cannabisnews.com: All of Us are Casualities of Foolish War On Drugs





All of Us are Casualities of Foolish War On Drugs
Posted by FoM on May 31, 2000 at 16:11:34 PT
Letter To The Editor By Robert Sharpe
Source: Columbus Dispatch
The allegations of missing cash and marijuana from the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office are not isolated incidents (Dispatch, May 19). The one thing the recent police scandals in Fairfield County, Los Angeles, Washington and elsewhere have in common: the corrupting effect of the drug war. The temptation of easy money is too powerful for some police officers.
Civil asset forfeiture has turned what should be protectors of the peace into predators. The drug war engenders the same institutional corruption and disrespect for law enforcement that occurred during America's failed experiment with alcohol prohibition. This is inevitable when military solutions are applied to public-health problems. Police are meant to be protectors, not soldiers controlling what citizens ingest.The fact that an unregulated black market makes it easier for children to purchase illegal drugs than beer should be reason enough to end a counterproductive policy. The Constitution is worth preserving, yet it is increasingly irrelevant thanks to drug-war exemptions. Democracy and state rights are no longer viable when it comes to medical marijuana. The land of the free has put so many nonviolent drug offenders behind bars that we now have the highest incarceration rate in the world.Finally, we have the corruption that is often used as an excuse to strengthen drug laws, despite the fact that the laws themselves are the direct cause. Until the news media start covering these issues, this vicious circle will repeat itself and police corruption will persist.Robert SharpeWashington Students for Sensible Drug Policyhttp://www.ssdp.org/Published: May 31, 2000 © 2000 The Columbus DispatchRobert Sharpe DrugSense Volunteer for May 2000http://www.drugsense.org/volpics.htmDrugSense Volunteer Of The Monthhttp://www.drugsense.org/dswvol.htm Mentioned Article:Agents Probing Loss Of Money, Gun, Marijuanahttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n666/a05.htmlCannabisNews MapInc. Archives:http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/list/MAP.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by dddd on June 01, 2000 at 01:57:26 PT
free?
Legalizit..I didnt see anything in the bill about freeing anybody?.....dddd
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Comment #1 posted by legalizeit on May 31, 2000 at 17:19:22 PT
don't forget too...
... that some of these countries whose leaders are known to engage in human rights violations (someone was talking about Peru's President Fujimori on NPR yesterday) are let off the hook by the US because they are "allies" in the WOsD.Of course, the WOsD in itself is an attack on human rights so that does not surprise me.Today there was an announcement that a proposition in Calif. may have enough votes to get on the Nov. ballot. The proposition would free all those (an estimated 20,000) currently jailed for "simple possession" in the state, and require treatment/probation instead of jail time if the person has done nothing other than get caught with small quantities of a {UN}controlled substance.Who are the only people speaking out against this proposal so far? The sheriffs, police chiefs and prison guards. Go figure.
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