The War We Are All Too Quietly Loosing

[finesse_r]

How much of that cartel money do you suppose makes it's way into the coffers of the politicians in DC? More than you think, I'm bettin'.

Immigration reform????? Border security???? Hmmmmm???

Also to promote keeping such drugs illegal. The minute such drugs become legal the cartels are out of business. War over. Then we just have a social problem to deal with much like drinking and smoking tobacco.

I can't believe the social pressure put on cigarette smokers in the last couple of decades. Now that is a war we are slowly but surly wining. In the 50's and 60's you could smoke anywhere any time, with the exception of an hospital room with oxygen being used in it. And everyone almost smoked. Today smokers are treated like a red headed step child and smoking is way down and limited to certain places.

((I do apologize to any red headed step children who chose to be offended by my statement.))

 

[cbr600f3]

I suggest Washington state send another message (and send it soon) that it is not OK to drive stoned. It may take a while, but they need to start a publicity campaign and they need to start writing some DUI tickets. Unless your state is populated with morons they will soon get the message that it is not OK to drive stoned.

And why don't the tax payers of that state throw in for some equipment to test for vicodin and any other drug while their at it, or you could just single out that one drug as being special needs i guess.....

 

[joespapa]

Treat drugs like booze. Legalize, tax heavily, make them socially undesirable. Control the sources and manufactures, regulate the lines of distribution, taxing it at every step.

We are losing the war on drugs, and spending money we don't have to fight it. We help gangs get rich and powerful, same as the Volstead Act help organized crime start up. Eventually, Darwinism will take care of the problem. Having legal sources puts the cartels out of business, and the taxes help to bury the users.

What we are doing now is not working. Doing more of the same is not going to work any better. But is does make for good reality TV shows.

This is the ONLY solution,legalize !! Anyone who thinks this is a moral issue is as misguided as the teetotalers from past generations!

 

[finesse_r]

And why don't the tax payers of that state throw in for some equipment to test for vicodin and any other drug while their at it, or you could just single out that one drug as being special needs i guess.....

Are you opposed to having an accurate test, since there appears to be some possible problems with the current test which sometimes shows positive when someone is not stoned?

Vicodin is not a hallucinatory or mind altering drug as far as I know. As such I doubt it would have much effect on driving unless someone took fairly large quantities of it and became sleepy or drowsy. If you think Washington state has a problem with drivers taking sufficient vicodin that it impairs their driving you can certainly petition for such a test. I think it a waste of money myself. Anyone taking enough vicodin to become impaired will be obviously impaired just by looking at them and no test is really needed. At that point there is sufficient probable cause for a blood test which already exists.

While I don't advocate taking vicodin and driving, just as I don't advocate having one or two beers and driving, it is not likely to be problematic or illegal.

However, people smoke pot for one primary reason which is to get bloody well stoned out of their minds. I don't say that is good or bad, just that it is no condition in which to be driving. I realize it is also taken for pain and other medical reasons, but lets face it, any decent quality pot will get you stoned and you don't have to smoke a lot of it to get to such a state. In fact with the improvements in developing new and more potent strains, pot can really get you stoned, or so I am told. LOL

What I am suggesting is that they not use the current a flawed test which could get a lot of people locked up who were stoned a week or two in the past, but not stoned at the time they were driving.

 

[therevjay]

Opium, cocaine and most all other drugs were legal in the early part of the 20th century, was the U.S. overrun with addicts?

 

[1morethan8]

Can this chart be right!?

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

I live near the border of Texas and Mexico, and I know some rural ranchers have witnessed some cartel related violence on our side, even in El Paso Texas, a few years ago, some stray bullets from Juarez Mexico hit city hall and the UTEP campus.

 

[Old TexMex]

The Gulf Cartel just hung two girls, ages 15 & 16 from a bridge, just before dawn a couple days ago, because they were associated with the Zetas, as a challenge over a "plaza" control in Zacatecas. They will do anything, anywhere.
Here's the latest numbers:

 

[Old TexMex]

Pot growers are against legalization. They do not, generally, want the government regulation, which is what legalization(taxation) means.
They'd have to keep records (dude) pay SST, unemployment ins. , witholding, state tax in CA. Etc.
Illegal gamblers fought paramutual betting and lottery even scratchies in Texas.

 

[arjay]

the idea is to put these *******s out of business.They won't give up easily.We had a large raid in Boulder/Denver last week aimed at a Colombian connection tied in with several medical marijuana clinics

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Pass the Cheetos please.

 

[mc5aw]

Legalize drugs and watch the number of driving while impaired accidents and deaths skyrocket.

 

[S&W45Colt]

Meanwhile, NYC is paying for public defenders for illegals to go to immigration court. We certainly know where to focus our efforts in this country.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Where do think all these hundreds of billions of dollars go, hidden under a mattress somewhere? When you see a long line of top banking executives doing the perp walk for drug money laundering then you'll know there's a serious effort. Too big too fail, and too big to prosecute. Pay a fine, raise the rate, everyone is happy.... and the campaign contributions continue to roll in.

 

[Old TexMex]

Aw Phil, don't be silly. Those doggone gold plated AK47s aren't cheap! And all those nice black SUVs, and houses and stuff. Those dope dealers don't know any politicians and bankers and legitimate squarejohns.

 

[amazingflapjack]

Anyone interested in a solution to the drug problem might wan to read the book, "After Prohibition."

 

[big&slow]

Legalize drugs and watch the number of driving while impaired accidents and deaths skyrocket.

Oh! You mean like alcohol?

 

[Malpasowildlifer]

You're absolutely right.

SInce we don't fight the war on drugs and illegal immigration aggressively, cartels have become out of control.

They are operating on US soil, as far north as Chicago and Indianapolis. They are kidnapping and murdering US citizens and nothing is being done.

I predict, unfortunately, we'll just be another 3rd world country in 20-30 years.

 

[kamloops67]

Legalize drugs and watch the number of driving while impaired accidents and deaths skyrocket.

i dont believe that there would be a marked increase in users, it would be the same people that are using now. driving, living their lives etc.
i also believe that our society has a pretty good handle on impaired driving...regardless of the source of impairment , people understand its not ok to drive in this condition. of course there will always be those that think the law does not apply to them.

 

[1morethan8]

Legalize drugs and watch the number of driving while impaired accidents and deaths skyrocket.

Humm? Maybe not?

For those looking for clues about how the U.S. government can tackle its domestic drug problem, the figures are enticing. Following decriminalization, Portugal eventually found itself with the lowest rates of marijuana usage in people over 15 in the EU: about 10%. Compare this to the 40% of people over 12 who regularly smoke pot in the U.S., a country with some of the most punitive drugs laws in the developed world. Drug use of all kinds has declined in Portugal: Lifetime use among seventh to ninth graders fell from 14.01% to 10.6%. Lifetime heroin use among 16-18 year olds fell from 2.5% to 1.8%. And what about those horrific HIV infection rates that prompted the move in the first place? HIV infection rates among drug users fell by an incredible 17%, while drug related deaths were reduced by more than half. "There is no doubt that the phenomenon of addiction is in decline in Portugal,"