Ending the war on drugs

[Skybird]

It failed and never was about the drugs in the first anyway. It has always been a proxy "war" for reasons that changed over time anyway.

http://www.zeit.de/wissen/gesundheit/2016-06/drugs-control-laws-reform-english

I was surprised to read this by an author like Richard Branson. But it does not matter who wrote it. It just came from an unexpected direction.

I think like this myself since longer time, since many years.

We had a discussion on this already three years ago or so, I referred to a long TV documentation on ARTE back then.

[Sailor Steve]

Good article, good thoughts. I too have felt this way for a long time.

[Jimbuna]

Initially I thought "What an unusual source" but then I noticed he is a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.

[AVGWarhawk]

Nice article. A majority unobtainable starting with curtailing drug lords and drug markets.

[Oberon]

Indeed, good article, I have some time for Branson, he's not perfect but he does seem to have a relatively level head on his shoulders...when he's not trying to fly around the world in a hot air balloon. :haha:

But yes, trying to freeze the barons and sellers out of the market by undercutting them and removing the criminal element means that sellers have to either legitimise themselves and play by the rules or lose trade to more secure sources.
It's not perfect, and price and availability would play a big role in how successful any attempt would be, but it would probably be a step in the right direction.
Same goes for prostitution if I'm honest, criminalising it just makes things worse, because it's not going to go away, it is the oldest profession after all.

[Wolferz]

It didn't work for alcohol and one should think the same for drugs.

Unless of course there is some unscrupulous politicians with a more sinister agenda up their sleeves. The evidence for that conspiracy is written all over the place. It all began as greed and greed still plays a big role.

Now, how about we start a war on greed?:-?

[Oberon]

Or a war on war...? :hmmm:

[vienna]

...and the winner is:


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads24/keithrichards1972crop1419221829.jpg




<O>

[Oberon]

That guy is a drug, or at the very least should be manufactured and marketed as a life extending one.

[Betonov]

And he's not American :O:

[Sailor Steve]

That guy is a drug, or at the very least should be manufactured and marketed as a life extending one.
He made a deal with the Devil. Every time you take a hard drug, a year is added to his life.

And he's not American :O:
That should be obvious, since he's older than America. Older than me even. :D

[vienna]

Wow, Steve, really? I had no idea he was that old!... :D



<O>

[Oberon]

He made a deal with the Devil.

Are you trying to tell me that he has some Sympathy for the Devil?

http://s3.amazonaws.com/drumlessonscom/00-drummers/charlie-watts-thumb.jpg
BA DUM TISH

[Sailor Steve]

Wow, Steve, really? I had no idea he was that old!... :D
There are a great many things you don't know. I would be glad to explain, but I don't know most of them either. :-?

[vienna]

I used to tell people I knew everything and understood nothing...



<O>

[Sailor Steve]

Are you trying to tell me that he has some Sympathy for the Devil?
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/Keith_zpsd3drxprw.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/Keith_zpsd3drxprw.jpg.html)

[Sailor Steve]

I used to tell people I knew everything and understood nothing...
I used to tell people "I've forgotten more than you'll ever know."

Then one day the bad news hit me: I've forgotten....

[vienna]

Oh, darn, I had a reply, but I've misplaced it...



<O>

[August]

Haha you old farts! How does it feel to be older than dirt? :)

[Skybird]

Worth to recall this old thread from Spring 2013,

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=205541

and the documentary mentioned in it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0atL1HSwi8

That film is an eye opener. The authors did before "Why we fight", which is one of the best documentaries about the Iraq war 2003 I have seen so far.

[Catfish]

Yes, this was a good thread, will look for the film as well.

Some good reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_the_Dog

and a kind of sequel:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/19/books/review-the-cartel-by-don-winslow-continues-a-drug-saga.html?_r=0

" ... Though the two books are filled with equally vicious reality-based events, “The Cartel” reflects the grim latter-day shift from traditional gangster tactics to those of global terrorism. The new book’s cartels have their own private, monstrously media-savvy armies that reflect the basic thinking of Al Qaeda. As one of Mr. Winslow’s characters puts it: “What good is an atrocity if no one knows you did it?” ..."

[Wolferz]

Haha you old farts! How does it feel to be older than dirt? :)

Muddy!:O: