The War on Drugs is Less than Useless, It’s Counterproductive

Meet Vivek Ramaswamy

You can only be an outsider once. I will do what the other GOP candidates appear afraid to even say.

-Dismantle the climate cult
-8-year limits for federal bureaucrats
-Shutdown worthless government agencies
-Annihilate the drug cartels
-No CBDCs
-Declare independence from China pic.twitter.com/NNLWybAsQj

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) March 24, 2023

Anyone who wants to shut down useless government agencies and dismantle the climate cult is worth at least a cursory look. But what about the rest of his policies? And how does Vivek differ from Trump?

It’s easy to tout independence from China but as a practical standpoint, nearly impossible to achieve. 

The entire rest of the world would have to go along, otherwise bilateral trade just shifts. And China has many rare earth elements that the rest of the world needs. 

Besides, what is Vivek proposing on trade policy that Trump did not attempt with sanctions and tariffs (and fail miserably at)?

But let’s get to the focus of this post.

Annihilate the Drug Cartels

A pledge to escalate the war on drugs is entirely the wrong approach and a proven decades-long failure. 

What actual war on drugs has been waged?

— Joe In Gene🅡al (@JoeInGeneral) March 24, 2023

JoeInGeneral asks “What actual war on drugs has been waged?”

War on Drugs

It’s amazing that someone does not know about the endless War on Drugs.

The war on drugs is a global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the United States. The initiative includes a set of drug policies that are intended to discourage the production, distribution, and consumption of psychoactive drugs that the participating governments and the United Nations have made illegal. The term was popularized by the media shortly after a press conference given on June 18, 1971, by President Richard Nixon—the day after publication of a special message from President Nixon to the Congress on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control—during which he declared drug abuse “public enemy number one”.

Two years prior to this, Nixon had formally declared a “war on drugs” that would be directed toward eradication, interdiction, and incarceration. In 2015, the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for an end to the War on Drugs, estimated that the United States spends $51 billion annually on these initiatives, and in 2021, after 50 years of the drug war, others have estimated that the US has spent a cumulative $1 trillion on it.

In June 2011, the Global Commission on Drug Policy released a critical report on the War on Drugs, declaring: “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.” The report was criticized by organizations that oppose a general legalization of drugs.

In 1982, Vice President George H. W. Bush and his aides began pushing for the involvement of the CIA and U.S. military in drug interdiction efforts.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) was originally established by the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988, which mandated a national anti-drug media campaign for youth, which would later become the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. The director of ONDCP is commonly known as the drug czar, and it was first implemented in 1989 under President George H. W. Bush,[60] and raised to cabinet-level status by Bill Clinton in 1993. These activities were subsequently funded by the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act of 1998.The Drug-Free Media Campaign Act of 1998 codified the campaign.

During his time in office, Barack Obama implemented a “tough but smart” approach to the war on drugs. While he claimed that his methodology differed from those of previous presidents, in reality, his practices were very similar. He promoted a universal drug issue, but his binary “tough but smart” solution maintained the mentality of criminalizing drug offenders.

The present state of incarceration in the U.S. as a result of the war on drugs arrived in several stages. By 1971, different steps on drugs had been implemented for more than 50 years (since 1914, 1937, etc.) with only a very small increase of inmates per 100,000 citizens. 

After 1980, the situation began to change. In the 1980s, while the number of arrests for all crimes had risen by 28%, the number of arrests for drug offenses rose 126%. The result of increased demand was the development of privatization and the for-profit prison industry. The US Department of Justice, reporting on the effects of state initiatives, has stated that, from 1990 through 2000, “the increasing number of drug offenses accounted for 27% of the total growth among black inmates, 7% of the total growth among Hispanic inmates, and 15% of the growth among white inmates.” In addition to prison or jail, the United States provides for the deportation of many non-citizens convicted of drug offenses.

In 1994, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that the “War on Drugs” resulted in the incarceration of one million Americans each year. In 2008, The Washington Post reported that of 1.5 million Americans arrested each year for drug offenses, half a million would be incarcerated.[87] In addition, one in five black Americans would spend time behind bars due to drug laws.

In 1986, the US Defense Department funded a two-year study by the RAND Corporation, which found that the use of the armed forces to interdict drugs coming into the United States would have little or no effect on cocaine traffic and might, in fact, raise the profits of cocaine cartels and manufacturers. 

Obvious Problems With War On Drugs

• If you decrease the supply of drugs without curing the demand, the price rises. 
• Crime related to addiction increases and the desire to smuggle drugs goes up because the profit rises. 
• Throw people in prison for drug use and you need more prisons. 

