Should Democrats quit the War on Drugs?

[Q]

- Speaking of war...why is the US government still 'fighting' what everyone knows is a failed war on drugs? And why is the Democratic party still supporting this war against their own people?

- End the war on drugs. Like abortion...it should be an issue between the individual and their physician.

[cavebat2000]

1. the war on drugs

is the biggest joke of all time.

[Q]

4. Everyone knows it's a 'joke'...

...but it's one of the biggest money-making industries in the US. From prisons to drug tests...millions are made off the misery of those caught up in the system.

- The 'war on drugs' needlessly ruins lives and futures. Yet...this issue is no longer even debated in the public forum.

[frylock]

11. check out the book 'ur-ine trouble'..

great chapter in the book outlining the failures of anti-drug programs like D.A.R.E..

[formernaderite]

23. Absolutely...legalization of drugs now!!!

I am extremely fed up with the expense of fighting this ridiculous mostly racist, war. Drug users are idiots....but there's no law against idiocy...I don't care what they do as long as they don't use and drive.
We would instantly end the crime issues associated with drug use and drug commerce. This would be a great wedge issue...and frankly I have NEVER spoken to anyone on either side of the political spectrum who supports the drug war. The only people I've come in contact with who support a continuation of this policy are politicians.

[Q]

45. All 'drug users' aren't 'idiots'...

...for instance...many people take drugs for chronic pain. Those with chronic pain are finding it more difficult to get legitimate prescriptions for pain pills because the DEA is harassing doctors and threatening to take their licenses away. A doctor friend of mine is thinking about giving up his narcotics license because DEA agents are 'brandishing their guns', threatening his staff and 'acting like the Gestapo'.

- And you're right...only politicians want to continue this senseless war on our people. You'll find that many in the law enforcement field think it's a waste of time and takes away resources to fight 'real' crime.

[formernaderite]

50. Okay...I'm referring to people who use for the high...

...not for any medical reason. There was a book written by a writer from Reason magazine last year, don't recall the title but it talked about the real drug stats and whether users could function. I heard it on c-span..the gist was using govt stats, most users in any drug category were highly functioning, with addiction rates following the addiction rates for alcohol. The whole scam that all drug users are addicted and crazed individuals was put to rest.
My personal bias is that drugs are idiotic...I live on a natural high and have never needed anything else. When I was younger I experimented about four times and found nothing interesting in the effect.

[drdigi420]

52. i use pot to control my chronic rage syndrome

without pot, i have the urge to kill stupid ppl

with pot, i simply make fun of them

moral of the story: pot saves lives

[DrWeird]

72. People who don't use drugs are fucking idiots.

And people who say they get high on life are fucking cowardly twits that don't have any kind of social life.

At least that's my own personal opinion.

[drdigi420]

51. Carl Sagen smoked pot everyday

booze is more likely to result in 'idiocy' than cannabis

[Merrick]

53. since when

was there a real legitimate war on drugs? They should call it a pretense on drugs. Just an excuse to fund capitalist friendly despots, protect foreign $ interests, distract attention away from other issues (see anything endeavor they attach the word "War" to). Before the "War" started under Nixon, just a few % of poll respondents indicated that they felt the greatest problem facing the country was drugs; after the "War" was declared, that number jumped into the 30%s and some pressure was relieved for Dick.

[ordentros]

2. money, honey...

[SerpentX]

3. Definitely.

A waste of money and lives that does nothing but further the interests of the prison-industrial complex. Doesn't mean we should legalize everything, but we absolutely need a change in philosophy.

[Q]

6. Legalization isn't the issue...

...it's putting human beings in prison for a 'sin'.

[leesa]

5. Just another bogus war, like the war on terrorism

It's a way for our gov to invade countries and steal their resources and pocket income from drug running. Keeps the pharmaceutical companies and the jails thriving.

[mdmc]

7. Conservatives, not Democrats, will fight for us

I voted for Nader in 96 and 2000, based on the Democratic party pitch that they are the lesser of two evils. Heck, Gore ran stressing that there WERE differences between the Dems and the GOP.

I'm in a blue state, but I know Floridians that feel the same way. DU'ers will yell "ABB!", but please realize that most people don't vote. Most people don't care. Dems should give those people a reason to vote. Bashing progressives will never save this party.

[radwriter0555]

8. The question is, should Democrats DECRIMINALIZE DRUG USE AND POSSESSION?

THAT would end this phony so-called war on drugs.

