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War on Drugs Over
Sabiancym
Member UncommonPosts: 3,150
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting "a war on drugs," a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use.
In his first interview since being confirmed to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske said Wednesday the bellicose analogy was a barrier to dealing with the nation's drug issues.
"Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on a product,' people see a war as a war on them," he said. "We're not at war with people in this country."
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Brendan Smialowski for The Wall Street Journal
Gil Kerlikowske, the new White House drug czar, signaled Wednesday his openness to rethinking the government's approach to fighting drug use.
Mr. Kerlikowske's comments are a signal that the Obama administration is set to follow a more moderate -- and likely more controversial -- stance on the nation's drug problems. Prior administrations talked about pushing treatment and reducing demand while continuing to focus primarily on a tough criminal-justice approach.
The Obama administration is likely to deal with drugs as a matter of public health rather than criminal justice alone, with treatment's role growing relative to incarceration, Mr. Kerlikowske said.
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Q&A: Transcript of the interview with Kerlikowske Already, the administration has called for an end to the disparity in how crimes involving crack cocaine and powder cocaine are dealt with. Critics of the law say it unfairly targeted African-American communities, where crack is more prevalent.
The administration also said federal authorities would no longer raid medical-marijuana dispensaries in the 13 states where voters have made medical marijuana legal. Agents had previously done so under federal law, which doesn't provide for any exceptions to its marijuana prohibition.
Journal Communitydiscuss“ That the War on Drugs has been a complete failure is not even a question anymore. ”
— David Dimston During the presidential campaign, President Barack Obama also talked about ending the federal ban on funding for needle-exchange programs, which are used to stem the spread of HIV among intravenous-drug users.
The drug czar doesn't have the power to enforce any of these changes himself, but Mr. Kerlikowske plans to work with Congress and other agencies to alter current policies. He said he hasn't yet focused on U.S. policy toward fighting drug-related crime in other countries.
Mr. Kerlikowske was most recently the police chief in Seattle, a city known for experimenting with drug programs. In 2003, voters there passed an initiative making the enforcement of simple marijuana violations a low priority. The city has long had a needle-exchange program and hosts Hempfest, which draws tens of thousands of hemp and marijuana advocates.
Seattle currently is considering setting up a project that would divert drug defendants to treatment programs.
Mr. Kerlikowske said he opposed the city's 2003 initiative on police priorities. His officers, however, say drug enforcement -- especially for pot crimes -- took a back seat, according to Sgt. Richard O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild. One result was an open-air drug market in the downtown business district, Mr. O'Neill said.
"The average rank-and-file officer is saying, 'He can't control two blocks of Seattle, how is he going to control the nation?' " Mr. O'Neill said.
Sen. Tom Coburn, the lone senator to vote against Mr. Kerlikowske, was concerned about the permissive attitude toward marijuana enforcement, a spokesman for the conservative Oklahoma Republican said.
Others said they are pleased by the way Seattle police balanced the available options. "I think he believes there is a place for using the criminal sanctions to address the drug-abuse problem, but he's more open to giving a hard look to solutions that look at the demand side of the equation," said Alison Holcomb, drug-policy director with the Washington state American Civil Liberties Union.
Mr. Kerlikowske said the issue was one of limited police resources, adding that he doesn't support efforts to legalize drugs. He also said he supports needle-exchange programs, calling them "part of a complete public-health model for dealing with addiction."
Mr. Kerlikowske's career began in St. Petersburg, Fla. He recalled one incident as a Florida undercover officer during the 1970s that spurred his thinking that arrests alone wouldn't fix matters.
"While we were sitting there, the guy we're buying from is smoking pot and his toddler comes over and he blows smoke in the toddler's face," Mr. Kerlikowske said. "You go home at night, and you think of your own kids and your own family and you realize" the depth of the problem.
Since then, he has run four police departments, as well as the Justice Department's Office of Community Policing during the Clinton administration.
Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance, a group that supports legalization of medical marijuana, said he is "cautiously optimistic" about Mr. Kerlikowske. "The analogy we have is this is like turning around an ocean liner," he said. "What's important is the damn thing is beginning to turn."
James Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation's largest law-enforcement labor organization, said that while he holds Mr. Kerlikowske in high regard, police officers are wary.
"While I don't necessarily disagree with Gil's focus on treatment and demand reduction, I don't want to see it at the expense of law enforcement. People need to understand that when they violate the law there are consequences."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124225891527617397.html
This is a great thing.
Comments
Good article. But what do you think?
Like I said at the bottom of post. It's a very good thing and I'm excited to see that we're moving in the right direction. I hope it keeps going further in that direciton.
The Official God FAQ
Does this amount to a defeat, a victory, or what?
Glad to hear it.
Now let’s get to legalizing marijuana.
Finally somebody in power who is realistic.
I hope that, at the same time that we stop wasting all this money and police effort on this idiotic war on human nature, we can hopefully move towards reinstating human rights.
At this point I'm glad that somebody is at least able to accept the fact that what we're doing now is counterproductive.
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War on Drugs Over. Who won?
"TO MICHAEL!"
And how do you think the "DRUG" lords get their funding? Glad to hear you are doing them some good....yeah......
Its all bulls!t
And how do you think the "DRUG" lords get their funding? Glad to hear you are doing them some good....yeah......
What are you getting at here? Legalize Marijuana and money goes away from drug lords and into the responsible citizens.
The Official God FAQ
And how do you think the "DRUG" lords get their funding? Glad to hear you are doing them some good....yeah......
Huh? Just exactly how are "DRUG" lords getting funding out of a product that just about anyone can grow in their backyard, window box or basement? They don't call it ditchweed fer nuthin!
Most of the money that "DRUG" lords acquire comes from heroin and cocaine sales. Especially cocaine since:
1) It can only be grown in equatorial climates
2) It requires large amounts to process even a small batch and
3) Processing cocaine from the leaves of the dyroxia plant is both difficult and manpower intensive.
Heroin is more flexible since poppys can be grown in more places, but it's still a bitch to process into a finished product.
Weed? Any retard can grow weed!
Hopefully Obama will end this asnine "War on Poverty" next.
A wonderful step in the right direction on this issue. I applaud the Obama administration on these moves in the direction of liberty. It's of course not nearly enough, but good is good.
Good job, Mr. President.
fishermage.blogspot.com
The war is over! Bong hits all around!
So I started to walk into the water. I won't lie to you boys...I was terrified. But I pressed on, and as I made my way past the breakers, a strange calm came over me. I don't know if it was divine intervention or the kinship of all living things, but I tell you, Jerry, at that moment ... I was a marine biologist.
This is pretty good news .I really wish they would legalize all narcotics,amphetamins and barbituates and make them all over the counter and freely accessible with no purchase limits all the way up to Delaudid #4 's. Personally I don't do drugs but I figure it would be a good way to "Darwin" off some of the idiots out there through OD from not recognizing their own tolerance limit.
Sounds cruel but would help in general as most of the people that result in OD probably wouldn't be a benefit to society anyways in the long run
It's great to see that less legal focus is being given to drug "offenders". However, there is still a problem with this proposition. Just as not all recreational drug users belong in prison, not everyone who uses drugs recreationally needs to be in rehab either. When you force someone into rehab it not only offers marginal benefit in the best cases, it also serves to disrupt the treatment of those who do belong in, and seek, rehabilitation.
Decriminalization and education is the only solution. Make recreational drugs legal and teach people to identify the signs of addiction in friends and family.
I think prohibition in any form that incarcerates users is the wrong approach as shown in the '70s. One of the worst costs in california is the incarceration of drug users and paying for their jail visit. Its the main reason why there is talk to legalize Marijuana and tax it instead. It will alleviate many problems here from the cost of enforcing it, drug cartels like the Mexican Mafia, and our overpopulated prisons.
It is only the beginning.
And how do you think the "DRUG" lords get their funding? Glad to hear you are doing them some good....yeah......
