Northern Subverbia

From the article "U.S. drug war has met none of its goals" (MSNBC)

After 40 years, the United States' war on drugs has cost $1 trillion and hundreds of thousands of lives, and for what? Drug use is rampant and violence even more brutal and widespread.

Even U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske concedes the strategy hasn't worked...His predecessor, John P. Walters, takes issue with that.

"To say that all the things that have been done in the war on drugs haven't made any difference is ridiculous," Walters said. "It destroys everything we've done. It's saying all the people involved in law enforcement, treatment and prevention have been wasting their time. It's saying all these people's work is misguided."

All either war has done in the US or Canada--or anywhere--is criminalize users and dealers and enrich and empower the nastiest people in the business. You probably think I mean the cartels.

After all, some people will say "you'd think the governments would have been able to predict the result by looking at prohibition:.

Don't you get it? The governments could--and did--and they knew exactly what the result would be.

And they did it anyways.

It was the excuse the governments needed for the police to become overtly paramilitary (and very, very well-equipped, at that) without any concerted objections. After all, how many people were gonna stand up and argue in favour of lawbreaking and drug use.

So, when Apparatchik Walters says the drug war has worked--he's right. The lie is saying the drug war has met none of it's goals. It's actually met its only real goal, in spades.

Of course, if you think I'm wrong, explain to me how shooting people and putting them in jail helps users and dealers, or helps you. Please, tell me how your life is better now.