The War On Drugs Cannot Be Won

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My name is Tree Trujillo and I'm asking for your vote in the 2012 Presidential Election.
I probably won't be winning any national party conventions, so just write me in on your ballot.

In my first act as President of the United States I will Legalize all drugs!

Yes, you heard me right. ALL DRUGS! LEGAL!

The reality is, the War on Drugs is f#cking stupid. We need to wake up and realize, THE WAR ON DRUGS CANNOT BE WON.

Apparently I am not alone in this epiphany. A CNN poll reported that 74% of American voters believe that the drug war is failing.

But how can we possibly be failing?

We are talking about a war that consumes an estimated $54.14 billion dollars per year of tax payer money, which is, incidentally, almost enough to pay for universal health care. That's $1,716.77 each and every second of 2011. This war exacts an estimated $70 billion a year from consumers, is responsible for nearly 50% of the Americans in jail, occupies an estimated 50% of the trial time of our judiciary, and takes the time of 400,000 policemen. And things are getting worse, not better. 

Wow, where are we going wrong? How can we be losing this war?

Michael said it best...

"We cannot win the War on Drugs because the enemy -- is us -- the American family." - The Drug Czar Michael Douglas, Traffic

We make rigid laws to protect ourselves from ourselves, but why aren't they working? Let´s do a quick comparison. The Netherlands has some of the most liberal drug laws in the world and we have the toughest. How do we stack up...

Cannabis use (ever used):

19% in the Netherlands
41% in the U.S.

Cocaine use (ever used):

2.6% in the Netherlands
14.7% in the U.S.

Heroin addicts as a percentage of population:
160 per 100,000 in the Netherlands
430 per 100,000 in the U.S.

Murder rate as a percentage of population:

1.8 per 100,000 in the Netherlands
8.22 per 100,000 in the U.S.

Incarceration rate as a percentage of population:
73 per 100,000 in the Netherlands
645 per 100,000 in the U.S.

Per capita spending on drug-related law enforcement:
$27 per capita in the Netherlands
$81 per capita in the U.S.

It's embarrassing how bad we suck. We have 5% of the worlds population yet we consume 60% of the world´s illegal drugs. Something is wrong people.

The truth is, this is not a hard problem to fix. It just requires that we let go of the fear that binds us to this predicament.

As President of the United States, here is exactly how I will solve the drug problem.

1) I will legalize all drugs immediately. The production, sale, and use of drugs will be regulated like alcohol and tobacco.

Note: The only way to eliminate the violence of the drug trade is full legalization. How many alcohol bootleggers do you see shooting up the streets these days? 

2) I will make it illegal for companies to advertise drugs, period.

3) All drug sales will be heavily taxed and 100% of the revenue will go to FREE drug rehabilitation and to job training for recovering addicts.

Note: the Clinton administration ordered a major cocaine study by the Rand Drug Policy Research Center that concluded treatment is the cheapest and fastest way to massively reduce drug use and demand.

4) I will immediately release all non-violent drug offenders from jail and put them into drug treatment programs. According to the American Corrections Association, this will save an estimated $6,186,127,675 per year. I will put 100% of that savings toward law enforcement and incarceration of real, violent criminals.

Note: 1.5 million Americans are arrested for drug offenses every year. Roughly 700,000 of those people are arrested for marijuana and 500,000 are imprisoned. That is beyond ridiculous. It's INSANE.

5) I will immediately reallocate the governments $54.14 billion dollar drug war budget as follows...

40% to an aggressive preventative drug education campaign, specifically targeted toward youth. If we spent this amount of money on preventative education, we would all but eradicate the drug culture in 5-10 years.

30% to building viable and sustainable economic opportunities in poor neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the US. When people have hope and opportunity, they will usually choose that over joining a gang and being killed in a drive-by shooting.

30% to building viable and sustainable economic opportunities in the poor drug producing countries of the world. (Afghanistan, Mexico, Colombia, etc).

Note: Currently in the U.S. financial aid package to Colombia, 78% of the funds go to military operations as opposed to economic and social projects. We need to understand that military violence will not deter a man from joining a drug cartel to feed his family.

As a matter of fact, the US Defense Department funded a two year study which found that the use of the armed forces to interdict drugs coming into the United States would have minimal or no effect on cocaine traffic and might, in fact, raise the profits of drug cartels and manufacturers. Nevermind the untold suffering that this military war wreaks on innocent civilians.

In conclusion, I believe that my plan will dramatically reduce the drug and violence problem in a few short years. What do we have to lose by trying something new? We already know the Drug War is a disaster. We can solve this problem through education, treatment, and economic opportunity. It's really not that complicated right? It just requires thinking about the problem with our brain instead of reacting with more violence.

If you believe in me, I'm asking for your vote. (Simko, you're my best friend so you have to vote for me. You don't have a choice.)

If you don't believe in me, I'd love to hear your suggestion on how to solve the drug problem. What would you do different to END THE WAR? I want to know. Write your thoughts in the comments field below. If you receive Sprinter Life via email, click here to comment

Final Note: My plan outlined above is a simple solution for solving the drug problem and ending the war. But understand, some wars are not meant to be won. There are far too many powerful people making way too much money who will never allow this problem to be solved. The American media would have you believe that the U.S. and Mexico are in this big fight against drugs. That's bullshit. Most people in the US don't even realize that Mexico's president, Felipe Caldéron, isn't fighting drug trafficking. He is fighting for CONTROL of drug trafficking. Caldéron is in bed with the Sinaloa Cartel and they are using the military to take out the competition, the rival cartels. This has caused horrible spill over into counties like Guatelmala, learn more here. As for the U.S., we have a long history of using the drug war as an excuse to mettle in the affairs of Central and South American countries. It gives us a lot of leverage and control. And don't even get me started on the money being made by the military in this war.

The drug problem is solvable, but that really isn't the problem, is it? 

- TREE

"No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power." - P. J. O'Rourke

Related Sprinter Life Posts:
- La Paz Baja - The Drug War in Mexico
- Good Bye Mexico - How dangerous is Mexico?
- The Drug War Spills Into Guatemala