The War on Drugs

[hyperspacing]

This is a cool site check it out. CLICK HERE

 

[Infundibulum]

This is a cool site check it out. CLICK HERE

Why is this site cool? Why do they throw all these numbers?

The was on drugs is an ethical and moral fallacy, not a monetary one. Eventually the war on drugs takes its toll on governmental budgets but what is the point of this website? "War on drugs is expensive so it needs to be stopped"? This is what I understand that they try to say (if they try to say anything). But it should be "War on drugs is immoral/unethical so it needs to be stopped".

In addition, there' an incoherence in their logic if they try to push the argument that the end of the war on drugs needs to stop because it is expensive; these money could have been allocated to something better, but would they be allocated to something better? They could equally end up in the next-in-line scummy political game.

Finally, since just numbers without context mean nothing, how do these numbers rank among other governmental budgets, e.g. war in Iraq, education, funds for farmers, healthcare, yo name it.

 

[hyperspacing]

This is a cool site check it out. CLICK HERE

Why is this site cool? Why do they throw all these numbers?

The was on drugs is an ethical and moral fallacy, not a monetary one. Eventually the war on drugs takes its toll on governmental budgets but what is the point of this website? "War on drugs is expensive so it needs to be stopped"? This is what I understand that they try to say (if they try to say anything). But it should be "War on drugs is immoral/unethical so it needs to be stopped".

In addition, there' an incoherence in their logic if they try to push the argument that the end of the war on drugs needs to stop because it is expensive; these money could have been allocated to something better, but would they be allocated to something better? They could equally end up in the next-in-line scummy political game.

Finally, since just numbers without context mean nothing, how do these numbers rank among other governmental budgets, e.g. war in Iraq, education, funds for farmers, healthcare, yo name it.

Monetary loss is the stance that needs to be taken to include all citizens, not just us who enjoy entheogens. People that don't care or want to do these illegal items won't care about your moral/ethical views on them.

I thought it was interesting to see the amount of money wich is wasted on this endless drug war.

 

[ms_manic_minxx]

Money is essentially a form of energy, so it's shocking to have an illustration of what an idiotic waste of energy the whole idea is...

 

[vibrancy3]

There will always be a war on drugs unfortunetly.........

if nixon has not started it! some1 else would have!

People thuoght cannabis would be legalized in the 70's

 

[Entropymancer]

People that don't care or want to do these illegal items won't care about your moral/ethical views on them.

I would have to disagree... I think moral/ethical perceptions are essential for governments propagating the war on (some) drugs. To get people to go along with prohibition, they need to appear to have the moral high ground. Cannabis and psychedelics are portrayed as unproductive non-contributing members of society whose moral fiber is compromised by the drugs they use; heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine are portrayed as completely subjugating the addict against their will; it is therefor a moral imperative to protect people from these pitfalls.

The biggest moral/ethical failing of the drug war (at least as I see it) is the human rights violation: Denying a person sovereignty over their own mind is just plain wrong. But I'll grant that most drug war supporters wouldn't care about or acknowledge the legitimacy of this claim; the average prohibitionist sees every user as an addict, and see addiction as having already removed the person's sovereignty over their mind... funny that they aren't coming by the droves to "rescue" caffeine users from this drug-induced moral destitution.

There is, however, a less direct ethical failing of the drug war which every person who supports it ought to care about: The present strategy doesn't work, and causes tremendous harm outweighing any slight success it has. The present strategy is to reduce demand by obstructing supply. Time and time again since people started dabbling with prohibition, this strategy has proved completely counterproductive every time. It automatically generates a lucrative black market. When drug warriors catch a cache of drugs being smuggled, all they've done is drive up the profit margin and ensure that someone else will take the risk to get that money. When they bust a kingpin, all they've done is provide his competitors with the opportunity to take a bigger slice of the pie. Drug use almost always increases with prohibition, and harm to the user always increases in a black market where there are no quality controls. Heroin is a lot easier to smuggle than opium, so when opiates are made illegal, casual opium users will get their fix from heroin instead; drugs are cut with who knows what, and the lack of standard potency causes accidental overdose.

