War on Drugs

[ARay11]

a good friend of mine has brought this to my short attention span.....I havent taken the time to get into the research of it...but in case any of ya'll are in need of a good research paper....

The War On Drugs last year cost the American taxpayer approximately $25billion
fewer than 1 million arrests were made.
515,000 of which were minor possession arrests
and it netted 6,500 incarcerations.
est: $3.8million per incarceration
(this seems a bit deceiving.... I don't think it's fair to say that 100% of money spent is purely to arrest people. but, this is her math not mine)

furthermore:

Estimated tax revenue would exceed $47 billion dollars if marijuana were produced by the government and sold (legally) (and taxed the same as tobacco, alcohol, and other "sin" taxes).

So, the annual net swing dollars would be: $72 billion for one year.

at $72B / year how long would it take to retire the national debt.

as a personal note: I don't agree simply due to the cost to humanity

[Franco]

a good friend of mine has brought this to my short attention span.....I havent taken the time to get into the research of it...but in case any of ya'll are in need of a good research paper....

The War On Drugs last year cost the American taxpayer approximately $25billion
fewer than 1 million arrests were made.
515,000 of which were minor possession arrests
and it netted 6,500 incarcerations.
est: $3.8million per incarceration
(this seems a bit deceiving.... I don't think it's fair to say that 100% of money spent is purely to arrest people. but, this is her math not mine)

furthermore:

Estimated tax revenue would exceed $47 billion dollars if marijuana were produced by the government and sold (legally) (and taxed the same as tobacco, alcohol, and other "sin" taxes).

So, the annual net swing dollars would be: $72 billion for one year.

at $72B / year how long would it take to retire the national debt.

as a personal note: I don't agree simply due to the cost to humanity

It would take over 225 years to retire 16 trillion in debt. That is without adding the interest or future debt.

I am with you though, no need to continue wasting money on a lost war. Better to take 5% of that budget and place it towards education and treatment.

[BonMallari]

the WOD is a farce, an absolute sham....its just another way to funnel money to corrupt foreign govt's like Karzaid...I am sure the DEA is as good an agency of hard working LEO's that put their lives on the line on a daily basis....but if we cant stop immigration into this country how in the heck do they expect to stop drugs?

Let them decriminalize MJ, as long as my son cant buy it in the streets, I could care less what people do with it in the privacy of their home...but if the school bus driver is high,then I have a problem...

Having a Drug Czar is another joke...they always use the excuse that the money is spent on education, but just like many other social/cultural issues, you can't keep throwing money at it in hopes of making it go away..

Drug abuse is a real problem...the WOD is not the solution...and I have no idea what the solution is..

[HPL]

I just turned 57, so was in college during the early to mid '70's. Pretty much the perfect time to be exposed to many of the early recreational drugs, and indeed I did have a few friends who smoked pot. Certainly I am familiar with what it smells like, but my mom would have been very disappointed had I chosen to partake and thus I refrained (but I don't drink either). That being said, my two friends who smoked the most pot went on to be PhD biologists and hold fairly prestigious positions in their fields of study, so clearly the movie "Reefer Madness" is a bit of an exaggeration. Much is made of marijuana being the "gateway" drug, but is has been my experience that the majority of pot smokers I have known actually started out by sneaking beers out of their parents' fridges long before they started smoking pot.
As a non drinker, I really don't see much difference between folks getting hammered on alcohol or stoned on weed. Much pain and sorrow could be avoided if both could be eliminated with the wave of a hand, but many would argue that so would much joy and solace be lost.
I have come to the position that as long as the users are adults, and as long as they don't endanger others with their behavior, I don't really care if they want to mainline drano. As an adult, it's your body, your life, and I'm tired of paying for the massive bureaucracy involved in fighting "the war on drugs".
I say let some of my friends who are trying to make a living farming sorghum and cotton switch over to marijuana and have the govt tax their income and tax it again at point of sale.

[mjh345]

I just turned 57, so was in college during the early to mid '70's. Pretty much the perfect time to be exposed to many of the early recreational drugs, and indeed I did have a few friends who smoked pot. Certainly I am familiar with what it smells like, but my mom would have been very disappointed had I chosen to partake and thus I refrained (but I don't drink either). That being said, my two friends who smoked the most pot went on to be PhD biologists and hold fairly prestigious positions in their fields of study, so clearly the movie "Reefer Madness" is a bit of an exaggeration. Much is made of marijuana being the "gateway" drug, but is has been my experience that the majority of pot smokers I have known actually started out by sneaking beers out of their parents' fridges long before they started smoking pot.
As a non drinker, I really don't see much difference between folks getting hammered on alcohol or stoned on weed. Much pain and sorrow could be avoided if both could be eliminated with the wave of a hand, but many would argue that so would much joy and solace be lost.
I have come to the position that as long as the users are adults, and as long as they don't endanger others with their behavior, I don't really care if they want to mainline drano. As an adult, it's your body, your life, and I'm tired of paying for the massive bureaucracy involved in fighting "the war on drugs".
I say let some of my friends who are trying to make a living farming sorghum and cotton switch over to marijuana and have the govt tax their income and tax it again at point of sale.

Well said!!!!

[john fallon]

It cost as much to process a pound of cocaine as it does for a pound of sugar and the raw material cost is a wash or close.............So they should cost the same, and there in lies the problem.

john