Think of the TRILLIONS of dollars freed up for us, if we were to end this bogus, racist bullshit war on PEOPLE..

[MrPrax]

9. They should stop the whole pattern...

The Supply:
Orchestrated coups/client-states to topple 'drug' countries like Vietnam, Afghanistan, Haiti, Panama, Colombia etc etc

The Demand:
Create higher profitability by forcing up prices up due to artificial risks associated with the 'war on drugs'

Yeah the democrats should do something about it--but from Delano Lines (the D in FDR) involvement in the opiate trade to Clinton's increased funding on the 'war' on drugs...doubtful

[library_max]

10. Franklin P. Adams, 1931, on Prohibition

This poem was a satiric paraphrase of a government study on the effectiveness of Prohibition at that time.

Prohibition is an awful flop.
We like it.
It can't stop what it's meant to stop.
We like it
It's left a trail of graft and slime,
It's filled our land with vice and crime,
It don't prohibit worth a dime,
Nevertheless we're for it.

[Sophree]

18. Remember Prohibition?

It still doesn't work.

http://www.natlnorml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4966

Great poem! It reminded me of the NORML slogan.

The War on Drugs is not only a joke, a con job, and a HUMUNGOUS waste of our precious resources. It is a direct threat to our fundamental rights- Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

oops typo

[Festivito]

12. At least change it to a war on drugs, not the poor.

Allow people to live peacefully with or without drugs, however, if failing at work, if causing accidents while under influence, counseling becomes more and more mandatory, finally jail to those who fail interventions and continue to jeopardize other people's life, liberty, etc.

[Kamika]

13. We should continue to fight it.

drugs are bad, everyone knows it.. we have to continue to fight it.


Shoudl we allow murders just because we have alot of them?

[SOS]

16. Fight what exactly?

America's most abused drugs:
1. Alcohol
2. Marijuana
3. Prescription drugs
Less than 0.7% of Americans use cocaine or heroin.
Cannabis is an herb and should be decriminalized. The laws do much more damage than the plant.
That leaves us with booze and pills wrecking the lives of millions. Yet since big corporations manufacture America's real drug problems nothing is done.

[Spider Jerusalem]

17. Actually, drugs are mostly bad because they're illegal.

Alcohol is as bad as or worse than any of the illegal drugs with the exceptions of cocaine and its derivatives and methamphetamine.

Surprising how many of the things that "everyone knows" are utterly wrong...

[Kamika]

19. I'm all for outlawing alcohol aswell

We both know that will never happen so outlawing as many drugs as possible is fine by me

[Spider Jerusalem]

20. You know what happened LAST time alcohol was outlawed?

Does the word "Prohibition" ring any bells, there? Criminalisation of alcohol resulted in the greatest growth of organised crime and the greatest period of governmental corruption in American history. I really don't think we need to go there again.

If you sincerely believe this, then you're no better than the psychopathic right-wingers who seek to impose their own personal view of "morality" upon everyone else.

[Kamika]

22. Then we fight it even harder

If organised crime grows.. we fight it.. we don't lay down and say.. ok guys since you murdered so many people you won.. it's cool to murder now.


and spare me your insults

[Spider Jerusalem]

25. That's not an insult, it's the truth. Too bad if you're insulted. (n/t)

[thebigidea]

28. apparently he hates freedom...

[SOS]

27. The US has been fighting

organized crime for 85 years.
At what point do we realize that the current policies don't work?
100 years? 150 years?

[drdigi420]

39. complete garbage

murder has a VICTIM

drug use does not

and even if you somehow stretch the meaning of the word to cover the user as a 'victim' of the drugs

the 'victim' should have a right to NOT press charges against the 'perp', since they are both one and the same


do you not get that prohibition of ANY drug only causes that drug to be more dangerous and empowers criminals?


alcohol is the most devastating drug in the history of man and outlawing it made it even worse

i hate booze, i wont be around someone who has been drinking, but i know better than to think outlawing it will make it go away

[Rich Hunt]

62. what a joke

Prohibition empowered organized crime to such an extent that these guys were putting politicians in office, and had friends in the police forces.

The mob got so much power after prohibition that eventually both parties were courting the mob.

That 'fighting harder' would do anything is laughable.

Furthermore, as a person of Irish / Italian descent, drinking is a part of my culture. I resent the imposition of some other people's culture / religion on MY community. This attitude is already enforced through laws that are currently on the books : restrictions on the sale of alcohol, 'sin' taxes, the use of zoning laws to shut down bars and nightclubs - it goes on and on.

