cannabisnews.com: The War on Drugs' War on Minorities










  The War on Drugs' War on Minorities

Posted by CN Staff on March 24, 2007 at 07:05:31 PT
By Arianna Huffington 
Source: Los Angeles Times 

USA -- There is a subject being forgotten in the 2008 Democratic race for the White House.While all the major candidates are vying for the black and Latino vote, they are completely ignoring one of the most pressing issues affecting those constituencies: the failed "war on drugs" — a war that has morphed into a war on people of color.
Consider this: According to a 2006 report by the American Civil Liberties Union, African Americans make up an estimated 15% of drug users, but they account for 37% of those arrested on drug charges, 59% of those convicted and 74% of all drug offenders sentenced to prison. Or consider this: The U.S. has 260,000 people in state prisons on nonviolent drug charges; 183,200 (more than 70%) of them are black or Latino. Such facts have been bandied about for years. But our politicians have consistently failed to take action on what has become yet another third rail of American politics, a subject to be avoided at all costs by elected officials who fear being incinerated on contact for being soft on crime. Perhaps you hoped this would change during a spirited Democratic presidential primary? Unfortunately, a quick search of the top Democratic hopefuls' websites reveals that not one of them — not Hillary Clinton, not Barack Obama, not John Edwards, not Joe Biden, not Chris Dodd, not Bill Richardson — even mentions the drug war, let alone offers any solutions. The silence coming from Clinton and Obama is particularly deafening.Obama has written eloquently about his own struggle with drugs but has not addressed the tragic effect the war on drugs is having on African American communities.As for Clinton, she flew into Selma, Ala., to reinforce her image as the wife of the black community's most beloved politician and has made much of her plan to attract female voters, but she has ignored the suffering of poor, black women right in her own backyard.  Snipped:Complete Article: http://tinyurl.com/355bybSource: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author:    Arianna HuffingtonPublished: March 24, 2007Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/Huffington Posthttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/CannabisNews Justice Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/justice.shtml

