Walter Cronkite & America's Disastrous Drug War Pt 4 of 6

[DeePhlat]

That's the fattest crackhead I've ever seen!

[13AJJONES]

FUCK THAT SHIT !!! GET OUT OF OUR LIVES YOU POMPUS ASSES !!!

THE DRUGS DONT HURT US,...THE COPS AND LAWS DO THE DAMAGE !!! FACT !!!

[GooglFascists]

@13AJJONES EXACTLY. Let them sell drugs at every corner drug store

like they did when CocaCola actually had cocaine in it. BUT- No taxpayer-funded rehab.

No free hospital stays when an addict ODs. Drugs will always cost money, so if a junkie steals

to get cash for dope and gets shot, oh well. You can't have it both ways. Dopers

often think themselves better than the rest of responsible society and want to lay around

stoned while others pay the bills. NO MORE. You dance, you pay the piper.

[13AJJONES]

@GooglFascists WELL,...YOUR POLICE STATE HAS THE DOPERS SHOOTING YOUR KIDS $AND INNOCENT NON-USERS, NOT GETTING SHOT THEMSELVES.THEY GO TO JAIL AND COST YOU 40,000 A YEAR.

AND DRUGS ARE SOLD ON EVERY CORNER NOW, YA DUMMY !...BUT THEY SELL TO YOUR KIDS, CUZ THEY DONT ASK FOR ID !

IM SAYING LET THEM DEAL WITH THEIR OWN PROBLEMS, AND LEAVE THE REST OF THE WORLD OUT OF IT .

ONLY BY ENDING YOUR DRUG WAR, WILL THIS HAPPEN !

IF YOU HAD A BRAIN, YOU MIGHT MAKE SOME SENSE.

[dullsvillain]

look at vids of mexico's drug war and you will want to vomit.......

[randy109]

In the late 1800's most of the "medicine" sold by the traveling medicine man and his wagon moving from town to town had pretty good dose of opium or morphine. Many prairie housewives used their little bottle of "medicine" nightly. Cowboys sitting around the fire smoked a little weed (American Indians & Mexicans used it for centuries). Post Civil War America had a higher % of morphine/opium addicts than modern % of Heroin addicts. The USA didn't go to the dogs! War on Drugs is a joke...

[TCF2148]

SH!! They will hear you! Are you not of the body?! You don't want to make them angry, do you?! We must show them we believe! Praise the FED! All hail the FED!!

[anamericanstory]

Screw the government, they are our true threats. They have destroyed our economy, put us in debt, and destroyed our personal lives, for what, for their own bank accounts? Americans have turned from our freedom and given it to others that can not be trusted. Screw their morales, the government, won't be satisfied till we are all Kenn and Barbies. Screw the people that want to tell me how to run my life. Drugs aren't the problem, the very structure of society is the problem.

[762x51mmNATO]

what happens to 16% of the program that get re-arrested; do they get offered the program again?

[oneeighthundredtwosi]

hopefully, they get to do the program again then go to SOBER LIVING for another year

[nickybadboy50]

Oh I don't know about that. Treatment works for those who want it. Sometimes an addict needs some time away from drugs to figure out that they want it. 2 years in treatment is better then prison. In California there are over 50,000 clean addicts living happy normal lives because of treatment. Many very sucessful. Prison isn't the answer, treatment is.

[Samanuell]

Pretty sure only a stupid person could actually let themselfs beleive that a 2 year forced program was what changed thier life. Pretty sure its just a 2 year long brain wash

[kittyprydekissme]

I can't deny that it's better than prison, but the simple fact is, forced treatment doesn't work very well. And as Sharky points out below, many people arrested don't even need treatment in the first place. (This is true for all the drunk drivers forced into AA, as well.) Many treatment programs really mess with people's minds, as well. (I don't have room to explain that here, but there are books on the subject. There's a good one called 'SHAM'.)

[freeOJ2007]

Hating on drug users is as irrational as hating blacks or gays. It's coming from the same place in the mind. Mostly its religious people behind the hate.

[sharky734]

this clip is dumb. what about the people that dont abuse "weed". so i get cought with it a a college party and now have to do 2 years some where having some moron pushing their bushit down my neck. mankind depresses me.

[atvfreelife]

mankind isn't depressing, it's amusing! funny as all hell actually :)

[3v45b5]

blame the rediculous policy, not the "moron" at the party. the guy was not a menace to society, but this shortsighted policy is what is antisocial

[sharky734]

you didn't undersatnd what the hell i was talking about. I am blaming the system.

