A Lack of Leadership

The drug war is no more effective than the Iraqi war: The government lies. We’ve seen it with Iraq, and we’ve seen it with the drug war. Jailing users and minor sellers is a waste of tax dollars. How often have you seen a "big" buyer of drugs jailed? You know, a fancy businessman with a $1500 suit, sitting behind a fancy desk, smoking a fancy cigar. The answer is not often. It’s always the poor, often minority person, pawning off the rich boy’s stuff on the street. It’s much easier, more visual, and takes a whole lot less brains. There aren’t many white, middle or upper class folks in prison for selling, buying or using drugs. It’s apparently harder for the legal system to see white. Dealers need to be punished, but it needs to be reasonable and humane. Users need help, not prison. The same attitude that believes killing terrorists will end terror maintains that jailing users and minor dealers will end drug use. This belief lacks a serious level of intelligence and foresight.