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Comment #47 posted by FoM on March 26, 2007 at 16:37:23 PT
Toker00
Thank you. I understand now and I wish you the best of luck.
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Comment #46 posted by Toker00 on March 26, 2007 at 15:01:22 PT
Well, FoM,
basically, we went from a Democratic institution where every employee had a vote in any changes of policy or procedures, and we were organized as teams, not departments, and each team was self managed. It was like working for yourself, sort of. The employees were trusted to make their own decisions and control their own budgets. Now, we are back to the Hierarchical structure, where one man tells everyone else what is going to happen, and our teams will now be controlled by bosses. Now, seven men who have spent their entire lives learning their trade, and specializing in HVAC, ELECTICAL, PLUMBING, PAINTING OR CARPENTRY, will be asked to do what they are told, and not what they know. They formed a committee to discuss re-organization, took a vote on whether we remain a democratic institution where all employees have a voice, or if we become a dictatorial institution with a CEO. They voted to end the democratic structure. I began immediate protest and resistance. Others are joining me. We are about to test the strength of our Union.Toke. 
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Comment #45 posted by whig on March 26, 2007 at 14:55:46 PT
unkat, museman
I reiterate my belief that the churches have a responsibility to address the needs of the community. I ask whether any true churches exist in any part of the country that can render aid to those like unkat27. If none exist that can be presently found, we might institute one.Will there be consensus?
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Comment #44 posted by museman on March 26, 2007 at 11:46:34 PT
support networks
Unkat provides us with a look at an extremely severe weakness in the cannbis liberation movement; lack of support services.True, the states that voted in medical have provided some access, but the coverage for needful folks is limited.This movement, and creed has been underground for so long, with the herb being treated way too much as a commodity, and profit motives changed the entire way that the movement came about in the first place, which was 'the passing of the joint'. Sharing.During VietNam there was a support system for draft evaders; the revival of the 'underground railroad' which helped so many to escape to Canada.Here we have a small but powerful showing of minds and wills that by ourselves alone (if we were alone) have identified and revealed with all clarity the crime and the criminals.Yet unkat, cannot get what he needs.Someone with resources, whose bottom line isn't a 'return on their investment' (if that's possible, I remain unconvinced) could set up a system that provides access to those who may not live in a 'safe zone.' A bit of intestinal fortitude, as well as a touch of fearlessness would certainly be a helpful accompaniment.I know several growers who wouldn't be that hard to convince to contribute some of their yield to something like this -if there was a good plan, and trustworthy participants. This by the way, is much more likely than those same growers giving money. Something about that money that people just don't want to let go, but some of the older growers -not the new multi-billion-dollar mexican industry (set up by the CIA)- still remember the '60's and '70's before Reagan and the Republic Rats turned prohibition into a war.Obviously such an action could not be discussed so openly, and in case the feds are taking notes; "It ain't me, I ain't no fortunate son." So I can talk about it, I just can't do it - poverty is big wall. However, there must be somebody out there with some left over compassion, and maybe just a bit more $$ than they need?I know there are many, maybe even substantially more than in my own youth, young people earnestly desiring to be of positive assistance in this conflict. It is a war. Warriors don't have to fight bloody battles to exercise courage and strength, there are plenty of righteous challenges right outside everyone's door. So a few young warriors, some funding, and constructive use of networking -under the radar - could change unkats situation.Since my disability snuck up and smacked me so hard I fell down -took 3 years to get back up to some semblance of my former self- I have come to appreciate the healing, and pain relieving properties of cannabis. The times when it was scarce were probably some of the scariest times in my life, because without it (cannabis) as a regulator, my need for opiates would turn me -in a matter of days- into a junkie.The numbing effects of my 'legal' prescription, without cannabis would make my life not worth living. The pain itself, without any help is enough to cause serious thoughts of euthanasia. So I do understand.Fortunatley for me, my herbal connections go back many years, and I am no stranger to the underground. It is nice however to deal with decent people and not gangs and thugs to get your medicine.Someone needs to address this situation.Hang in there unkat.
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Comment #43 posted by FoM on March 26, 2007 at 09:59:52 PT
Toker00
I don't understand but want to know. What happened at your place of work? 
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Comment #42 posted by Toker00 on March 26, 2007 at 09:40:55 PT
Bravo, Unkat27.
That's how I see it, too. And it gets clearer everyday.This weekend my Employer had a weekend Retreat with department heads and administration and voted to end our Democratic structure at work. They are now an official Dictatorial employer, soon to be releasing their Snitches. I now work in Tyranny, but I will never work in silence. This morning I went straight to the front office to the Welcome center and gave the worker a Hitler salute and told her that she would be seeing that a lot more now that they have voted out our Democratic structure at work. Now my employment hangs in the jaws of Fascism. Our government at work has been replaced by Business. Complete with a CEO now, instead of a President. Why must we suffer, we who stand for RIGHTEOUSNESS over the rule of man? It is a sad day for me. My light has been dimmed.Toke. 
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Comment #41 posted by Hope on March 26, 2007 at 07:57:10 PT
Unkat27
You said that all, so well. I wish everyone could read what you wrote. I understand what you are saying...all too well.The people who support this prohibition wouldn't be able to understand what you wrote, anyway. Their automated spiked teeth would come into action to try and destroy you without ever hearing what you said. We, as a people brought together by the sorrow and unjustness of this "war", will overcome this.Hang in there.