[dubae524]

71. not really

If drugs were legalized, then organized crime would lose control of the drug production and distribution business. It is much cheaper to do things legally, than it is to do things illegally. In fact, by legalizing drugs, you are making a real blow against organized crime.

[SOS]

21. Alcohol prohibition was a failure

The crime rate skyrocketed, organized crime became established, people died from bootleg booze, corruption of public officials became common and people continued to drink.
Finally in 1933 they repealed prohibition. Outlawing dos not work.
The US should adopt the Dutch and Swiss harm reduction model.

Holland has de facto legal cannabis, yet the % of Dutch cannabis users is LOWER than the US %!

[Sophree]

26. Not to mention

Alocohol use went WAY UP during Prohibition.

[thebigidea]

29. "Then we fight it even harder"

probably raised from an early age by Bill Bennett's fairy tales or something.

[Sophree]

33. Isn't that the definition of insanity?

Doing the same thing, over and over again, expecting a different result?

:freak:

oops grammar

[dubae524]

69. "alcohol prohibition"

Do the words "abject failure" mean anything?

http://www.briancbennett.com/failure.htm

This and others from Googling "war on drugs abject failure":

http://www.mapinc.org/letters/1999/11/lte120.html

etc.
etc.

The War on Drugs is used by the government to control. The government makes up a bugbear and then uses it to increase power for itself. Now we see the largest prison population in the world, whose majority is composed of people who just wanted to smoke some pot. Is it really evil to smoke pot? Is it so evil that you should be punished, locked up, raped, etc.? This fear of drugs reminds me of fear of sodomy, fear of gay marriage, and other fears that the Christian Right has that makes them want to pass laws to control everyone. I can't believe there are progressives who still support the War on Drugs.

Even some of the Right is waking up. After all, look at Rush Limbaugh. He berated again and again against drug users. Now that he's being busted for drug use, he may start to see things in a different light.

[drdigi420]

34. drug prohibition is worse than drugs

the 'cure' is worse than the disease

the best thing to do is to take control of the drug markets by legalizing, regulating, taxing, and educating

making ANY drug illegal only makes that drug WORSE

[pnb]

55. Most of the murders happen BECAUSE of prohibition

The artificially high price from prohibition is what causes some users to commit crimes for money for drugs. The rest of the crime is between dealers who obviously wouldn't be doing these things if drugs were legal.

You would reduce crime greatly this way. Look at the way the mob took over during alcohol prohibition.

[Kamika]

57. great

Hell.. we would completely get rid of crime if we legalized everything!!! omg

[pnb]

66. Lordy...

If you have to make a ridiculous comment like that to try and "prove" your point, that should tell you something about your point.

[DrWeird]

70. Legalize drugs and you'll save lives.

It's worked in lots of countries that have legalized drugs.

You won't hear about that in your DARE program.

[SOS]

73. There is a significant

difference between a criminal murdering a stranger for their wallet and someone who peacefully smokes a joint in the privacy of their own home. One is a de facto crime the other de jure.
So "legalize everything" is not a credible argument in regard to the drug war issue.

[BillZBubb]

14. Not entirely--but the focus should change

It shouldn't be the police state war against the poor that it has become. What it should be is a war against addiction and education about the REAL problems with drugs.

We need to make resources available to help the addicted. Instead of the usual "Reefer Madness" type propaganda, we need to make sure everyone is educated about the effects of drug use.

[mgarretson]

15. legalization, regulation, and taxation...

The War on Drugs is a joke... I think we should at least de-criminalize the softer drugs like marijuana. If we did that we could institute safety standards and the like and also place a tax on its sale so that we could help treat addiction.

It'd be just like the laws governing the production and sale of alcohol and tobacco products.

Even beyond that, I think we need to start addressing drug addiction as a health issue instead of a criminal issue because it doesn't help anyone to throw an addict in jail, but he/she might have a better shot at recovering if treatment facilities were more prevalent and accessible.

-Mike

[BiggJawn]

24. If we de-criminalize drugs, then Poppy goes broke.

Drug-running is Poppy and Ollie North's biggest money-makers.
You surely don't think they can run the CIA on just what Congress gives them, do you?

Legalize drugs, and the prison industry (CCA, Wackenhut, et.al)collapses.

Small-town PD's like mine will be cut back and not getting new cars every 2 years because they no longer have the "Drug SCOURGE" to fight.

