Once upon a time, there was a President of the United States named Richard Milhous Nixon. This individual is noteworthy for several reasons including (but not limited to) the fact that he is the only PotUS to have ever resigned from office; that despite his assertion that "[he is] not a crook," a felonious crook he turned out to be; and that his successor (former President Ford) inexplicably pardoned him of any and all criminal offenses one month after his resignation.
It is also noteworthy to point out that President Nixon - who formally began the so-called war on drugs ~44 years ago, and was responsible for the creation of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) - reportedly was also a frequent recreational consumer of the legal drug known as Alcohol - the very same one which has conclusively been shown to be carcinogenic in any amount, as well as neurotoxic (kills brain cells) and hepatotoxic (and also liver cells).
When it came to minority groups of Americans whom President Nixon especially hated, two in particular stood out above the rest: first and foremost: any and all Hippies; and secondly: the portion of Vietnam Vets who happened to return home suffering from often-severe cases of PTSD (traumatized repeatedly by the unimaginable horrors of war they witnessed) and a drug addiction (typically Diacetylmorphine [Heroin]) which they resorted to as a coping mechanism.
And so, in order to boost his Presidential Approval Rating, Nixon (possibly with the aid of Kissinger) eventually hatched an incredibly two-faced plan that would turn out to be the worst investment in the history of investments: he would ban every drug that - for reasons partly related to genetic diversity as well as varying personal tastes and preferences - the aforementioned two minority groups preferred over Alcohol and/or Nicotine.
Furthermore, Nixon would make use of the resources at his disposal to scapegoat, stigmatize and criminalize anything having to do with the mind altering substances commonly consumed by Hippies, and to a lesser degree, those used without permission by Vets who were usually mentally ill (again, typically from PTSD symptoms), as at the time, mental disorders in general were looked down upon in a manner far exceeding any controversial or taboo content regarding such health problems. And of note, Alcohol and Nicotine were exempt and just about completely ignored by what would be known as the Controlled Substances Act.
Fast forward over 4 decades - America is now the world's biggest jailer by far with ~25% of the world's prison population; approximately $1,500,000,000,000 USD in tax payer money has been spent on the war on drugs; every prison in America has been infiltrated with the same 'street drugs' for which a countless number of mostly non-violent Americans are in there for; drug kingpins either remain untouchable, or are able to somehow escape maximum security prisons on multiple occasions, and their yearly combined ~$350,000,000,000 in laundered USD drug dealing waiting lists are never-ending; street drugs are increasingly available, increasingly diverse, and priced lower to anyone without the need to show I.D; and there has been absolutely no tangible progress made by the DEA and their associates - none, zero, zilch, nada.
If there's a lesson to be learned from the war on (certain) drugs, it is this: The moment that a governing body decides to meddle in the personal (and in the case of simple drug possession, victimless) affairs of its citizens by (in a spectacular display of futility) forcibly removing and criminalizing access to a person, place or thing that they commonly resort to (or in some cases, rely on), a power vacuum is nearly always left in its place - one that organized crime likely shall never be deterred to almost immediately begin to exploit purely for profit.
And why wouldn't they? The fact of the matter is that their government has all but handed them the keys to supplying that demand on a silver platter (at a level of risk which will influence little more than pricing). And after comparing historical events of our species' very short time inhabiting this planet, it's clear that the financial exploitation of the war on (certain) drugs (in the form of a pattern established thousands of years ago) leads to an all-too-common eventuality that can be applied to just about any 'supply and demand' scenario.
Combine the above with an enduring legacy of blatant, shameless, greedy, long term hypocrisy ("Drugs are bad - stay away kids, don't ever touch them, okay? Good. Excuse me, I'm gonna go have a smoke."), deceit (such as the DEA's views of parity on the acute and long term risks re. Weed vs. Heroin) and double standards (by way of embracing pretty much anything that contains Ethyl Alcohol and is considered fit for human consumption), and eventually, society will sure as hell reach a chaotic tipping point, where no one will stand for it any longer despite the potential consequences.
The reality is that more and more people are turning to clandestinely synthesized 'street drugs' because of increasingly-tightening laws regarding their Rx counterparts. And more and more non-violent, otherwise law-abiding Americans are reporting being unjustly exploited by viciously violent law enforcement officers who routinely abuse Asset Forfeiture, Stop 'n Frisk, Mandatory Minimums and Three Strikes Laws (all meant to be used solely on drug dealers) because more arrests means greater bonuses and promotions (more money in their pockets each year, and it's truly sickening to witness).
All in all, our society has suffered more so from the war on drugs than it has from the street drugs themselves, and still some people believe it's a good thing to continue the status quo?! No one benefits more from prohibition of anything in constant demand than organized crime. This fact should have been made awfully clear when we tried to ban Alcohol, and reign of gangland terror soon followed until the very end.