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Comment #40 posted by Hope on March 26, 2007 at 07:44:39 PT
Exacto Mundo, Unkat!
"The fact that it hasn't suggests that "bad policy" has become a profitable practice for a powerful organ."
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Comment #39 posted by unkat27 on March 26, 2007 at 06:45:48 PT
Toker, Hope
In politics, they use the term "kill" when they refer to terminating a bill, law, or an office that is considered "bad policy". The DEA is a bad office that practices bad policy and it should have been "killed" years ago. The fact that it hasn't suggests that "bad policy" has become a profitable practice for a powerful organ.The problem with the US govt is exactly that; bad policy has become profitable for the powerful in office. By constitutional definition, this is a form of tyranny. To "kill" such positions of power would not be a "tyrannical" action, it would be an act of American justice in its truest form. What we have here is a case in which government officials that were originally appointed to practice law-enforcement alone, not make policy, have taken control of policy. That is NOT the way the US government was meant to work, yet there it is. It's kind of like the school bully who became a dumb cop somehow manages to become the most powerful man in town, while hiding behind the mayor with a gun to the guy's ribs.Neither the school bully or the dumb cop was ever meant to control policy, yet that's the way it is in the US today, all because money is the most powerful tool and the dumb cop has his hands into the biggest cache of drug money the world has ever known.Hope, thanks for the situation overview. We have that much in common, but I'm not as tolerant as you. I bang my head against the walls. When I think of how much easier life is when I have the herb, I feel like I'm wasting my life and need to do something more, only, it isn't realistic. Reality is too hard already, and yet the fascists would make it even harder by denying the simple relief of cannabis. They want us to suffer, they want us to be stupid, they want us to kiss their feet, they want us to waste our time worshipping in their churches, they want us to believe their lies, they want us to fight their wars, they want us to get desperate and do stupid things, etc... I know, because during my life I have tried it their way and it has all led to a dead end and more dependency on them. They put me on pills once and made me a vegetable, and it was then that I realized how truly evil they are. They want to have absolute control over us. Absolute control. When we step out of line for a minute and they catch us and put us in a cage to be treated like an animal in a zoo, then they have that absolute control that they want over us. They will use any excuse they can to control us that way. Tyranny in the USA. A land that declares itself the "home of the free and the brave" has the largest prison population in the world, and 30 percent are nonviolent drug-offenders. Killing the official tyrants (ending their official power) would be an act of true American justice, not an act of tyranny.
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Comment #38 posted by Hope on March 25, 2007 at 20:36:51 PT
Unkat27 Comment 28
"How much experience do ya'll have with such a situation?" Plenty."How long have ya'll gone without the sacred herb?" First twenty something of my life. Then ten or twelve years. Seven years. Three years... and many lesser times...for many different reasons."Can you go without it for 3 years, like I have, without becoming bitterly angry at those govt forces that deny it to you?" I'm angrier at their enforcement tactics and stunts more than anything. I'm angry that the "crime" was dreamed up and absolutely furious at the insanity of to the dangers and the serious of the punishments in relation to the "harms" caused by their so called crimes. It's insane and unjust...and wrong.I get angry everytime I hear about a bust. Someone is hurt...probably badly...someway...somehow. Something...cannabis...is lost and stolen and destroyed that maybe could have really helped someone who needed desperately some of the benefits found in the gentle herb...strong...but gentle...relative to pharmeceuticals and alcohol and even tobacco.I really get angry. We all do. But more hatred and violence just destroys more. We are hated and all too often despised for our opinions and ideas in this matter. I guess ...I want very much for us to be better people than they obviously are... and they are a sorry lot indeed. They tyranize to get their way over others. We don't want to tyranize them. We just want them to stop terrifying, hurting, robbing, extorting, vandalizing, humiliating, degrading, murdering, and caging people over their consumption of a herb...or anything for that matter...but for God's sake!...for His peoples' sake! It's disasterous and expensive policy. People are being not only deprived, but destroyed and brutalized for the sake of this prohibition. It's only right to voice our displeasure with it...at the very least. But we mustn't hurt them...like they've hurt so many. We mustn't be like that which we have hated...and that can so easily happen if we aren't careful.Retribution is tempting...but .... I'd prefer they'd just stop with our asking. I guess it's kind of a bully thing...the bully keeps beating his wife and children. Do we give up reason and sanity and belt them one to stop them...and become just like them. Is there no way to raise enought of them to our level?We have been using reason and truth to make our points for years. We mustn't stop now. Our weapon is not fading or failing. 
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Comment #37 posted by Toker00 on March 25, 2007 at 17:32:13 PT
I know ,whig.
I intentionally pushed it to reflect their zeal to continue this insanity, this One World Order influenced drug policy, even to the point of actually killing US. They voice their desire to see all of us DEAd, or at least the DEAth of one of OUR reasons for living. I could as well have said: "They live for this Drug War. Let's end it so they'll have to find other reasons for living." They lead us to believe, daily, that they are MORE than willing to take our lives. I just want to take away one of their reasons for living (The Bogus Drug War) by stopping them from keeping us away from one of ours (Self Medical/Recreatonal Determination). In other words, if they give us back our Cannabis, we wont' be forced to take it from them. Co-operation. I think they would drop dead from not being able to hate us for SOMETHING. The Laws of Nature are based on Righteousness. The Laws of Man are based on Selfishness. Which do you Trust?Toke.
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Comment #36 posted by whig on March 25, 2007 at 15:50:26 PT
Toker00