The Rehab industry might see a spike until everyone gets it out of their systems, being able to get legally "toasted"...

And our kids will no longer be subjected to that lame-assed "D.A.R.E." program, which I always thought was pure "Sgt. Stedenko" and should have been sued by Cheech and Chong for plagerism...

Then tax the legal sale of drugs (and not at that stupid $25,000 an Oz. rate, either) and retire Bush's deficit in 3 years, and the National Debt in 20.

[John BigBootay]

30. Yes.

Money spent on treatment has yielded more and better success than money spent on stings, arrests, incarceration.

[hexola]

31. LEGAL drugs are the real enemy...

LEGAL drugs are quickly making most illegal drugs seem like candy. Oxycontin, Valium, Viagra, Vicodan, Percocet -- "pharmys" have taken over the recreational drug scene -big time-...we need to hold these dealers accountable...they are destroying society.

I only hope my kids start smoking pot before they get to any of that trash.

At the counter of my local convience store I can buy:

-Cigarettes (nicotine)
-Cigarette papers (to smoke pot)
-White Cross (ephedrine)
-And several "get me horny" products.
-Coffee

In the cooler:

-Red Bull
-Amp

and large variety of other legal stimulants...

NO WONDER!!!

How can we fight a war on drugs in society that runs commercials like the ones for "Red Bull" The message in the Red Bull commercials is clear..."Do More, Do it better, under the influence of Red Bull.."

Even most rec drug users are offended by these commercials...I want to smoke pot - but I dont want to advertise it on TV...

who are the real pushers of the drug mentality...?

[Mick Knox]

32. Dream On...

Kerry will run to the middle... forget about anything like that...

[sweetheart]

36. The power of "de-funding"

Kerry need not take any public policy changes. When he is confirmed
in to office, he will be faced with a massive fiscal fuckup on day
1. A bankrupt country, illegal wars spending billions, deficits and
such. A natural move will be to cut the DEA budget by 95% and to
cut all police-state drugs programmes by 95%. This will pay
lipservice to the WoD amongst the evil fuckers who support it, all
the while neutering it for the majority who are victemized by it.

Kerry can do a lot without "doing" anything. Hopefully some day when
we can speak the truth inside the beltway, the war against human
rights can be formally ended.

Nixon stepped up the war to fuck over the left-fringe who he percieved
as a threat (communists) to his right wing america. The war is
designed to imprison liberal opposition to republican dictatorships.
It takes liberal voters off the streets and strips them of their
voting rights, and fucks them over, quite literally.

[Mick Knox]

38. Good Points...

He may do that... I doubt it.. but he might.. but it sure wont be part of the platform. City's losing their drug funding = cops lose jobs = people will raise holy hell... but sensibility may some day overrule $$$... but I doubt it.. never has before.

[democratreformed]

35. How many of you think that changing the "war on drugs" to a "war on

poverty" could go a long way to solving many of the problems?

I'm not sure, but I know that what we are doing is an utter failure. I haven't noticed anyone on here mentioning meth. It is a major problem here in my area. I mean of catastrophic proportions. I have begun thinking that the problem is a cycle. It sometimes seems that when someone decides to deal with their problem, the poverty issue sends them right back to it.

Of course, that's no the whole problem. I think it has to do with family and/or support base as well. I am just not sure what the real answer is but what we are doing is failing.

[Forkboy]

37. You are so right

Poverty is the cause of many of our ills as a society.

[sweetheart]

40. for the price of the Wod, universal healthcare

for all americans. This is a way of fighting poverty, and drugs
addiction through engagement.

The war on drugs can be turned in medicine and treatment for all
americans. Amazing how we squander money on stupidity and then
claim we don't have it to offer healthcare.

[democratreformed]

42. Yes, I was thinking that too

There's not telling how much money is spent in the failed "WOD". Healthcare, I think, would be a great place to redirect some of the money as would housing and food programs.

[emc]

65. think of it this way

If you did away with the war on drugs---you would have to lay off half the police force, all the lawyers in the country would have to go on welfare and get honest jobs, judges would have to get a second job...drug enforcement agents would have to find other work like picking crops and the border patrol would go out of business...this is not to say you would have to close half the prisons in the west since here in the west they are the only thing keeping the economy going for local communities....its a way of life now but its not a way of life that is contributing anything tangable...

[democratreformed]

68. Can't agree about the lawyers

They would make a fortune suing drug suppliers for users. JMO. I understand your point on everything else. Not that I agree that it is the right thing to be doing.

[InhaleToTheChief]

41. It's not so simple to end the War on Drugs

I am all for 100% legalization. Prohibition does us no good at all.

That said, people should understand why the War on Drugs continues. It would not save the powers-that-be any money to end it. Far too much of our economy is caught up in fighting drugs. Lawyers, judges, cops, counselors, pharmecutical companies, alcohol manufacturers, prison employees, privatized prison investors...the list goes on...

In short, the economy would tank even harder than it is now unless we found something to replace the War on Drugs. Now, there is nothing ethically right about continuing this ridiculous effort so that all of these people can stay employed/profitable at the expense of others being ground through an unjust system. It's an enormous waste of resources and amounts to "job creation" of the most frivolous and large-scale kind that we have ever had in this country. But, that's the hole we have dug for ourselves.

So, how can we extract ourselves from this "war" when so many corporate interests are on the other side? Other than marijuana, which may have to be legalized due to public sentiment (we legalized pot here in Mendocino County by county-wide ballot measure a few years ago), I don't see a way out...

[drdigi420]

43. marijuana is what the 'war' is about

or, more specifically: HEMP

the 'powers that be' make a lot of money off oil, a natural resource such as hemp can replace half of all the oil used

its all about keeping a natural resource under wraps so that it cant compete with their cash cow: OIL

the whole 'war on drugs' is just a ruse to protect pharmaceutical, petro-chemical, and timber industry money

other industries have built up around the 'war on drugs' such as the prison industrial complex and the urine testing industry


its ALL ABOUT HEMP. hell, marijuana is the only drug that can really be tested for, as it leaves a footprint that is detectable weeks after use.

[InhaleToTheChief]

46. Yes...

Hemp is another big part of it...I agree completely...

But the prison industrial complex is growing by leaps and bounds. Huge law firms realize all of their profits from drug cases. There is *big* money tied up in that aspect of the "war" too.

I do agree that hemp is a biggie, but not necessarily any bigger than the other ways money is made off of drug prohibition. Hemp is why marijuana was initially outlawed in the 30's (upon the invention of nylon), but the problem has become much more deeply rooted since then, and hemp is only one facet of a really big problem.

[drdigi420]

49. hemp isnt the only component

but it is by far the largest

hemp's affect on oil demand would drop the price of oil dramatically, hurting the profits of the cheney administration and others in the oil 'bidness'

[drdigi420]

44. lets retrain those ppl to do something useful

like building homes for the homeless

fixing potholes

building schools

there is a LOT of work to be done in this country, finding new roles for displaced drug warriors shouldnt be a problem

[InhaleToTheChief]

47. How many lawyers do you know...

...who want to fix pot holes or build schools? I bet not too many?

Or fat cats who own private prisons...do you think they'll be letting go of that cash cow any time soon? No way.

We're talking about the most affluent segments of our society, who invest in human misery for profit. Fixing pot holes and scools is not profittable, so they have no interest.

As with everything that boils down to dollars and cents, right/wrong doesn't enter their thinking.

[drdigi420]

48. lawyers can help build schools

by helping to vet contracts for construction

not everyone involved in the building of a school swings a hammer

we can find productive jobs for these ppl

and actually, if they dont find a job, its poetic justice. they've made their living off a criminal activity (prosecuting an unconstitutional law is illegal and criminal in my eyes)


the 'peace dividend' of ending the war on drugs will pay for retraining, relocating, and any other 're' that needs doing

[InhaleToTheChief]

54. Well, I'm with you...

I agree with everything you say, especially the part where they deserve what they get.

I guess my point is that it will be a hard sell. These are the people who bankroll campaigns after all, and their voice seems to be a lot louder than yours or mine these days.

[drdigi420]

67. yep, there is nothing common about sense EOM

[spanone]

56. America should quit the war on drugs

What a sham. Where do the billions of dollars go?

[Merrick]

58. what a way to fight a war

fight to quell the use of drugs by americans by facilitating their import into the country to fund counter-revolutionaries, foreign investment friendly despots, etc.
What have been America's predominant sources of heroin, for instance, in the past 50 years? France in the 40s-50s, Vietnam and SE ASIA 60s-early 70s, Afghanistan late 70s-80s... what a coincidence

[NNN0LHI]

59. Sorry Q. Too much money involved the way it is. They would kill anyone...

...who suggested what you are proposing if they were President. Sad but true. Please don't kill the messenger. Edit: "They" being the powers that be.