[3v45b5]

then you didn 't understand me either, cause I blame the system too :)

[Donziflyer]

This was aired in "95"!  If people in general were aware of present Drug War incarceration statistics it would make them sick to their stomach! This is 2008! The Drug War is WELL KNOWN to be a dismal failure and we as thinking adults need to make our politicians aware of our knowledge to this and our condemnation of such draconian drug laws!

[hugesinker]

That DETAP part really bothers me. Don't people own their own body? What if they are only hurting themselves and they don't want your stupid treatment. Leave these people alone.

[freeOJ2007]

hugesinker: I agree. Homosexuality was a felony a generation or two ago. In the 1780s, in most of the original 13 states, homosexual men received the death penalty. Now politicians leave gays alone, and they're the most prosperous members of society. Many are millionaires.

[TacticusPrime]

No man is an island. This comment is the epitome of libertarian nonsense. You think they only hurt themselves? What about their parents, children, and the rest of the family? What about the greater society that has to pay for the keeping a roof over their head when they can no longer take care of themselves?

[hugesinker]

Don't try to argue "greater societal cost" because the numbers are just not on your side. Some of the people who use drugs, or use just about anything to excess,are going to take it too far and ruin their lives and minds with it. Behaving this way is its own deterrent. The best we can do is reach out to those ill,provide treatment and shelter to get through it.

How does throwing a nonviolent drug offender in jail do anyone any bit of good? Maybe they are in control of their recreational habit?

[TacticusPrime]

I'm sorry but in your comment you seemed to be suggesting that society as a whole should not act in favor of detering drugs and the costs they inflict. I agree that incarceration and criminalization have not worked and are probably immoral and ultimately counter-productive. But that doesn't mean our eventual goal shouldn't be a society free of recreational poisoning. Humanity has such great potential, it would be a shame to squander it in mindless self-indulgence.

[hugesinker]

I would like to see all drugs legalized so that they can be created in a safe environment by companies that can be sued and be subject to the rule of law. A fraction of the money previously spent on incarcerating these crimes should be put into educational campaigns similar to what caused cigarette smoking to decline so sharply. The Libertarian philosophy is not "fuck them", but the idea government is generally the least efficient and motivated group to provide help and housing.

[Eron55555]

That's hilarious considering current pharmaceutical companies peddling so called legal drugs and vaccines have no liability, nor can they be sued..

The Drug War is a farce.. You want to know what a criminal is? Try the board of directors for company's that push Ritalin and other drugs on children.

[hugesinker]

They can't be sued? How? Why?

I understand if the label says "May cause sudden coma", and somebody takes the drug and goes into a coma... however, if a drug's only warning is "May cause ass-burn" and somebody takes the recommended dose and dies... why couldn't the family sue? Even when it IS on the warning label, I've heard of plenty of recent class action lawsuits against drug companies. Usually they end in a fat payout.

[clustro]

I lost complete faith in the moral credibility of the drug war when I heard about Marinol.

Its a prescription drug. The generic name is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Sound familiar?

Its THC! The active ingredient in marijuana!

Marinol is okay to sell though, but pot is illegal? Why? Because a pharmaceutical company wasn't getting its cut.

Such a scam.

[WMBrown]

when you toss all those drug users in jail, you can pretend that everything in this "great nation" is perfect.

basically, turning a blind eye and playing "make-believe"

[Eron55555]

Libertarian nonsense?  If you know a libertarian then you know they sure as heck won't be paying for a roof over anyone's head but their own. So I am not sure what you are getting at.. The better question here, is who is going to pay the healthcare and support these people need.. Cheaper to keep them locked up perhaps? It's a health issue... So.. I think spending a bit more will help in the long run.

[rrleblanc]

Decrimanilize all drugs. Take the money out of it. Let the cops, and judges, and lawyers, get an honest job and stop leaching off of society with their stupid ideas of saving society.

[tombstonetom]

Thank you for featuring reasonible alturnatives. We can do better than we are doing.

[maddog245]

Anyone notice that at around 3:05 there appears to be a bong in the backround. Stop the drug war!!!!

[bathysiderodrome]

AHAHAHHA!

[jemontgo]

I would challenge you to ask French Immigrants/minorities how nice the quality of their life is in your native country. France is far from being a Utopia. With the combination of its class and racial issues it is just another America.