I know you're being metaphorical, but consider how that reads to someone who doesn't know how peaceful you are.What will happen now is the insanity of the prohibitionists will be made manifest and obvious to all, even perhaps to themselves, so that they will run and scream and behave like the howling madmen and women they are in the sight of all.
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Comment #35 posted by museman on March 25, 2007 at 13:56:03 PT
unkat
Don't confuse 'violence' with un-moveable resolve. To some people's minds, just emphasizing the truth is considered 'violent.'As far the 'fore-fathers defence against tyranny' is concerned, and violent revolution being justified, I would agree if the progress of the cause of Liberty hadn't turned into an immediate class struggle that continues to this day -empowered by the very political compromises with common truth feebly represented by one line; "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" that became our constitution.Violent revolution has never done anything for anybody but the contemporary carpet baggers and 'entrepeneurs' who sell the armaments, then stand there on the edge of the battle field waiting to rob the dead.John Lennon had 'un-movable resolve.' He advocated revolution, but not violence. He stood his ground gently and powerfully. It cost him his life, and us a great leader, one that even I might have followed, but his words and their meaning have achieved their root, and that root has been growing, much like the true understanding of YSHWH has been growing in us all for thousands of years.That revolution will succeed eventually. The more who resolve to stand upon the rock of truth, the greater it becomes established in our reality.
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Comment #34 posted by Toker00 on March 25, 2007 at 13:39:44 PT
unkat27
I'm mad as hell, too , Eddie! There was a time not long ago when I was forced to endure, just as you. You can't just walk up and ask a stranger for a score. I understand your frustration. That's why I agree. We should KILL THEM ALL!Every DEAth agent, every FED agent, every Judge, every Prosecutor, every Policeman, every Prohibitionist. Every single person who deprives those who know this plant from this plant, deserves DEATH! And here's how we can deal every single one of them a DEATH Blow!END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! It would kill them all.I know I'm not much help, unkat27, but I understand your anger at all these bastards. If I knew where you lived, and it wasn't across the country, I'd help you. I really would. Toke.
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Comment #33 posted by unkat27 on March 25, 2007 at 13:33:08 PT
museman, whig
>> "However we must be wiser, and realize that this (anger) is exactly what they want."So they can spin it into insanity, right. I know about that fascist trick, but at the same time, by not getting angry, we make it a lot easier for them to continue knocking us down, making us shut up, and take our medicine (or rather 'their medicine').The problem with absolute pacifism is it completely forgets the wisdom of the founding fore-fathers, who defended the people's rights against tyranny. They said that violence was justified when it was done to overcome oppression by tyrants.Sounds to me like the absolute pacifists that enjoy easy access to cannabis no longer agree with that wisdom. Too bad, we could really kick some tyrannical ass in DC, if we just agreed on that one.
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Comment #32 posted by whig on March 25, 2007 at 12:41:11 PT
museman
Amen.
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Comment #31 posted by museman on March 25, 2007 at 12:32:36 PT
unkat
"The DEA fascists are NOT humane, they are killers, they are vampires and vultures. They are NOT humane, therefore they are NOT human."There is logic in that, and emotionally I agree, and share some of that 'bitterness' as is revealed in a lot of my posts. However we must be wiser, and realize that this (anger) is exactly what they want. They want your angst, because they can point their money-greased fingers and justify their law.Anger is understandable, and sometimes even necessary, but as a foundation it is shifting sand that slides you into a pit every time.Venting your frustration at the obvious error is a good thing, and being passionate with the power of truth is notably lacking in the world. There are those who would accuse or misinterpret our "passion for the truth" as some kind of errant behavior, or flaw in our character. Don't be vexed. If you know the rock you stand upon is the truth, by all means continue to stand on it. Just remember that most of us, even some of the corporate/political/religious criminals have a little innocent child inside us somewhere that needs love, guidance, and a lot of forgiveness.
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Comment #30 posted by whig on March 25, 2007 at 12:07:14 PT
anger is justified
Just keep it in perspective. Once we have ended this prohibition, we would be the ones making decisions, and how we treat others is how we should prefer to have been treated in the case we were in reversed roles.
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Comment #29 posted by whig on March 25, 2007 at 12:04:47 PT
unkat27
You dehumanize yourself when you dehumanize others.
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Comment #28 posted by unkat27 on March 25, 2007 at 10:34:48 PT
A Matter of Perspective
I have to wonder if most of you would continue to be so pacific if you were cut off from your regular fix, locked in a cage, and treated like an animal in a zoo.How much experience do ya'll have with such a situation? How long have ya'll gone without the sacred herb? Can you go without it for 3 years, like I have, without becoming bitterly angry at those govt forces that deny it to you?I wonder. Please let me know, maybe I'm missing something.Whig said: "They are human." I presume you were referring to the DEA fascists and others that I hate so much. I disagree. I think the word human is defined by one's actions and one's conscience. The word "humane" is derived from it. The DEA fascists are NOT humane, they are killers, they are vampires and vultures. They are NOT humane, therefore they are NOT human.
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Comment #27 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on March 25, 2007 at 02:36:14 PT
I wonder if Oprah knows that...
Cannabis can feed the starving.Cannabis can clothe the naked.Cannabis can house the homeless.Cannabis can heal the sick.Cannabis can fight polution.Cannabis can save the forests.Cannabis can reclaim the desert.Cannabis can combat global warming.Cannabis can replace timber.Cannabis can replace cotton.Cannabis can replace petroleum.Cannabis was a victim of racism.Cannabis was persecuted by evil corporations.Cannabis was libeled by the media.Cannabis was slandered by politicians.Cannabis was at the dawn of mankind.Cannabis was the foundation of the Renaissance.Cannabis made possible the Age of Discovery.Cannabis was grown by the Father of our Country.Cannabis may yet save the world.