Don

[CrownPrinceBandar]

64. I see what yer saying...

and I agree to a certain degree. However, one of these days, someone is going to have to walk point on this issue, and suffer said "slings and arrows". The WOD is taking so much money away from underfunded social programs as to be criminal. What's sad that there is little money to provide students with textbooks, but there's plenty of dough for D.A.R.E. I think the WOD gives one a crystal clear idea of where our leader's priorities are.

The WOD is a sham. Perpetuated by those who stand to lose a great deal of cash come its decriminalization. Hemp could be the answer to our prayers. A highly renewable resource that could replace and even surpass products we use today. Paper, oil, fibers - hemp has been shown to excel in these areas. But the greed of a fortunate few keeps this panacea relegated to mere drug status.

IMHO, there is no foreseeable change coming in the future. Anti-prohibition activists will always be pariahs until the stigma of drug use is alleviated. Our voices will never be seen as legitimate.

[drdigi420]

60. the drug war goes against most democratic principles

#1 Civil Rights - the racially motivated, racially enforced war on drugs should automatically be an afront to Democrats based solely on the civil rights issue. Supporting the war on drugs = supporting racism.

#2 Education - 18 billion dollars a year spent by fed, state, and local govts in a failed attempt to legislate appetites could be spent to provide QUALITY public education to ALL our children

#3 Health Care - 18 billion goes a long way towards providing health care for all of us too

#4 Freedom - social libertarians of all forms are offended by the unconstitutional intrusion by our big brother govt when it comes to drugs

#5 the Constitution - since the constitution gives the federal govt NO right to regulate what goes in your body, all federal laws against drugs are null and void and unconstitutional


If you are a Democrat and still support the war on drugs, i believe you are as misguided as Log Cabin Republicans and Jews for Hitler.

[LeahMira]

61. Ease out on it...

I see this "war on drugs" in the same category as prohibition.

It's absolutely true that drug abuse ruins lives, just as alcohol abuse ruins lives.

At the same time, people who would never in their lives consider breaking the law are breaking the laws prohibiting drug use, just as the otherwise law-abiding citizens of the prohibition era broke the laws prohibiting alcohol.

I'd favor gradually shifting the money that's currently being used to fight the drug war into rehabilitation for those who are using drugs in ways that are harmful to themselves and who want help to stop doing that. It seems pointless to refuse to provide rehabilitation for those who want it.

I do think that there would be a great hue and cry if drugs were legalized across the board right now, but I think there's support for medical marijuana, and cancer patients already have access to morphine when their pain is unbearable. I think people can be made to understand that some of these drugs have their place, and from there maybe they can come to accept that responsible people can manage their own behavior with drugs in the same way they do with alcohol.

[jansu]

63. Yes! Stay out of our private lives!

Like all other personal issues, it is about freedom!

[Q]

74. It's also about the 'freedom' of the medical profession...

...to not have the STATE interfere in their practice. My doctor recently let his narcotics license expire because he was fed up with what he called the 'Gestapo' (DEA) trying to intimidate him and his staff. He talks about the way they 'storm into his office'...flashing their guns, demanding private patient information and threatening them if they don't comply without complaint.

- The 'war' on drugs is part of the same 'Puritan hysteria' that brought us the Patriot Act and the selective war on some terrorism.

[jansu]

76. Why people think that they still have any privacy, even with their DR.

is beyond me. Although I am thrilled with Rush's problems, I am glad that the ACLU is fighting for his right to privacy in his medical records. We must stand up for the rights of all, even those we don't agree with!

"We are going to fight terrorism wherever we find it" Haiti of course, is not wherever! Sometimes I am embarrassed to be an American, at least for who and what our "Leaders" do.....

[SOS]

75. Notes on American hypocrisy

1. Chemicals used in the manufacture of cocaine are shipped from US chemical companies to Columbia. Congress won't make this illegal because corporate profits are at stake.

2. Drug sales are useless if the sellers can't launder and ship the proceeds. Yet Bush insists on protecting off shore, no-name ban accounts to help the wealthy hide money from the IRS.

3. Alcohol use under 21 is illegal. Yet Congress refused to appropriate a penny to this important issue. They said it would "diminish their anti-drug message"! The booze lobby had nothing to do with that?

The government is not really serious about the health and welfare of the people. It's all about budgets, corporate profits, payrolls and covert funding.

[Zero Gravitas]

77. Yes

The so-called "war on drugs" does more harm than good.