The "War" on Drugs...

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PeterUK_IHB

PeterUK_IHB

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I saw a few weeks ago that a man had been arrested trying to smuggle 2 kilograms of cocaine into the USA. Then last week I heard a man got arrested trying to smuggle 10 kilograms of cocaine <em>out</em> of the USA.



I wish they'd make their minds up, do they want the stuff or not?
 
[quote author="PeterUK" date=1224685522]I saw a few weeks ago that a man had been arrested trying to smuggle 2 kilograms of cocaine into the USA. Then last week I heard a man got arrested trying to smuggle 10 kilograms of cocaine <em>out</em> of the USA.



I wish they'd make their minds up, do they want the stuff or not?</blockquote>


That exchange rate volitility is crazy huh?
 
The war on drugs is a hoax. If something it is a war on the poor and minorities. Majority of the people going to jail on drug charges are black. However the majority of the people using the drugs are white. It is a higher <em>likelihood</em> that a white man is carrying drugs than a black man, yet the police will stop a black man for questioning. In an experiment a police department was asked in a session what they thought of first when they saw a young black male driving a fancy car. They invariably said "a drug dealer". They were then asked what they thought when they saw a young white male driving a fancy car, and they invariably said "a spoiled rich kid". This is a direct admission of racism. Not only is it racist, but it's factually wrong which means the police are not profiling correctly based on clear statistical evidence. If they wanted to seize more drugs, they should stop more white people, however that's not what they do. So what is the real purpose of this drug war? The truth is, if white people started being stopped and randomly searched, or God forbid get equal sentences with blacks, the drug war would come to an end a lot quicker...
 
[quote author="halfnote19" date=1224725375]I just say legalize it all then we can regulate it and tax the hell out of it.</blockquote>


I think marijuana should be legalized. All those other hard drugs will kill you or have you doing something that you really don't want to be doing.



"Pot promotes peace, and peace isn't profitable for the man"- Kids in The Hall
 
Have you ever noticed how government reacts differently to things it really wants to stop as opposed to those things it doesn't?



The flow of goods in any market can be stopped by going after demand. Trying to stop supply simply raises prices. They arrest pedophiles and anyone having such materials. They are going after the demand in a strong way. The do not arrest Johns searching out prostitutes in the same manner. The go after the prostitutes which simply drives up prices.



If the government really wanted to stop drug use and wage an effective war on drugs, they would start arresting users. They could impose heavy fines, put people in jail, etc. If they started arresting users, the demand would go away, and so would the drug dealers.
 
I don't think over crowding prison's even further is the best solution. If drugs are decriminalized, I think this would lead to less crime. It's one less problem for authorities to worry about and they can focus on violent criminals or any other serious law breakers.



Random story, I remember I was leaving the Quail Hill Starbucks. There was a man kickin' it on the bench puffing on a one hit bat.



As I caught him, he got super paranoid... I just smiled and said, "You like 215, huh".
 
[quote author="GOTTI" date=1225514241]I don't think over crowding prison's even further is the best solution. If drugs are decriminalized, I think this would lead to less crime. It's one less problem for authorities to worry about and they can focus on violent criminals or any other serious law breakers.</blockquote>


Forget color for a few moments. Look at it from a pure economic flow stand point. People with an education and a career (or well paying, steady job) have the money to indulge themselves in whatever recreational pleasures strike their fancy. But they often are buying it from someone lower on the economic ladder. This hypothetical dealer might have chosen to sell drugs as a hobby, but usually a dealer does it for the money. I'm not talking about the mid-level or higher distributors, but the 'retail' dealer. It's an easy line of work to get since most people know someone that uses one drug or more recreationally, word of mouth brings in more customers if the quality and regularity of supply is good, and most distributors will allow you to borrow a small amount of their product to sell (with the expectation that you will pay them back or suffer a heavy, heavy penalty) which allows the retail dealer to get started. The retail dealer either increases the cost to the user or cuts the quality of the product to provide a personal profit. In short the money flow is user>dealer>distributor>producer>grower with each taking profit along the way.



Removing the dealer and changing the distributor removes an income stream from a person who is already facing economic challenges. If this is their sole source of income, and they already have a proven record of ignoring laws to generate income, then what options are the legion of dealers going to have? I fear that legalizing drugs will only benefit the users and producers leaving the rest with no choices and I think that will actually lead to more crimes being committed, not less, possibly of a more violent nature considering the dearth of firearms on the streets. Even if the new tax revenue is used exclusively to rehab current drug dealers and provide job training, I suspect the voluntary enrollment rate will fall far below the current employment rate of retail dealers.
 
[quote author="IrvineRenter" date=1225513107]If the government really wanted to stop drug use and wage an effective war on drugs, they would start arresting users. They could impose heavy fines, put people in jail, etc. If they started arresting users, the demand would go away, and so would the drug dealers.</blockquote>
IR, that didn't work during Prohibition. People just got sneakier about where the went to drink. Prosecuting users would just lead to more hidden establishments like the speakeasy from the 20's.
 
[quote author="Nude" date=1225525968][quote author="IrvineRenter" date=1225513107]If the government really wanted to stop drug use and wage an effective war on drugs, they would start arresting users. They could impose heavy fines, put people in jail, etc. If they started arresting users, the demand would go away, and so would the drug dealers.</blockquote>
IR, that didn't work during Prohibition. People just got sneakier about where the went to drink. Prosecuting users would just lead to more hidden establishments like the speakeasy from the 20's.</blockquote>


The speakeasies were paying off the police to stay open, so it isn't quite the same. I don't think drug use could ever be eliminated by going after users, but it would certainly reduce demand.
 
[quote author="Nude" date=1225525968][quote author="IrvineRenter" date=1225513107]If the government really wanted to stop drug use and wage an effective war on drugs, they would start arresting users. They could impose heavy fines, put people in jail, etc. If they started arresting users, the demand would go away, and so would the drug dealers.</blockquote>
IR, that didn't work during Prohibition. People just got sneakier about where the went to drink. Prosecuting users would just lead to more hidden establishments like the speakeasy from the 20's.</blockquote>


Agreed. Prohibition pretty much sparked the birth of organized crime.
 
IR, we make plenty of arrests of "users". 11550 H&S gives us the power to arrest people who are under the influence of an illegal controlled substance. 1st arrest they get drug diversion classes, 2nd arrest 90 days jail, 3rd arrest 180 days jail, etc..etc.



From my angle, the diversion classes do not seem to work.... addiction is a powerful thing. I've had plenty of repeat customers, and when you look at their rap sheets....some have 10-20 11550 arrests.



So arresting people for 11550 is a tool that we have... it's kind of like shooting fish in a barrel though.....



Lots of the crackheads and meth freaks are burglars and burglary from motor vehicle suspects.....theft/shoplift suspects..... they need to get money for drugs somewhere.



So it really isn't about the recreational user, we concentrate on those that are likely to commit other crimes to fuel the addiction.





<a href="http://law.onecle.com/california/health/11550.html">California Health and Safety Code 11550</a>
 
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