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Comment #26 posted by ekim on March 24, 2007 at 20:13:53 PT
Mahatma Gandhi rest his soul
i found out the other nite how big a deal cotton was to him.if only Jack Herer could get on Oprha -- his book would infom many then the bullying would be called out for just what a dispickable hurtfull act it truly is.i can not think of one down right lie told of another that still exists which hurts and destroys whole familys like those told of cannabis use.yesterday on c-span with brian lamb a woman went on how those that want to regulate the "Notjus Weed" should not be listen to. she said all those listing especally those retired should be aware that states were passing laws allowing med cannabis use. she was so degrating.unkat keep the faith we need teachers that are passionate
http://blog.leap.cc/
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on March 24, 2007 at 19:46:25 PT
OT: For Those Who Might Be Interested
Angry Obama The Pothead is Not How They Remember Him on Hawaii http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/25/wobama25.xml
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Comment #24 posted by whig on March 24, 2007 at 19:32:22 PT
unkat27
They are human beings.
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on March 24, 2007 at 19:09:21 PT
The GCW
I think much like you. I know where I'm going and why would I put that off?
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Comment #22 posted by The GCW on March 24, 2007 at 19:04:43 PT
unkat27,
For Me, as a Christian, I would rather be killed than to kill.I know where I'm going and why would I put that off? I can hardly wait to be with My Father.Of course that may be easier said than done...When We kill, We are not obeying the Christ who requested that We love one another, all over in John 14-16 along with many other passages in the Bible...I don't think killers go to the same place...Love,The Green Collar Worker.
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Comment #21 posted by unkat27 on March 24, 2007 at 18:31:52 PT
Fom, #10 , Whig #11
"I don't believe in killing. I don't think it could ever help a bad situation."I agree that killing is wrong and it should be avoided but what about self defense? What if you were being attacked by a vampire or a vulture that wanted to kill you and suck your blood and tear the meat from your bones?I think the analogy of vampires and vultures to describe the pigs that are waging war is very accurate. I see the DEA as vampires and vultures, because they are profitting off the war on drugs while destroying people's lives. Do they have any conscience about killing? I don't think so, because they do it all the time. Killing them in self-defense, imo, is perfectly acceptable, because they are killers without conscience and they do it all the time. Killing people that kill all the time and never repent for those sins is just vengance, and vengance is mine, sayeth the lord."Btw, is your website still up?"No, looks like its finally down. 
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Comment #20 posted by whig on March 24, 2007 at 17:02:24 PT
music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDWtcwkjrsw
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Comment #19 posted by whig on March 24, 2007 at 16:58:05 PT
mayan
Gonzales is caught. Next is Rover.In other news, what's going on at the Canadian border? http://tinyurl.com/yrbx5s
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Comment #18 posted by mayan on March 24, 2007 at 16:46:52 PT
whig
The sooner the better.
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Comment #17 posted by whig on March 24, 2007 at 16:40:21 PT
mayan
You may be right, and I'm not arguing. I'm saying that the Republicans can be leveled right now into their own footprint. Free fall speed.
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on March 24, 2007 at 16:18:20 PT
The GCW 
I understand what you mean. Drug policy is so complicated. We all care about different issues and what is important to each one of us isn't necessarily the same thing for everyone. Confusion is what they want. Nothing can be solved with many different views on issues. Divide and conquer works and they know it.
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Comment #15 posted by mayan on March 24, 2007 at 16:16:01 PT
RepubliCrats
It is basically one party already. The names mean nothing. Both parties will merge when one or the other's existence is threatened because when one goes down the other knows it will also go down. They can't survive without each other as they are both complicit in numerous treasonous crimes. 
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Comment #14 posted by whig on March 24, 2007 at 16:10:43 PT
mayan
Once the Republican party is destroyed, do you think the same cannot be done in turn to the Democratic party if it continues to deny us our God-given herb?
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Comment #13 posted by The GCW on March 24, 2007 at 15:57:46 PT
The War on Drugs' War on Minorities???
Bda!That's why it was created to begin with, Soooo:Yes, The War on Drugs IS War on Minorities...And it's working as planned.What's the problem?-0-There are so many reasons for credible drug law reform that it is confusing and complex, and this is one that really stands out; it is a racial means for American society to attack minorities. What is gross is that although it is obvious, it doesn't get the attention it needs so to stop the problem.Perhaps one problem is there are so many problems with the war on drugs that when one of them starts to get addressed another problem interupts it and it's hard to stay focused, long enough to work through.It's easy for Gov. to interupt the focus of the problems.I also don't see blacks and browns organizing hard on a national level on this issue, either, which would help...
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Comment #12 posted by mayan on March 24, 2007 at 15:24:51 PT
Dumbocrats
Don't count on them to push for even medical cannabis. A Democrat with an actual chance to win will NEVER support it on a federal level as their party's agenda has long since been laid out. I don't care what they SAY during their campaign. They are already bought and sold. They take money from the exact same pharmaceutical companies as the republiscums and are just as complicit in the war and the 9/11 inside job also. Never mind the 80% of Americans who support medical cannabis. 
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Comment #11 posted by whig on March 24, 2007 at 13:30:33 PT
unkat27
There must be an end to the violence.Btw, is your website still up?
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on March 24, 2007 at 13:25:47 PT

