There is an old saying that goes: If we are not willing to study history, and learn from it, we are bound to repeat it.
What history? The XVIII ammendment, that is: prohibition. What did prohibition do? It made a lot of 2 bit crooks very wealthy, it brought us mass gang violence, a lot of people died, a lot went to jail...for what reason???? because some do gooder decided that because he thought alcohol was bad for people, he would save the world by banning alcohol...oh yes, and let's not forget, Prohibition also brought US the NFA 1934..... Yes, and Canada's stupid gun laws started then too.
Tell me how the "war on drugs" is any different? or the outcome will be any different. grow up America, read your history books and then tell me what good is being done by this stupid "war".
I think
this demographic analysis of alcohol use is very revealing. Most of the results show slight differences between various groups. The differences that do stand out are the totals of those who've recently used alcohol (66.1%) as compared to other identifiers:
Males: 70.7%
Females: 61.8%
Whites: 70%
Blacks: 55%
Hispanics: 60%
Less than HS: 52%
High School: 68%
Some College: 75%
College Grad: 80%
I also found interesting the demographics that don't seem to have much effect: Where they live (metro to rural) and employment status.
What this tells me is that people who're more driven are more likely to use alcohol. By inference, they're probably more likely to abuse alcohol and use illegal drugs, as well.
Therefore, hermannr, legalizing drugs will only increase problems here in America, as more use will result in decreased productivity, particularly among those who have more education, as they're the least likely to engage in unlawful behavior. This is not a recipe for success, either for the individuals or for the country as a whole.
Making drug use a "medical problem" however, isn't a bad idea. Like the commercial says, drug courts focus on getting alcohol and drug abusers/addicts the help they need instead of incarceration, which is less helpful and far more expensive to society. Incarceration also serves to introduce them to the worst elements of society while giving them a black mark from which it's difficult to recover.
As for the "war" on drugs, several countries have successfully minimized drug production and/or use within their borders. Columbia's drug cartels, for example, were largely eradicated. "Sweden's Drug Control Policies combine balanced public health approach and opposition to drug legalization. The prevalence rates for cocaine use in Sweden are barely one-fifth of European neighbors such as the United Kingdom and Spain. -
Source
According to the self-appointed Global Commission on Drug Policy, "The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world. Fifty years after the initiation of the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and years after President Nixon launched the US government’s war on drugs, fundamental reforms in national and global drug control policies are urgently needed."
Legalization of psychoactive drugs aren't the answer. The answer lies in examining why Sweden's approach works while the U.S. approach has not:
1. What is Sweden doing that we're not doing? We should adopt those measures to the maximum extent possible.
2. What is the U.S. doing that Sweden is not doing? We should drop those measures to the maximum extent possible.