You really have no idea what you're talking about do you?
You legalize it and subsidize its growth as a new cash crop for farmers. It ends the transfer of money going out of the country to Mexican growers, increases domestic revenue. It’s estimated that almost 14 billion dollars worth of marijuana is sold every year in California, a bankrupt state. At a 10% tax that’s close to 1.5 billion dollars in revenue in California alone. Per year. Out of 50 states, there are 30 where marijuana is one of the top 3 cash crops.
Please, do something, read a book, do some research, at least try to enhance your understanding of a topic before you open your mouth and come out of the conversation looking asinine.
Anyone advocating states rights should applaud this stance by President Obama. By suggesting the Federal government will not stick its nose into areas where states have set certain guidelines for marijuana signals not only a practical attitude, but also shows a recognition in states determining what's best for themselves.
Kudos again to President Obama for showing clear leadership.
"TO MICHAEL!"
This from the guy that wants a FEDERAL ban on firearms.
Congratulations! You are the first person that has ever disgusted me with their blatant hypocrisy.
What? You only believe in state's rights if it's blessed by a liberal figurehead. A person of any actual integrity will analyze the message, disregard the messenger and make up his / her OWN mind AFTER considering the issue at length.
This from the guy that wants a FEDERAL ban on firearms.
Congratulations! You are the first person that has ever disgusted me with their blatant hypocrisy.
What? You only believe in state's rights if it's blessed by a liberal figurehead. A person of any actual integrity will analyze the message, disregard the messenger and make up his / her OWN mind AFTER considering the issue at length.
I'm not sure you are able to understand the distinction. You seem to be confused and don't recognize a greater threat to the nation's security interests.
Guns kill citizens.
Marijuana doesn't kill citizens.
States should have the right to self determination but clearly NOT when it's against the national defense and securtity interests to do so. Just as slavery, child labor and women not voting was okay with certain states, it was clearly against our nation's interests to let crackpot states continue to legislate that nonsense, hence supercedence of state law. Marijuana decriminalization takes that out of the hands of organized crime and from providing them with capital, while freeing up our nation's jails of NON-VIOLENT "offenders" partaking in it.
Clearly this is nothing like a gun. I'm sorry you don't understand the nuance between the two. Perhaps someone will explain it in a way you can get that's reading this thread. But your gift of showmanship is extremely entertaining, lol.
"TO MICHAEL!"
IT almost sounds like the same principal as reasoning with your children instead of spanking them........
Because corporal punishment solves everything. Just like guns with homeowners do.
Wrong.
"TO MICHAEL!"
And how do you think the "DRUG" lords get their funding? Glad to hear you are doing them some good....yeah......
Huh? Just exactly how are "DRUG" lords getting funding out of a product that just about anyone can grow in their backyard, window box or basement? They don't call it ditchweed fer nuthin!
Most of the money that "DRUG" lords acquire comes from heroin and cocaine sales. Especially cocaine since:
1) It can only be grown in equatorial climates
2) It requires large amounts to process even a small batch and
3) Processing cocaine from the leaves of the dyroxia plant is both difficult and manpower intensive.
Heroin is more flexible since poppys can be grown in more places, but it's still a bitch to process into a finished product.
Weed? Any retard can grow weed!
your forgetting Meth, is a major import because the labs that make it on the other side of the border make it in purities unseen by your 98% of makers here, 99.6% is the record which when you do a field test on anything above around 92% the reaction is completely instantaneous, as opposed to the average uncut meth which is somewhere between 80-88% pure.
The heroin you can generally tell where i comes from by the look of it because different regions are known for completely different processing methods.
Cocain has been a big thing since the 80's it's a pretty steady flow but meth is the new big one to smuggle.
Weed any retard can grow true but the stuff from Canada is a big product and with virtually no border enforcement compared to the southern border that stuff comes across all the time.
98% of the teenage population does or has tried smoking pot. If you''re one of the 2% who hasn''t, copy & paste this in your signature.