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein + "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." - George Santayana = the war on drugs in a nutshell
It is also noteworthy to point out that President Nixon - who formally began the so-called war on drugs ~44 years ago, and was responsible for the creation of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) - reportedly was also a frequent recreational consumer of the legal drug known as Alcohol - the very same one which has conclusively been shown to be carcinogenic in any amount, as well as neurotoxic (kills brain cells) and hepatotoxic (and also liver cells).
When it came to minority groups of Americans whom President Nixon especially hated, two in particular stood out above the rest: first and foremost: any and all Hippies; and secondly: the portion of Vietnam Vets who happened to return home suffering from often-severe cases of PTSD (traumatized repeatedly by the unimaginable horrors of war they witnessed) and a drug addiction (typically Diacetylmorphine [Heroin]) which they resorted to as a coping mechanism.
And so, in order to boost his Presidential Approval Rating, Nixon (possibly with the aid of Kissinger) eventually hatched an incredibly two-faced plan that would turn out to be the worst investment in the history of investments: he would ban every drug that - for reasons partly related to genetic diversity as well as varying personal tastes and preferences - the aforementioned two minority groups preferred over Alcohol and/or Nicotine.
Furthermore, Nixon would make use of the resources at his disposal to scapegoat, stigmatize and criminalize anything having to do with the mind altering substances commonly consumed by Hippies, and to a lesser degree, those used without permission by Vets who were usually mentally ill (again, typically from PTSD symptoms), as at the time, mental disorders in general were looked down upon in a manner far exceeding any controversial or taboo content regarding such health problems. And of note, Alcohol and Nicotine were exempt and just about completely ignored by what would be known as the Controlled Substances Act.
Fast forward over 4 decades - America is now the world's biggest jailer by far with ~25% of the world's prison population; approximately $1,500,000,000,000 USD in tax payer money has been spent on the war on drugs; every prison in America has been infiltrated with the same 'street drugs' for which a countless number of mostly non-violent Americans are in there for; drug kingpins either remain untouchable, or are able to somehow escape maximum security prisons on multiple occasions, and their yearly combined ~$350,000,000,000 in laundered USD drug dealing waiting lists are never-ending; street drugs are increasingly available, increasingly diverse, and priced lower to anyone without the need to show I.D; and there has been absolutely no tangible progress made by the DEA and their associates - none, zero, zilch, nada.
If there's a lesson to be learned from the war on (certain) drugs, it is this: The moment that a governing body decides to meddle in the personal (and in the case of simple drug possession, victimless) affairs of its citizens by (in a spectacular display of futility) forcibly removing and criminalizing access to a person, place or thing that they commonly resort to (or in some cases, rely on), a power vacuum is nearly always left in its place - one that organized crime likely shall never be deterred to almost immediately begin to exploit purely for profit.
And why wouldn't they? The fact of the matter is that their government has all but handed them the keys to supplying that demand on a silver platter (at a level of risk which will influence little more than pricing). And after comparing historical events of our species' very short time inhabiting this planet, it's clear that the financial exploitation of the war on (certain) drugs (in the form of a pattern established thousands of years ago) leads to an all-too-common eventuality that can be applied to just about any 'supply and demand' scenario.
Combine the above with an enduring legacy of blatant, shameless, greedy, long term hypocrisy ("Drugs are bad - stay away kids, don't ever touch them, okay? Good. Excuse me, I'm gonna go have a smoke."), deceit (such as the DEA's views of parity on the acute and long term risks re. Weed vs. Heroin) and double standards (by way of embracing pretty much anything that contains Ethyl Alcohol and is considered fit for human consumption), and eventually, society will sure as hell reach a chaotic tipping point, where no one will stand for it any longer despite the potential consequences.
The reality is that more and more people are turning to clandestinely synthesized 'street drugs' because of increasingly-tightening laws regarding their Rx counterparts. And more and more non-violent, otherwise law-abiding Americans are reporting being unjustly exploited by viciously violent law enforcement officers who routinely abuse Asset Forfeiture, Stop 'n Frisk, Mandatory Minimums and Three Strikes Laws (all meant to be used solely on drug dealers) because more arrests means greater bonuses and promotions (more money in their pockets each year, and it's truly sickening to witness).
All in all, our society has suffered more so from the war on drugs than it has from the street drugs themselves, and still some people believe it's a good thing to continue the status quo?! No one benefits more from prohibition of anything in constant demand than organized crime. This fact should have been made awfully clear when we tried to ban Alcohol, and reign of gangland terror soon followed until the very end.
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein + "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." - George Santayana = the war on drugs in a nutshell