This is the moral/ethical drug war issue that everyone ought to care about, regardless of their prejudice. Even if someone believes that stopping drug use and its associated harm to society is a truly vital cause, they should still be working to end the present war on drugs. It's not simply that it is failing to accomplish its intended task; it's actually producing the exact opposite of its intended effect (along with a staggering amount of collateral damage)

 

[hyperspacing]

People that don't care or want to do these illegal items won't care about your moral/ethical views on them.

I would have to disagree... I think moral/ethical perceptions are essential for governments propagating the war on (some) drugs. To get people to go along with prohibition, they need to appear to have the moral high ground. Cannabis and psychedelics are portrayed as unproductive non-contributing members of society whose moral fiber is compromised by the drugs they use; heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine are portrayed as completely subjugating the addict against their will; it is therefor a moral imperative to protect people from these pitfalls.

The biggest moral/ethical failing of the drug war (at least as I see it) is the human rights violation: Denying a person sovereignty over their own mind is just plain wrong. But I'll grant that most drug war supporters wouldn't care about or acknowledge the legitimacy of this claim; the average prohibitionist sees every user as an addict, and see addiction as having already removed the person's sovereignty over their mind... funny that they aren't coming by the droves to "rescue" caffeine users from this drug-induced moral destitution.

There is, however, a less direct ethical failing of the drug war which every person who supports it ought to care about: The present strategy doesn't work, and causes tremendous harm outweighing any slight success it has. The present strategy is to reduce demand by obstructing supply. Time and time again since people started dabbling with prohibition, this strategy has proved completely counterproductive every time. It automatically generates a lucrative black market. When drug warriors catch a cache of drugs being smuggled, all they've done is drive up the profit margin and ensure that someone else will take the risk to get that money. When they bust a kingpin, all they've done is provide his competitors with the opportunity to take a bigger slice of the pie. Drug use almost always increases with prohibition, and harm to the user always increases in a black market where there are no quality controls. Heroin is a lot easier to smuggle than opium, so when opiates are made illegal, casual opium users will get their fix from heroin instead; drugs are cut with who knows what, and the lack of standard potency causes accidental overdose.

This is the moral/ethical drug war issue that everyone ought to care about, regardless of their prejudice. Even if someone believes that stopping drug use and its associated harm to society is a truly vital cause, they should still be working to end the present war on drugs. It's not simply that it is failing to accomplish its intended task; it's actually producing the exact opposite of its intended effect (along with a staggering amount of collateral damage)

I completly agree with all that. I just think most straight edge 9 to 5 working peoples world revolves around money. If your making money your getting raped with taxes. When you see how your hard earned money is being wasted by the idiots in charge it will push you further to learning the points you mentioned.

Not saying its all about the money being wasted but you can't deny its a large part of it.

 

[Apoc]

There is, however, a less direct ethical failing of the drug war which every person who supports it ought to care about: The present strategy doesn't work, and causes tremendous harm outweighing any slight success it has.

True. The facts presented on that drug page only really hold power if an argument can be made as to why those numbers are outrageous. Otherwise, they're just numbers. An examination of how successful the war is needs to be taken in to account. As well of course, the human rights issue you mentioned about denying people the right to their own mind and body.

 

[Infundibulum]

There is, however, a less direct ethical failing of the drug war which every person who supports it ought to care about: The present strategy doesn't work, and causes tremendous harm outweighing any slight success it has.

True. The facts presented on that drug page only really hold power if an argument can be made as to why those numbers are outrageous. Otherwise, they're just numbers. An examination of how successful the war is needs to be taken in to account. As well of course, the human rights issue you mentioned about denying people the right to their own mind and body.

I really like this stance and it is actually what gives weight to the numbers in this website. Too sad this website fails to demonstrate this most important thing and instead relies on the awe of big numbers

 

[blue_velvet]

The economy is probably the biggest issue in the US with unemployment, outsourcing, and the deficit. Anything connected to the American economy is going to be more influential than civil rights, at least for now. If Proposition 19 gets passed in California people throughout the nation will begin to see how stupid prohibition is. Once enough states follow suit it's only a matter of time before the federal laws are revised. I foresee a dominoe effect.