Police Commissioner Calls For The Legalization of All Drugs
Anyone who has spent any time studying the war on drugs will soon become aware of the all-encompassing failure that the war on drugs has turned out to be. Billions of dollars has been spent on this effort and there is precious little to show for it. It sure has helped to militarize the police community though and through abuses of eminent domain they've managed to secure a lot of funds for themselves.
Many experienced professionals within the criminal justice field all say the same thing and they've been saying it for years: it's time we ended the war on drugs. It's time that we approached the issue of drug addictions in seeing it as a social problem in need of healthcare assistance, rather than a criminal problem that we need only deal with using force.
One police boss, Arfon Jones, in North Wales has had enough of the travesty as well and he recently suggested that authorities in the community should consider legalizing all drugs.
He says that a new approach is needed and that the war against drugs has totally and completely failed; and he's right. Jones argues that by legalizing drugs that it would take the power out of the hands of criminals and it would instead open up the possibility for addicts to get more support for themselves.
And there are many criminological experts who would assert the same, that the war on drugs only helps to benefit big pharma companies, drug cartels and other criminals. In fact, a recent UN Global Commission on Drug Policy annual report called for just the same. Jones says that they should look to following in the same footsteps as Portugal, because they decided to decriminalize drugs more than a decade ago and we can all see that their society didn't descend into chaos and implode.
They choose to see addicts as patients rather than criminals.
Someone who doesn't do heroine or crack today, isn't simply going to go out tomorrow and start-up an addiction just because it becomes legal. Would you? Probably not. The fear that some people might partake in the activity, has never stopped or prevented anyone from doing so, and it shouldn't be justification enough to continue on with a charade that costs many people their lives and has wasted countless resources. What we are waiting for the control freaks to accept is the fact that the war on drugs is inefficient, it's too costly (especially considering the comical inefficiency of it) and it's dangerous.
Continuing with the policy of trying to tell people what they can and cannot put into their own bodies, doesn't appear to jive with the narrative of seeking to advance their health or welfare of any kind. There is still a drug problem in many communities and the war on drugs isn't doing anything to stop it or make it better. And jails are being filled with people who haven't initiated an act of aggression against any other individual or their property; so why should they be kept in a cage like an animal? Jones is tired of seeing it, just like so many others are too, but will authorities in New South Wales be open to change? Best bet is that it isn't coming anytime soon.
Pics:
Business Insider/Getty
420 magazine
Sources:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/10/portugal-fifteen-years-decriminalised-drug-policy-161015091127668.html
http://www.zmescience.com/ecology/world-problems/war-on-drugs-failed-17112016/
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/consider-legalising-drugs-says-police-12238396
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/21/decriminalize-drugs-un-commission-drug-policy-report
"If we stop hurting, errr protecting them, then they might hurt themselves. Must protect them..."
Precisely!
Something similar happened here in Canada just a couple of days ago.
A University Law Professor proposes to permit all drugs, while discouraging their use. He argues that this is the least harmful way to address the substance abuse issues in our society.
http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/off-the-street-windsor-law-prof-proposes-legalizing-all-drugs
fantastic! thanks for sharing this news
This has been a fairly unpopular opinion of mine for years. Just the other day I was at a social gathering where I overheard someone say "How is it that someone gets caught with a bag of heroin and only spends one night in jail, while another gets caught for petty larceny and gets three to six months?" To which I replied "One might argue that in the first case they are only hurting themselves, while in the second they caused harm to someone else." Several heads turned to me, a couple nodding absently, before they want on to discuss this "injustice." Thanks for this @doitvoluntarily. I am new to steemit and am adding you to my follow list ;)
wow! you took the plunge and you tried! i know how unnerving it can be in those situations.. i am thankful for every person who takes the time and effort to try and promote liberty in any way that they can. Even if it's just in passing discussion.. so thank you.
Ron Paul! My husband and I campaigned tirelessly for him, so much so that my son (five at the time) called him GrandPaul, haha!
now that is one of the best things i've heard today! :) does your son still remember him/does he like him?
Absolutely!
Thanks for posting this. I love that you just put it into words so plainly tangible. People have been so far from freedom that they thought they were free!! So many have not considered the view point you are sharing as they have not had free thought for some time. But your sharing your viewpoint could help people see another perspective, which will be in order if we are to have any sustainable future. Great post.
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I don't think all should be legal but some would make it better.
sugar doesn't provide any health benefit and a number of doctors/nutritionists would say it contributes to a variety of issues in society and for individuals... yet it's legal... Same with high fruc corn syrup and a variety of other substances..
True my wife hates both, I do better if I stay away from them as well.
keeping them illegal doesn't prevent their use unfortunately.. I think it is best to learn from those who are experts in the field and they overwhelmingly support the decriminalization of all drugs -- though they might personally themselves disagree with drug use and advocate that people don't engage in that activity.. you can still choose not to advocate to use violence and throw people in jail because of what they choose to do with their own body - criminalizing it only helps gangs and police
True, I still think some should not be legal since they have no health benefits. but good point.
The nasty thing about the war on drugs is that it makes everything more dangerous than it otherwise would be. So, even though it's counter-intuitive on the surface, the more dangerous the substance, the more crucial its legalization.
Alcohol prohibition is more dangerous than marijuana prohibition, for instance.
Good point just making everything instantly legal would be dangerous. Would need a way to control it yet slowly make them legal nation or world wide.
Make all drugs legal, ensure quality, take the money from criminals, banks, CIA and put it into the health services. Do more research, fund education and care for those addicted.
It will be hard in the USA, because of vested interests. The DEA is an industry all of its own, with a 3 billion dollar budget and about 10000 employees. Also, the prisons are an industry, with the USA having the highest incarceration rate in the world: 0.7% of the population.
Decriminalization doesn't work, with love, Portugal