unkat27
I don't believe in killing. I don't think it could ever help a bad situation. Hate won't fix this mess. I believe things are changing but it is slow.
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Comment #9 posted by unkat27 on March 24, 2007 at 12:58:58 PT

War Profiteering is a Corporate Sport
It seems altogether suspicious that now that a "war on terror" has been declared, the politicians and the antiwar public have much less time for serious discussion about the war on drugs. Before the war on terror began, the war on drugs was becoming a mainstream issue, and the fact that it was a failure was the most obvious point. Now, with the war on terror making all the headlines, the war on drugs has been sidelined into the back-page margins, just where the DEA likes it. The antiwar public gives the war on drugs a fleeting minute of attention while the common middle-class public doesn't understand how people can "waste time" discussing the war on drugs when the war on terror is so much more of a serious controversial issue.It's quite possible that cannabis may have been legalized, at least as a medicine, in many more states, if the war on terror hadn't become the big issue. Coincidentally, most of the people that support the war on drugs have been the biggest supporters of the war on terror as well. I say we kill the vampires and vultures before they start yet another war to make things even worse for us just to insure that they continue to profit to no end. It is all about profits and the war-profiteers have no conscience. Killing people for sport and profit is their livelihood. They are the ones that should be killed.
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on March 24, 2007 at 10:14:25 PT