Troops to Mexico?

Instead of understanding the obvious problems with the war on drugs, we have proposals to send US troops to Mexico.  

https://twitter.com/WallStRenegade/status/1639401934208610305

Excuse me for pointing out the absurdity of an anti-war Libertarian proposing we send US troops to Mexico. 

Republican Says U.S. Troops Should Enter Mexico—’Have a Military Presence’

Please consider this official nutcase proposal Republican Says U.S. Troops Should Enter Mexico—’Have a Military Presence’

Republican Representative James Comer has suggested the U.S. should set up troops in Mexico following a kidnapping that resulted in the deaths of two Americans. 

The Kentucky representative and House Oversight Committee Chairman was on Fox and Friends on Tuesday and discussed how the U.S. should deal with what he saw as Mexico’s failure to deal with the cartels.

Not only is the idea idiotic, Mexico would not want us there. I received a reply saying I have no evidence for my claim. 

Here it is.

Despite the mounting pressure on the Biden administration, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has warned the U.S. not to overstep the mark with any response.

Graham Proposes Bill for US to Use Military Force in Mexico

The idiocy escalates with Senator Lindsey Graham who Proposes Bill for US to Use Military Force in Mexico

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Monday said he was prepared to introduce legislation to “set the stage” for U.S. military force in Mexico, saying it was time to “get tough” on the neighboring country after four Americans were kidnapped by armed men this week.

“I would put Mexico on notice,” Graham said. “If you continue to give safe haven to drug dealers, then you are an enemy of the United States.”

Graham added he would “introduce legislation to make certain Mexican drug cartels foreign terrorist organizations under U.S. law and set the stage to use military force if necessary.”

“I would tell the Mexican government if you don’t clean up your act, we’re going to clean it up for you,” the senator said.

What the US Can Learn From Portugal’s Drug Decriminalization

For a sensible approach, please consider What the US Can Learn From Portugal’s Drug Decriminalization

Compared to Portugal, drug overdose deaths per million in neighboring Spain are 2.5X as high, 3.5X as high in the EU, 10X as high in the UK and 31X as high in the USA.

Portugal decriminalized the use of all drugs in 2001. Weed, cocaine, heroin, you name it – Portugal decided to treat possession and use of small quantities of these drugs as a public health issue, not a criminal one.

The drugs were still illegal, of course. But now getting caught with them meant a small fine and maybe a referral to a treatment program – not jail time and a criminal record.

Joseph Califano, founder of the Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, once warned that decriminalization would “increase illegal drug availability and use among our children.”

But in Portugal, the numbers paint a different story. The prevalence of past-year and past-month drug use among young adults has fallen since 2001, according to statistics compiled by the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, which advocates on behalf of ending the war on drugs. Overall adult use is down slightly too. And new HIV cases among drug users are way down.

The above article was from 2017.  Here is another article.

Next, please consider Drug Decriminalization in Portugal from May of 2021.

• Drug-related deaths have remained below the EU average since 2001
• The proportion of prisoners sentenced for drugs has fallen from 40% to 15%
• Rates of drug use have remained consistently below the EU average

A 2015 study found that the social costs of drug use in Portugal fell 12% between 2000 and 2004, and 18% by 2010. While the former figure was largely driven by the reduction in drug-related deaths, the latter was linked to a ‘significant reduction’ in costs associated with criminal proceedings for drug offences and lost income of individuals imprisoned for these offences.

Portugal has set a positive example for what can be done when drug policies prioritize health rather than criminalization. At the turn of the century, Portugal was facing a crisis, including high levels of HIV infection among people who use drugs. Many impacts of reform were felt immediately: new HIV infections, drug deaths and the prison population all fell sharply within the first decade. 

Biggest Impact of Portuguese Policy

“The biggest effect has been to allow the stigma of drug addiction to fall, to let people speak clearly and to pursue professional help without fear.”

Four Beneficiaries of the War on Drugs 

1. The drug cartels and dealers because prices rise
2. Bureaucrats who demand still more money to fight a hopeless cause
3. Administrators and builders of for profit prisons 
4. Public unions, especially prison guards

The loser is of course the taxpayer who funds the above beneficiaries.

The Correct Solution

• Regarding Mexico: The state department needs to issue a warning advising against travel in Mexico stating that anyone who travels to high crime countries does so at risk of being kidnapped, killed, or incarcerated. 
• Regarding Drug Use: Policy needs to reduce the desire for drugs, the associated stigma with drugs, and the profit in drugs.

Escalation of the war on drugs is a proven failure. Both major political parties have been involved. 

It’s time for a new approach. 

This post originated on MishTalk.Com.

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