End war on drugs, says police chief

[Jimbuna]

I'm not sure I agree with his opinion and a Chief Constable at that :hmmm:


Class A drugs should be decriminalised and drug addicts "treated and cared for not criminalised", according to a senior UK police officer.
Writing in the Observer, Chief Constable Mike Barton of Durham Police said prohibition had put billions of pounds into the hands of criminals.
He called for an open debate on the problems caused by drugs.
The Home Office reiterated its stance and said drugs were illegal because they were dangerous.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24320717

[Catfish]

Did not read the link, but:

The second you allow or at least decriminalise drugs, or let the government sell them cheap tothe addicts, you have
a) control and
b) not much pushers, dealers and the whole scum left.

Also, most alcoholic strong drinks are much worse than even 'hard' drugs of the other kind.

[Sailor Steve]

Good for him! :rock:

[Armistead]

I think it's a shame and a scam that pot is criminal. I don't smoke it and probably never will again, but alcohol is certainly much dangerous. Like it or not, the poorer people that do drugs are the ones the police arrest.

[Wolferz]

The entire war on drugs has been a scam to collect people as slave labor in the prison industrial complex and to bleed people dry of their money, homes and cars. Legalized theft by the government so to speak. All to aid the real criminals (Skull and Bones) who traffic Opium and its derivatives worldwide.
The reason for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan possibly?

Any prohibition does only one thing... It creates a black market for thugs and scum. You'd think they would've learned from the big booze debacle that didn't work.

The government also fights dirty in these so called wars. From poisoning denatured alcohol back in the day to spraying Paraquat and supplying guns to drug cartels today.

[STEED]

War on drugs was losted on day one.

[AVGWarhawk]

I think they should legalize everything. No, not really. The question is, when will it stop. Today weed is legal. Tomorrow heroin is legal. :hmmm:

[Rilder]

Legalize, Educate, and Tax.

As long as your not a detriment to society and the people within then you should be free to use whatever substance you want. (Though the problem with some harder drugs is that you usually end up being a detriment to society and the people around you when you get addicted to them)

[AVGWarhawk]

As long as your not a detriment to society and the people within then you should be free to use whatever substance you want. (Though the problem with some harder drugs is that you usually end up being a detriment to society and the people around you when you get addicted to them)

Exactly!

[Jimbuna]

I believe drugs are dangerous, they destroy lives and sections of society.

Long may the ban live on.

[STEED]

Ban sugar that kills millions every year. :hmmm:

A interesting point I heard the other day.

[AVGWarhawk]

I believe drugs are dangerous, they destroy lives and sections of society.

Long may the ban live on.


Agreed. Like I asked, when will it stop? Today weed, tomorrow heroin. On it goes.

[Sailor Steve]

Agreed. Like I asked, when will it stop? Today weed, tomorrow heroin. On it goes.
So let's outlaw booze again, for the same reasons.

[Jimbuna]

So let's outlaw booze again, for the same reasons.

Don't you dare...torture is outlawed in western countries :stare:

[Wolferz]

There are many dangerous things in the world. Should we make them all contraband and just cower in our homes until we die of starvation?:-?

Too much of anything will kill you.
If a person wishes to do drugs in moderation then that should be their choice. Not the will of a bunch of holier than thou hypocrites who smoke big old Cuban cigars while they sip their whisky sours and drive home drunk on the capitol beltway.:down: Their laws have done very little to curb the appetites for these substances. They have done nothing more than finish ruining the lives of those who allowed them to rule their life. They have even gone so far as to prime the pump, so to speak, with the DARE programs in the elementary schools. Drug Access Really Easy kids. Just look in mommy and daddy's medicine cabinet. The worst drug pushers on the planet advertise on TV and you can see their agents every time you go to the doctor.
George Carlin said it best... We're a drug oriented society. Head hurts? Two in the mouth. These are orange kids. The other colors come later.

[AVGWarhawk]

So let's outlaw booze again, for the same reasons.