[maxanova]

24th and 40th are one way to state the statistic. Another would be to say that their rate is LESS THAN HALF of ours. Which way gives you clearer information. Not utopia. But they're happier, and they're better educated so they'll find a way out of their mess faster than we will.

[ClaudeBalzzzz]

Since when did 40/2=24? Did you go to school in france? With all that's right with france, and all that's wrong with the US, I can't think of a single reason you should continue living here, can you?

[maxanova]

no... we're 25th, they're 40th, but their RATE PER CAPITA is less than half of ours. Just as a man in 25th place in a marathon could take 4 hours, and the man in 40th place could take 4 days. Your stat didn't tell the whole truth. Why do I stay? To help save the country from conservatives.

[ClaudeBalzzzz]

Well, let me make it easy for you. There's no chance that in your lifetime this country will become like france, so the best thing for you is to move back there, join the "happy" people, and leave us to our own fate.

[maxanova]

I don't want it to be "like france" I just want the liberals to continue winning. We win in a 2 steps forward, one step back style. Minority rights? We're winning. Gay rights? One step back at the moment? Slavery? Won. Porn? Won. Women's rights? Won.  Out of Iraq? As soon as George W. Douche is gone.

[ClaudeBalzzzz]

You're dodging the point, in classic liberal fashion. You took exception to my comment about france, and you're the only person on here who thought it necessary to take up the defense, and you've spent the last 10 entries doing so. Now you've added "porn" to your drug legalization platform, and of course, managed to throw in an insult to the President. You're a waste of time. Stand by your convictions and move BACK to france.

[maxanova]

Classic conservative argument: "if you don't like the country's current state and our agenda, leave." Classic liberal response "No thanks, I'll stay and change the country instead." We're so cliched. Boring. As for insulting W... I don't know if you noticed but less than a third of the country is still behind him and his incompetent flunkies. Back on topic: what's your suggestion on the drug war? More of the same?

[Engage777]

Cronkite is such a pussy. He wants us to be france.

[maxanova]

wow. france.... you mean low crime rates, free healthcare and 7 weeks paid vacation a year.... god forbid!

[Engage777]

Yes, france. With over 10% unemployment-double that of the US. The same policy the french government is desperately trying to reform, because it's dragging down their 2nd rate economy. Do you read?

[maxanova]

yes, france, where inspite of their welfare state, the quality of life is far higher than ours, and drug related violence is far far lower. Everybody's got problems. France is no exception. But I live in West Oakland, and I've spent plenty of time in Paris and in Normandy... Guess where the people are happier...

[Engage777]

The crime rate is not *that* low, and if the economy can't sustain, which all indicators are it can't (read: muslim riots) the crime rate will soar. I've been to france too, and I'm very happy back in North America. -You couldn't pay me to live in Oakland, but that's another story.

[maxanova]

I was married to a french woman for four years. The Muslim riots were a wake up call, yes. Everybody has their problems. But compare murder rates. Compare them between the US and anywhere but South Africa. The French economy is a mess, but they're still happier than we are because they don't let their poor people get so low that they're desperate enough to kill and form armed crack rings.

[ClaudeBalzzzz]

I don't get your point. Your original comment centered on a blissful condition that france afforded its citizens; long vacations and low crime. Actually, the US is around 25th, and france 40th worldwide for murders per capita. Hardly Utopic. And with 10b in subsidies, and a shrinking population, they're ripe for collapse, whether or not they're "happy" today or not.

[maxanova]

this is all off topic. the drug war remember? is there anyone in the US today who wants drugs and can't get them because of the cops? not really. Pot dealers deliver like pizzamen. there is a war on drugs and the people on drugs are winning. surrender! 30 years of failure is reason enough to change the method.

[jemontgo]

I would have to disagree with you on the condition of the poor in France. Just like the US, your country has a history of class issues. So what if you have a universal healthcare system. Your country has still left the poor behind. Just look at the HLM's outside of Paris. They are an exact replica of American Projects/Ghettos.

[jemontgo]

I would have to disagree with you on the condition of the poor in France. Just like the US, your country has a history of class issues. So what if you have a universal healthcare system. Your country has still left the poor behind. Just look at the HLM's outside of Paris. They are an exact replica of American Projects/Ghettos.

[Fukinguy7]

A little too stiff. We need drug maintenance programs too for hard core addicts. Be it heroin, cocaine, meth, whatever.

[solecist]

Wow, this makes sense. Dollars and sense. I like the perspective that works.