Dear Drug Policy Lawmakers,
The war on drugs (and your role in it) is a cruel joke. And I'm gonna use the good ole' US of A as an example of why this is because their government started it, and they're also a "superpower" who can influence the decisions other nations make regarding controversial topics.
However, it applies just as much to you as it does to them as you both share very similar drug policies.
America's population amounts to approximately 5% of the entire world, yet their prisons are filled with more inmates charged with (mostly non-violent) drug related offenses than the entire world combined.
They have spent over $1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) USD (£617,818,000,000) of tax payer money to fight this silly war, yet have very little to almost no significant progress to show for.
South of their border in Mexico, since 2006 when then President Felipe Calderon foolishly decided to go along with their charade, more than 70,000 civilians have lost their lives due to drug-cartel related violence.
Recreational drug use - whether it's controlled medications or illicit substances (narcotics as law enforcement incorrectly refers to them) - has skyrocketed in the US since a former corrupt president known as Richard "I am not a crook!" Nixon declared war on drugs on May the 13th, 1971 - over 4 decades now... Yet you think they're making progress?
They say they stand for "freedom and liberty for all" - yet for close to a century they're dictating to the nation what they can and cannot ingest. I hope and wait for nothing less than a revolution (an end) to this fascist fallacy they've been feeding their citizens through various forms of media and propaganda.
A nation so brainwashed by nearly a century of lies and deceit, that it has long ago stopped referring to alcohol or tobacco as drugs.
Good lord - each year, more Americans die from second-hand (tobacco) smoking-related illnesses than all street drug-related deaths combined. Just think about that for a minute.
The sooner this futile "war" implodes, the better, along with their conservative dictators who continue to fight for it.
May due justice be served to all the victims, many of whom - typical non-violent users - lived their entire adult lives and died in prison for the right to ingest what they want. For the right to want to feel better, or simply have some fun. For the right to grow and harvest any plants they desire. Because many of us will never stop fighting for true freedom and liberty.
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On the other hand, I openly acknowledge that no drug use is 100% safe - which should be obvious to everyone, no matter what side you're on.
If you can live your life without using any drugs (including alcohol, and even caffeine) - obviously that would be in your best interest.
However, if someone does decide to use (for example) some marijuana, or alcohol, or even smoke some opium - it's their body, it should be their choice, it sure as hell shouldn't be a crime. Either way, in such cases, politicians as well as law enforcement need to stop sticking their noses in everyone's personal affairs.
If we want to have a functioning society, where people pull their weight around and contribute - we need to refrain from treating people like criminals because they want to make themselves essentially feel better.
The thing with the war on drugs is: our government tries (unsuccessfully) to deal with a health problem, as if it was a legal problem.
Addiction is an effect of human unhappiness and human suffering. When people are distressed, they want to sooth their distress. When people are in pain, they want to soothe their pain. So the real question is not "why the addiction" but "why the pain".
The point is, we urgently need a new plan. We need those in power to have the courage to speak out about this, even if it means less votes. You will be the motivation others will be looking for to speak out against this war. In time, you may be rewarded justly for your actions.
Enough is enough, end this futile failure of a war which is causing more harm than it's preventing.
The war on drugs (and your role in it) is a cruel joke. And I'm gonna use the good ole' US of A as an example of why this is because their government started it, and they're also a "superpower" who can influence the decisions other nations make regarding controversial topics.
However, it applies just as much to you as it does to them as you both share very similar drug policies.
America's population amounts to approximately 5% of the entire world, yet their prisons are filled with more inmates charged with (mostly non-violent) drug related offenses than the entire world combined.
They have spent over $1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) USD (£617,818,000,000) of tax payer money to fight this silly war, yet have very little to almost no significant progress to show for.
South of their border in Mexico, since 2006 when then President Felipe Calderon foolishly decided to go along with their charade, more than 70,000 civilians have lost their lives due to drug-cartel related violence.
Recreational drug use - whether it's controlled medications or illicit substances (narcotics as law enforcement incorrectly refers to them) - has skyrocketed in the US since a former corrupt president known as Richard "I am not a crook!" Nixon declared war on drugs on May the 13th, 1971 - over 4 decades now... Yet you think they're making progress?
They say they stand for "freedom and liberty for all" - yet for close to a century they're dictating to the nation what they can and cannot ingest. I hope and wait for nothing less than a revolution (an end) to this fascist fallacy they've been feeding their citizens through various forms of media and propaganda.
A nation so brainwashed by nearly a century of lies and deceit, that it has long ago stopped referring to alcohol or tobacco as drugs.
Good lord - each year, more Americans die from second-hand (tobacco) smoking-related illnesses than all street drug-related deaths combined. Just think about that for a minute.
The sooner this futile "war" implodes, the better, along with their conservative dictators who continue to fight for it.
May due justice be served to all the victims, many of whom - typical non-violent users - lived their entire adult lives and died in prison for the right to ingest what they want. For the right to want to feel better, or simply have some fun. For the right to grow and harvest any plants they desire. Because many of us will never stop fighting for true freedom and liberty.
-------------------------------
On the other hand, I openly acknowledge that no drug use is 100% safe - which should be obvious to everyone, no matter what side you're on.
If you can live your life without using any drugs (including alcohol, and even caffeine) - obviously that would be in your best interest.
However, if someone does decide to use (for example) some marijuana, or alcohol, or even smoke some opium - it's their body, it should be their choice, it sure as hell shouldn't be a crime. Either way, in such cases, politicians as well as law enforcement need to stop sticking their noses in everyone's personal affairs.
If we want to have a functioning society, where people pull their weight around and contribute - we need to refrain from treating people like criminals because they want to make themselves essentially feel better.
The thing with the war on drugs is: our government tries (unsuccessfully) to deal with a health problem, as if it was a legal problem.
Addiction is an effect of human unhappiness and human suffering. When people are distressed, they want to sooth their distress. When people are in pain, they want to soothe their pain. So the real question is not "why the addiction" but "why the pain".
The point is, we urgently need a new plan. We need those in power to have the courage to speak out about this, even if it means less votes. You will be the motivation others will be looking for to speak out against this war. In time, you may be rewarded justly for your actions.
Enough is enough, end this futile failure of a war which is causing more harm than it's preventing.