Baltimore Sun: Bill on Drug Offenders Fails
March 24, 2007After a fierce debate in which some lawmakers raised concerns about the effectiveness of the nation's war on drugs, the Maryland House of Delegates defeated by one vote a bill to allow some second-time drug offenders to become eligible for parole. 
 
Lawmakers opposing the measure, which failed 68-69, said it would reward drug dealers and gang members while making communities more dangerous. "They are going to get more lenient treatment under the provision of this bill," said Del Anthony J. O'Donnell, the House minority leader from Southern Maryland. "I suggest our citizens are not willing to hand down rewards for drug dealers who are preying on our children. This is bad policy, serious bad policy." Del. Curtis S. Anderson, a Baltimore Democrat and lead sponsor of the measure, said the bill was written to offer a treatment option to low-level drug offenders, many of whom tend to be drug users. Complete Article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.sentences24mar24,0,4755536.story
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on March 24, 2007 at 09:58:39 PT

John Tyler 
I agree but we don't have time for them to be scared. Sometimes the only way to get over being scared is to tackle the thing that causes us the fear. It's time now. 
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Comment #6 posted by John Tyler on March 24, 2007 at 09:07:09 PT

big time politicians too scared
You would think Obama would have a position on minorities and the Drug War but I think he wants to be President more. This is a shame because it will make him look like all of the other political hustlers.I think action will have to take place at the state level (like it is happening now). When it’s a done deal and a “safe issue”, you will see the big time national politicians jump in and claim credit for it.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 24, 2007 at 07:54:48 PT

goneposthole
You're probably right. I wonder if it is worth the efforts for many folks. Maybe Giuliani will be the next president and he'll fix it with tougher laws and that will be that.
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Comment #4 posted by goneposthole on March 24, 2007 at 07:46:46 PT

Any of those candidates...
would have to grow a spine.That isn't going to happen, so Prohibition will roll on down the tracks full steam.Don't use drugs, smoke cannabis.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on March 24, 2007 at 07:36:20 PT

Thanks EJ
I think you are right. The older I get the more anxious I become and want answers. It's time to face this problem. 
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Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on March 24, 2007 at 07:31:08 PT

FoM
I think this year they're terrified of even having one. Because the Democrats are divided on the issue, so they claim, and they don't want to lose in 2008, I think that's their rationale for pretending the issue doesn't exist.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on March 24, 2007 at 07:16:54 PT

My Question
What is their stand on marijuana issues? I really want to know.
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