I defy anyone to give a single reason why drugs like marijuana and cocaine should be illegal that a) does not have anything to do simply with their being illegal and that b) does not also apply to anything else that is legal today and readily available.

Health? Then why are alcohol, tobacco, and Big Macs legal? Crime? That's because drugs are illegal. And anyway, then why are guns legal? (And don't say it's because of the Constitution, because that's a circular argument, like saying drugs are illegal because that's the law.)

If you legalize drugs today, Philip Morris will enter the market tomorrow, and drug crime will be no different than alcohol crime is now.

Clearly the war on drugs is profitable--either directly or indirectly. That's the only reason our government does anything.

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Support Ethan Nadelmann- He has been fighting this battle for decades.

Also buy his new book.

With your help and a new US president his ship will finally come in on reversing this truly insane US war on drugs.

I want him to live to see real victory for his efforts.

Dr. Rick Lippin
http://medicalcrises.blogspot.com

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CIA "contractors" are routinely busted, yet never prosecuted for importing literally TONS of cocaine / heroin.

The Iran Contra hearings revealed this reality after a US registered plane (used to smuggle arms to the "contras") full of cocaine crash landed. John Kerry actually talked about this in open session. Then the cover up followed.

Gary Webb's Dark Alliance series touched upon this reality.

Peter Dale Scott has a study of US sponsored drug traffincking.

Cockburn/St. Clair also studied the issue.

The CIA inspector general actually admitted to some criminal behavior by its contracted agents.

But, the reality is far worse and far more threatening to our republic than people realize. Afghanistan went from having eradicated poppy production, to being the world's largest exporter of heroin under OUR occupation. Our "allies" the Northern Alliance have been big narcotics producers for a very long time.

Daniel Hopsicker has a series of articles about a series of planes caught red handed -- and the owners never prosecuted. One of these cocaine smuggling planes was once moored at Huffman Aviation -- where Mohammad Atta allegedly learned how to fly, before 9/11.

One of Huffman's own planes was caught by DEA with "43 pounds of heroin" onboard. No one was prosecuted.

Other recent planes were caught, in Mexico, with 5.5 tons and 3.7 tons respectively.

Crimes of the State Blog

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If we legalize recreational drugs, they'll be easy to get!
Under the current legislation, illegal drugs are *impossible* to procure....yeah..

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If we legalize recreational drugs, they'll be easy to get!
Under the current legislation, illegal drugs are *impossible* to procure....yeah..

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AiPouF1iSs

This segment is on harm reduction and discusses heroin addicts. There is a truly amazingly incredible performance towards the end by Dr. Murry discussing addiction. It is a Do Not Miss performance, enjoy.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVbb_hdQOeg

"The problem isn't the law, the problem is the drug."

The answer lies in education.

This segment is more about their opposing world views, a far more abstract argument then the simple harm reduction one.

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I think it would be interesting to test your average drug warrior's convictions to his "principles".
Make them take a pay cut - let's say drop them down to the average wage for an industrial worker in the US - still fairly respectable. Return the money saved to the tax payers. Let's see how hard they're willing to work on principle alone. Hell, let's see if they'll volunteer. I'm sure John Q. Taxpayer would welcome the break.

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Can I ask why marijuana is mentioned in the same sentence with heroin and cocaine???

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Kudos, withchywoman; Why do people lump mj, with processed drugs?
For years people like Catherine Austin Fitts have been telling of CIA involvement in the drug trade. It is all part of the cycle which makes money for a lot of people.

Nothing will change until Americans decide, en mass, to show government we've had enough even if it is just one massive general strike day.

In our system of government change only comes from the people. Until the people decide they want change things will remain the same.

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MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION: A SPECIAL REPORT

Eight and one half minutes of high quality information starting with a test of the emergency bong hit system. Remember, it's in the good book.

Legalize it, don't criticize it.

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My favorite line by Mr. Murray:

""The drugs themselves are an enormous threat. They're threats because they destroy lives, they destroy families, and they destroy countries."

Brushing aside the unvalidated claim that chemical compounds can cause entire countries to collapse (I really do wonder what historical example Mr. Murray is thinking of), I think it's silly to say that the government is protecting families and "lives" from the dangers of drugs when the two most deadly and addictive drugs in the world are still completely legal: alcohol and tobacco.
Just visit a battered women's shelter and ask around about the dangers alcohol can have on the family and I'm sure you'll agree that that horrible substance should be made illegal. But wait, they already tried that didn't they? Oh yeah, that's right, Prohibition didn't work. Instead of having all that extra crime surrounding speakeasies and bootlegging, they just legalized it and let people decide for themselves if they wanted to put it into their bodies, and in what amount. Granted, some people make bad decisions about it, but that's what a free society is all about.
I just wonder how a man like Mr. Murray, who makes his money spouting such ridiculous hypocrisy, goes to sleep at night. I wonder if he has to take some Ambien...

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The war on drugs is a billion dollar business. The enforcement agents need illegality to justify their existence and power. Something like 80% of all crime is related to substance abuse, at least here in Southern Europe. America is likely higher. People kill and steal to feed their habit or keep their turf. Are the costs of related to the damages, law enforcement and incarceration relative to all those crimes included in "the costs".

If drug strict distribution is "licensed" and controlled it sure won't get into the school yard! The legalization would allow the supply and demand chain to be regulated, completely eliminating the middle-men and treating the user as a medical health patient. Drug abuse and prevention can then be tackled with social education and medical treatment. This would mean that the livelihoods of all from Afghan war lords, Medellin cartel bosses, to "hood" dealers and their runners would not depend on the CIA, FBI, DEA or other national and international agents success or failure in turning a blind eye on their "illegal" activities. The industry of cops and robbers could be drastically downsized and restructured.

Authorities do not want to see a logical restructuring for reasons of their economics and power. There is no moral argument to justify leaving the distribution side of drugs in the hands of criminals, if we can regulate it. Where drug users are de-criminalized and drugs are regulated, crime goes down, addicts are helped, and lives are saved and improved. The costs to society, and to the taxpayers are reduced.

Wikipedia – “In the 2005 United Nations World Drug Report, the value of the global illicit drug market for the year 2003 was estimated at US$13 billion at the production level, at US$94 billion at the wholesale level, and US$322 - $400 billion based on retail prices and taking seizures and other losses into account.”

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