gonna stop,\n\nor that the government uses the war on drugs to invade our private lives,\n\nYou are so brave:)
1186556
we know that it is like a game we get high the cops try to catch us so far i have been winning,  but the police were hired to uphold the law even if they do not think it is right.  so the law is the law and I want them to do their job, however I am hoping that the government will finally see that legalizing and taxing pot is smarter than trying to fight a losing battle
1124490
they have better prescription drugs for them now.  the govt is making it illegal so we have to buy pills from them.. dont worry... theyll still be able to get high somehow
439567
c'mon!!! get a grip !!! they have been trying 2 stop the drug trade 4 years. the war on drugs has cost " BILLIONS " of $$$$$ and nuttin' has changed except the names of the drugs bein' used at the time
989149
It seems that the war on drugs is an excuse for making it a war on its own citizens rather than stopping the drugs at their source.\nand also a way of making the police forces bigger. \nDrugs a a big problem mainly because it is illegal and their is so much money to be made. It would be far better to leave everyone to make their own free will choice about drugs. \nThe real war on drugs begins and ends with one thing the user.\nIf everyone stop then the market would stop.\nSpend more money on education and help with drug addicts and\ntreat drug addiction as a sickness and not a crime.\nCigarette companies kill lots lots more people but somehow our strange laws allows the sale of cigarettes.\nIts a health problem that is and has not been properly looked at.
1181985
it works well as a ethnogenic experience and has had some success getting some people people off of heroin. it supposedly worked because the people came to the profound realization that some drugs are harmful
356066
Wow. That's a tough question.\nPersonally I disagree with government controls of personal decions. Unfortunately, there are a lot of stupid people out there that don't know how to behave responsibly. Also, meth is an amazingly addictive drug. I know, I became addicted to it. I haven't touched it in over a year and a half, but having been there I can say that there is no positive outcome from using it. It eats your body and numbs your mind.\n\nSo, should it be legal? Probably not.\nDo I feel that it would be safer if allowed to be produced in safer, controlled conditions, not to mention the amount of money it would save the government not fighting that particular war? Plus tax revenues? Probably. Plus our personal freedoms could use every boost they can get, even in this "free" country.
202361
It was made illegal primarily through racism, along with protection of certain special interests.  It has maintained its illegality through self-protection of the huge drug war industry, and extensive propaganda.  Read the source for the whole story.
797245
I just attended a lecture yesterday that talked about these very statistics.  Our crime rate is actually going down, but our rate of incarceration is going up.  This reflects the US' "war on crime" and "war on drugs" started in the late 70s, early 80s (Reagan, mostly).  It's because we are taking action and using incarceration as the solution.  To really properly analize these numbers, you also have to look at the crime rates of all these nations (we also score very poorly, there, so you still have a point).  The statistics for african-americans is even worse - something like 6000+ african-american inmates per 100,000.
20917
If you mean the US federal government, then the answer is clearly no.  Since George Bush took office in 2000, there has been a large shifting of DEA funds focused on harder drugs such as heroin and cocaine to marijuana.  They have also attempted to pass harsher penalties against marijuana use and have passed a bill that takes away students' eligibility for financial aid if they are arrested for marijuana possession.
715613
That's what I've been saying for years.  When kids try mary jane for the first time they find out that their parents and their school is full of crap and that it isn't as bad as they were told.  So, of course they suspect they are being lied to about other things as well.  All the war on drugs does is breed mistrust among the younger generation.  It has had no appreciable effect on drug use whatsoever.
158959
well, that depends on the drug and your view of it... for example, PCP...  I think that PCP is an acceptable target... however, for the most part the WAR on drugs is far worse than the drugs themselves...\n\nScenario:  55year old man, smokes weed, otherwise a model citizen, gets arrested over a stupid drug charge... from that day foreward, his life is RUINED...  why?\n\nWell, for one Dupont has a financial stake in keeping marijuana illegal because it could cut into their proffit margin in the areas of Synthetic fibers, Pharmacuticles, and Petrochemicals...  And surprise surprise, Bush owns stock in Dupont and the Oil industry...\n\nAs far as other drugs go... check out this question I asked...\nhttp://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuwI91iO.Ta5BWoyCzncra_sy6IX?qid=1006022410912\nthen check out a website dedicated to the TRUTH about Drugs, and all aspects of them...\nhttp://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/
387318
Well of course, by criminalizing the drug trade you force it to organize along certain guidlines, even if you legalize the drug trade it would then still be organized by the government. Im an American and the government is the biggest drug dealer i have ever seen.
171205
I'd say war on drugs. They are becoming an abomination on our land. It is so wide spread it would be hard to find a group to inlist. \nBut it needs to be dealt with properly and soon. It is destroying so many lives.