Ok, the crap is no good for you.

[antikristuseke]

Why the double standard?

[Ducimus]

I think the "war on drugs" is a lost cause, however, I also don't agree with legaization either. I think the whole "war" concept needs to be let go.

I think:

- the money spent in executing this war domestically is better spent on education of drugs to dissuade use. I'll wager that will be far cheaper, and in the long view have greater success then sting operations and knocking down doors. The current habitual drug users, addicts, junkies, etc, are lost causes. The best we can do is work to dissuade future generations.

- many of the lesser drug related charges that result in prison time should be reduced to paying a stringent fee, or if the fee cannot be paid, by compulsory community service for a length of time to work off that fee. Our prison system are overloaded, and ill wager cost too much money to operate. Also, our prison systems create people that can be more dangerous coming out then they were going in. No need to exacerbate any of these problems with lesser offences.

[AVGWarhawk]

http://rlv.zcache.com/toke_up_for_victory_poster-p228024379424018316vsu7_500.jpg

[Stealhead]

The reality is simply put there are many Americans whose cup of coffee is cocaine or Meth or Crack.People will always demand drugs you really can do nothing about this completely the best you can do is have effect campaigns that discourage drug use and try to get the ones addicted sober.Throughout history there have been problems with drug abuse.

Until you solve the addiction problem (or maybe the better term is deal with not solve) you will never win a "war on drugs" because the demand for them is so high(no pun intended) that no matter what LE tactic you try you will never stop the flow you may slow it but never stop it.In fact the LE efforts most likely only serve to make the sale of drugs more profitable for the suppliers not less.

On top of this what of all the companies that sell all the LE gear used in the WAD(War On Drugs)? These companies make millions on WAD.The WAD ignores the root cause of the problem completely.

[TarJak]

Stopping the war means admitting that strategy failed. This is unpalatable. Keeping the prohibition going means many billions in the bank for the cartels. This has been palatable for many years because that's exactly what we've allowed to happen whilst overtly saying that it is unpalatable.

The question is whether we should change that outcome.

He's not the first senior ex police officer who has said something like this. I don't think the prohibition works and I do think we need to change tack on how the problem is tackled.

The obvious option is to go to legalization with controls and taxes as we do with the legal recreational drugs. This will not solve the problem of addiction but better serves the economy because the government gets a bigger piece of the action.

The question then is having potentially destroyed the cartels illegal revenue stream, whether they choose to go legal with a lesser revenue or look towards other activities to fill the gap.

I think it is fanciful to expect the big drug cartels will simply shut up shop and sit stewing in their jacuzzis..

[Stealhead]

The question then is having potentially destroyed the cartels illegal revenue stream, whether they choose to go legal with a lesser revenue or look towards other activities to fill the gap.

I think it is fanciful to expect the big drug cartels will simply shut up shop and sit stewing in their jacuzzis..

I doubt that very much and many already have other enterprises(illegal) out side of drugs.To have all the things they have requires an income of some kind.

The thing with legalization is that it still leaves a black market for example in the US and many other nations you have the untaxed sale of tobacco products and alcohol.Of course in the case of drugs they still would be able to fully produce.

Another tidbit to consider is that in the regions where some of these drugs are grown a growing operation might employ 400 or 500 people that might not have a job otherwise.Not sure if several thousand Afghans running around that used to either grow opium or smuggle it to Iran is a good thing.What ill they do with their spare time and desperation? Something wonderful I am sure.Maybe start a bakery.

Drugs will always be a problem I think.

[TarJak]

I don't doubt that being the businessmen that they are they won't be sitting idle whilst the government takes a big piece of their pie. They will be baking another pie to extract money that's outside the mainstream.

As to the primary producers they'll either end up being contracted by the new distribution owners or end up at the end of a gun shouting Allah u ackbah! So not much difference from now I suspect.

[Aktungbby]

Drugs will always be a problem I think.
Religion is the opiate of the masses... or so my former employer assures me:stare: