Cost of fighting the war on drugs: After 40 years, the United States' "war on drugs" has cost $1 trillion and hundreds of thousands of lives. Drug use is rampant and violence; even more brutal and widespread. Article about Media Roots: Drug failure is no longer active.   Article by Mena: Narcophobia is no longer active.

Federal Folly

In 1969, the federal drug enforcement budget was $65 million. Last year it was $19.2 billion, greater than a 295-fold increase. (These figures don't include the state and local costs.)

If the price of coffee, which sold for 25 cents a cup in 1969, had increased at the same rate, coffee would now sell for almost $75 a cup - more with sales tax.

What have we received for our so-called "investment" of about $1 trillion in the past 35 years? Absolutely nothing. Nothing except the largest prison-industrial complex in history. Thanks to our drug war, one out of every four prisoners in the world sits in a U.S. jail or prison.    

People use many types of drugs --- from aspirins to alcohol. Those who have socially drank beer, wine and hard liquor may be startled to discover that alcoholic beverages are drugs as well. This great variety of drugs [ chemical substances ] raises the question of just what is a drug? This section provides the scant basics of drugs and is not intended to cover the entire spectrum of drug pharmacology. 

A drug is any chemical substance that, when taken into the body, produces physiological, emotional, or behavioral changes. This definition thus includes the entire spectrum of chemical substances used in the treatment of illness and for recreation or pleasure as well as street drugs; from aspirin, pain killers, anesthetics, antibiotics and antiacids to marijuana, cough syrups, morphine, soft drinks, over the counter drugs, sugar, corn syrup, coffee, chocolate bars, mescaline and methamphetamine.

Drugs that are taken for the sole purpose of altering consciousness in some way are usually referred to as psychoactive drugs. There are many types of pyschoactive drugs with a wide variety of psychological effects. Depressants [ alcohol, barbiturates, tranquilizers, opiates ], for example, slow down body functions by depressing the central nervous system; they thus have a relaxing effect. Drugs that have an opposite effect of depressants are stimulants [ amphetamine, coffee, nicotine and cocaine ]; these speed up the activity of the central nervous system, thereby elevating mood and activity.

It would be nice if all chemical substances could be classified as either depressants or stimulants. Unfortunately, there are some chemical substances that can cause both reactions in the body. Examples include some amphetamines and cocaine, that initially stimulate the body and then later depress body functions. These dual-effect substances are difficult to classify.

Finally there are chemical substances that produce hallucinations [ LSD, peyote ] and that alter perception, mood, time sense and thought processes.

The effect drugs can have on the body depends on the dosage and biochemical individuality of the user.

All drugs can be addictive; that is, cause physical or/and psychological dependence in the user. Physical drug dependence means that the body actually adapts to the drug and makes it a part of the body's chemistry. When the user stops taking the drug, the body must adjust to a new "withdrawal situation."

There is no such thing as a safe chemical substance or drug! The world of drugs gets even more complicated when drugs are combined, thereby producing a "synergistic effect." The combined effect is greater than that of two drugs taken at separate times.

Europe’s most liberal drug policy has been a huge success. Not, as you might think, those hippie Dutch, but Portugal, where possession of all drugs for personal use was decriminalized in 2001. Chivers: Portugal free drug law 

"On July 1, 2001, a nationwide law in Portugal took effect that decriminalized all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Under the new legal framework, all drugs were “decriminalized,” not “legalized.” Thus, drug possession for personal use and drug usage itself are still legally prohibited, but violations of those prohibitions are deemed to be exclusively administrative violations and are removed completely from the criminal realm. Drug trafficking continues to be prosecuted as a criminal offense.

While other states in the European Union have developed various forms of de facto decriminalization— whereby substances perceived to be less serious (such as cannabis) rarely lead to criminal prosecution—Portugal remains the only EU member state with a law explicitly declaring drugs to be “decriminalized.” Because more than seven years have now elapsed since enactment of Portugal’s decriminalization system, there are ample data enabling its effects to be assessed."  Greenwald: Portugal drug lesson

Decriminalization of illicit drug use and possession does not appear to lead automatically to an increase in drug-related harms. Nor does it eliminate all drug-related problems. But it may offer a model for other nations that wish to provide less punitive, more integrated and effective responses to drug use. Hughes: Learning from Portugal

For a brief review of how other countries are dealing with illicit drugs, go to  Article by Torruella: Judge discussion war on drugs is no longer active.  StoptheDrugWar: Argentina-Mexico legislation

United States and its hard-line drug policies are increasingly isolated from the rest of the world!  Other countries are doing more about substance abuse than United States is!   

 The Naked Truth About Drugs  [ Excerpted from  Article by Gibson: drug program truth is no longer active. ] Article by Williams: Naked truth drugs is no longer active.

"All drugs were legal and cheap and readily available in America prior to 1914, and we were even encouraged to use them. Heroin was available from the Sears mail order catalog, as was morphine, opium and cocaine. But if you couldn’t wait for the mailman, all those same drugs were sold at the corner grocery or drugstore. Our addiction rate then was very low and we had no drug crime [ although circumstances were different from 2010 ].   Article by Gibson: drug program truth is no longer active.

What changed it all, what disrupted our peaceful co-existence, was the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, a confluence of religious arrogance and racial bigotry, spread by a surprisingly small number of men and all tinged with political opportunism. All of which metastasized over the years and morphed into Richard Nixon’s War on Drugs."  Article by Gibson: drug program truth is no longer active.    

There are a variety of sound arguments for the repeal of drug prohibition. One is the Declaration of Independence, which guarantees our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, arguing the sovereignty of our bodies. Another is the Constitution, which defines treason against our United States as “levying war against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.” We are not fighting drugs per se; we are levying war against those who use them. Meanwhile drug prohibition has enriched our enemies with hundreds of billions of dollars and will guarantee hundreds of billions more, giving more than enough aid to any comfort.  Article by Gibson: drug program truth is no longer active.

The best argument, where I believe we share the greatest commonality and the least polarity, is the one for law and order. The hugely inflated prices addicts pay for illegal drugs force many into a life of crime, committing nearly all our larceny-thefts, crimes the FBI report as non-violent. And though some addicts would just as soon shoot you as look at you, most drug violence occurs at the higher echelons of the black market, stemming from territorial and distribution conflicts. Repealing drug prohibition will bankrupt the black market and reduce the overall Crime Index by at least 50%, an argument central to the debate and hard to counter.  Article by Gibson: drug program truth is no longer active.

History is replete with drug stories and tales both good and bad, but all provide empirical data, unequivocal in its conclusion, that drugs are here to stay. So we are going to live with them one way or another. We lived in peace for over a century and have been at war nearly as long, ninety years. And rumor has it drug warriors, no longer intent on maintaining the status quo, have plans on paper just itching to be implemented that will end the drug war once and for all. It will not be pretty, making today’s methods seem almost quaint.  Article by Gibson: drug program truth is no longer active.

We drink, we smoke, we ingest and inject. It is part of who we are that no policy can change, no law. So we change our law and policy. But the biggest canard of the drug debate portrays those favoring repeal as being “soft on drugs.” Not at all true. We’re just being hard on stupidity. Whish is why ending drug prohibition is society’s smartest step toward jack-hammering all those good intentions paving the way to hell.  Article by Gibson: drug program truth is no longer active.  

 Additional Pros and Cons of this debate  have been summarized in:  Wiki: Pros & Cons drugs      Article by Solivetti: Italian viewpoint is no longer active.  StoptheDrugWar: Argentina-Mexico legislation  Article by Mena: Narcophobia is no longer active.   

This act is merely going to review and make recommendations about the Justice System of United States.  It is not decriminalizing drug use. 

5/6/2010--Reported to Senate amended. National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2010 - Establishes the National Criminal Justice Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of all areas of the criminal justice system, including federal, state, local, and tribal governments' criminal justice costs, practices, and policies. Directs the Commission to:

make findings regarding its review and recommendations for changes in oversight, policies, practices, and laws designed to prevent, deter, and reduce crime and violence, improve cost-effectiveness, and ensure the interests of justice;
conduct public hearings in various locations around the United States;
consult with federal, state, local, and tribal government and nongovernmental leaders and other stakeholders in the criminal justice system, including the U.S. Sentencing Commission; and
submit a final report, within 18 months after its formation, to Congress, the President, and state, local, and tribal governments, and make such report available to the public. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Commission should work toward unanimously supported findings and recommendations. Sets forth the membership composition of the Commission and its administrative provisions. Exempts the Commission from the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Requires all records and papers of the Commission to be deposited into the National Archives. Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-2011. Terminates the Commission 60 days after it submits its final report to Congress. National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2010  Senator Webb: Criminal Justice Act 2009    

It is impossible to review all the information on the debate about decriminalization and prohibition of chemical substances and illicit drugs on this web-site.  You can find a lot of additional information about the drug use issues on the internet and your local library. Hopefully a small amount of information on these issues may be enough to start you thinking and provide fuel for debating with others.  There are other related issues that have been overlooked by debating authors, like the moral impact of drug abuse on society and that everyone can get a natural hormone high that is better and safer than the chemical high from illicit drugs.   

 Morality  is a system of rules that regulate our behavior and conduct in social situations. It's about the doing of "good" instead of "harm," “right” instead of “wrong” and “good” instead of “bad."  Morality defined

Morality of drug abuse is scarcely mentioned in the debate arguments. Morality is an important and very sensitive issue; much like a older person assumed to be knowledgeable when not ... but given the power to make behavioral decisions over teen-agers who may be more knowledgeable.  So let us take time-out and briefly review the morality of drug abuse.

Morality is not about the temperance movement, prohibition or decriminalization of drugs. Morality is a system of rules that regulate our behavior and conduct in social situations. Moralization is the process through which preferences and behaviors are converted into values, both in individual lives and at the level of culture. It is about the affect drug abuse of a few persons can have on society and the moral fiber of justice, honesty, truth, freedom and liberty for everyone in a country.  It is about whether drug abuses really solve the personal problems of people.  Most important, the issue of "drug use" morality is covered up, distorted by mass media and politically supressed; and made not transparent in America.   Morality defined

Character and the morality of citizens are important ingredients of economic growth because they go hand in hand with the great institutions of private property, democ-racy, and free markets. Historical review of the performance of the ancient economies of Athens and Sparta during the period 490-338 BC provides us with an example of how important the moral fiber of a civilization is to its wellbeing.

"Athens grew vastly wealthier than Sparta essentially because its institutions were optimally adjusted to confront the basic scarcity of grains, whereas the institutions of Sparta were optimally adjusted to sustain its military supremacy. However, in both cases, there emerged systems of morality, which secured the operating efficiency of their institutions. Both Sparta and Athens set up agoge systems, so as to infuse a compatible “ethos” into the character of their citizens along with economic prosperity." Both Greek states flourished by infusing morality into their citizens so that their civilizations would prosper.  Bitros: Moraility Ancient Greece

The examples of Athens and Sparta illustrate the importance of morality to the economic survival of a country. The development of social order, and hence some form of morality, is important to the survival of all social species.

It is unfortunate that so little attention has been given to including morality in the debates about decriminalization and legitimization of illicit drugs, including legalization of marijuana.

We are born without morality. We learn values early in life from our elders. Each day as a child grows older, the child learns from its parents and other role models "right from wrong, good from bad" and these values evolve "character' in every child. Parents have an obligation to inculcate [teach] values to their children.  How well a job parents do determines the character and morality of children. But parents also desperately need a motivating environment for morality support from their local community and national government.  It is all of society that creates morality and not just parents. We need morality in order to keep our society from falling apart and resolve conflicts in an orderly fashion. Debaters must include morality in their debates.   

Those advocating use of marijuana and other abuse substances need to be made aware that they can get a natural high from the hormones in their own bodies; that are better and safer than what they may experience from marijuana, heroin, opium and so on.  Woods: endorphins make you feel good

Indeed, your body is a chemical factory that produces its own chemical substances. For example, amphetamines mimic the action of adrenalin in the body. They cause the heart to race at high speed, increase blood pressure, heart rate and breathing rate while at the same time decreasing appetite and gastrointestinal activity.

Another example is the body's ability to synthesize natural pain killers or hormones that are many times stronger and more effective than illicit drugs. Endorphins are chemicals produced by the brain [ produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus ] during certain periods [ most commonly released during periods of pain and stress ], that have effects similar to morphine and other opioid drugs.

Endorphins and other painkillers (heroin, morphine, codeine) act mostly to stop receptors from signaling severe, persistent pain. They do not cause dependence and addiction like drugs. Another significant difference is that endorphins are short-lasting unlike externally administered drugs which tend to act for long periods.

There are four kinds of endorphins and they affect the body differently.  Our knowledge about pain and endorphins is incomplete -- superficial and speculative.   Below is a simplistic and incomplete summary about endorphins:

Endorphins are produced during exercise, excitement, pain, consumption of spicy food, love and orgasm. Endorphins: natural opiate pain killer Half an hour of continuous, moderately intense exercise releases endorphins. But keep in mind that individual biochemistry occurs among all of us; endorphin levels differ among people. Apart from resting levels, the amount of activity required or the duration of the response also varies tremendously.

Endorphins have many positive effects on the body and mind. When released endorphins lower blood pressure; high blood pressure is a major indicator for heart disease. Endorphins boost the immune system, slow down the aging process, and reduce pain, and anxiety. 

The natural body hormones resemble opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a feeling of well-being. Wiki: Endorphins

Western medicine today focuses on relieving pain by prescribing medications. However, this practice may be soon be circumvented by the recent discovery that vitamin D in adequate amounts is a very good and safe natural pain killer. Vitamin D update    

Our educational system, society and parents should teach children, teens and indeed parents, how to experience the natural endorphin trip in socially appropriate and acceptable ways. Another aspect of feeling good education would be to develop positive work - job skills in adults. Indeed, adults, like addicts and strong advocates of decriminalization of drugs, should also be helped to discover the endorphin "feeling good" trip!

Getting a natural high instead of a chemical high also needs to be added to the debate about the war on drugs. Doing so would be pro-active.

Bitros, George and Karayiannis Anastassios, "Morality, institutions and economic growth: Lessons from ancient Greece." Munich Personal RePEc Archive Unpublished (2006)  Bitros: Moraility Ancient Greece

Blumenson, E. & and Nilsen, E., "Policing for Profit: The Drug War's Hidden Economic Agenda," University of Chicago Law Review, 65: 35-114 (1998, Winter).   Article by Blumenson: Hidden facts about drug legislation in USA is no longer active.

Blumenson Eric D.and Eva Nilsen, "CONTESTING THE GOVERNMENT'S CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN DRUG CASES," University of Chicago Law Review, 65: 35-114 (1998, Winter) Article by Blumenson: Govt conflict interest in drug cases is no longer active.

Chivers Tom, "Portugal drug decriminalization 'a resounding success': will Britain respond? No.," Cannibis News, September 29, 2010  Article by Chivers: Portugal free drug law is no longer active.

Common Sense For Drug Policy, "Drug War Facts," November 2007.   Common Sense: drug info