Bob Ainsworth, who was once responsible for drug policy as drugs minister in the UK, has declared prohibition to be counterproductive.
We need to take effective measures to rob the dealers of their markets and the only way that we can do that is by supplying addicts through the medical profession, through prescription. We cannot afford to be shy about being prepared to do that. . . It is far better they are going to a doctor, or going to a chemist and are getting their script [prescription] than turning tricks as a prostitute or robbing their mates.
Ahh…a glimmer, just a glimmer, of common sense in a politician (well, ex-politician). Portugal took the gutsy stance and legalized all drugs. What was the effect of this shockingly progressive declaration? — crime and drug use went DOWN. Drug addicts are being treated by the medical profession and social counselors and no longer mishandled by the police. In the USA, the infrastructure which benefits from maintaining the status quo of the current "War on Some Drugs" (let's face it -it's not a war on all drugs)such as the prison system, lawyers, and local and federal police, have too much to lose by ending prohibition. The US Gov't gives fleeting and insincere lip service to the Constitution and Bill of Rights without truly honoring them. Freedom and the pursuit of happiness? Only if you don't plan on experimenting with your own mind and consciousness because that, apparently, belongs to not yourself but to Uncle Sam.
Mike M: I agree with you whole-heartedly. How is it that the government can tell someone that they can't use certain types of drugs that make them feel good. It's not that there is a principle against all such substances, of course. Hence, we allow alcohol and nicotine, as well as prescribed versions of virtually every type of mind-altering street drug. But god forbid that a person grow a bit of weed in his or her own house. We need to cultivate the big corporations that run our pharmaceutical industry and are increasingly responsible for our prison-industrial complex.
Oh yeah, I forgot about Big Pharma in my list of villains. Of course in cases like this, in which the laws seem arbitrary and draconian and defy all logic, you should ask, "Cui Bono?" To whose benefit are these absurd drug laws? In my mind, many fingers also point to the giant drug companies that pour millions of dollars into political campaigns and US Gov't lobbying efforts every year. They want ALL the available pool of drug money for their own corporate bottom lines. Someone's out there growing and consuming their own chemical bliss without Pfizer or Merck profiting from it? This must drive Big Pharma nuts.