Governor Christie: The War on Drugs Isn't Working

[IAmMichaelMyers]

Nothing will get done though...maybe alien intervention will get American politicians and corrupt agencies (FDA, DEA, etc) to change their ways :)

[bilbob7624]

Bringing drugs into my community where my family lives... is violent.

[vBotics]

The war on drugs hasn't worked because our government uses it to support illegal operations and support of terrorist in other countries. Duh! If they wanted to fight drug abuse, then why aren't we sending people who get arrested to drug rehab, instead of incarnating them.

[TheCaliCapitalist]

The war on drugs should have ended in the 80's. But we had right wing government who didnt care about mass incarceration mainly because it affected minorities.

[cblazer]

@TheCaliCapitalist if the right wing would do what they stand for they would be opposed to the ammount of gov that is stomping people to death with the drug war. These drugs have to be removed from the black market so we can get some idea of statistics etc. I don't even care if we put it in the hands of big pharma to have gov sanctioned distribution points like the do in germany and others. Keep it off the streets keep it away from vulnerable kids.

[TheCaliCapitalist]

@cblazer

Very well said, crime now is lower than it was in the 1960's so why arent the arrest rates and prison rates? The war on drugs would free up so many people from the prison system.

[cblazer]

@TheCaliCapitalist True, but could you imagine how bad the economy would tank if they all of a sudden done away with drug laws. Huge infux of unemployed releases. Prisons would lay off. Dea would be done. Local police would loose funding.etc. etc. If they wanna do this it has to be thought of as a business. Reallocation of funds from incarceration to rehabilitation, education and prevention.

[cblazer]

@TheCaliCapitalist turn the dea into the education, and prevention arm of a new drug policy, only busting people who sell to kids, enforcing of quality, sales, etc. Turn prisons into rehab facilities and state run hospitals. Let pharma manufacture,sell and distribute. All the money made will be require to sit in the bank(ones that launder it now) and collect interest which will be applied to the program.. ect It can be done but only if everyone who makes money now is kept up..

[amerikaiscommunist]

Why could se send troops to ASia and Iraq, but we can't send troops into Colombia and Bolivia and destroy their ability to manufacture drugs? If you had drugs in your home and you sent 20 people out to sell the drugs and all the law did was arrest these little drug dealers, but never raided your home. The government doesn't want to stop drugs. They just stop a certain amount coming in here and you are satisfied, but they could send troops to Colombia dn Bolivia and cocaine would be no more.

[Ddstairclimber]

legalize drugs prostitution reduce crime, create millions in revenues

[thefourthmusketeer11]

The War on Drugs is a clear violation of the tenth amendment, but sadly, our government doesn't care about the Constitution anymore.

[SLCforLIFE]

Mr. Christie do what's right!!!!!

[colleenbegley]

Please don't put me in jail!

[CrazySheyDZNuts]

What the fuck? he says incarceration hasn't worked, but then contradicts himself by saying there should be an element of incarceration. No dipshit, drug users should not be incarcerated, PERIOD. Why should somebody who puts any drug into their own bodies and commits no other crime be punished? Fuck this fat sack of contradicting piece of shit.

[bundokman]

@CrazySheyDZNuts Dude, he said VIOLENT Drug offenders. People who work rob, steal or even harm others for drugs.

[CrazySheyDZNuts]

@bundokman Well he said especially for violent offenders, not really excluding non violent offenders.

[nkelly1432]

Dumb right wing fat fuck. He supported it almost his whole life, and that it is popular to speak out against it, he changes his mind.

[gtgale1]

The governor speaks a lot of common sense. He is a great leader for New Jersey. They needed someone like him. You are a patriot Governor. Just what we need in today's troubling times. Three cheers. Hurray for you.

[REDRAPIST]

Now we can start by decriminalizing it in New Jersey

[WeAskThePeople]

Ta DAaaaaa,, the bleeding obvious ...now tell the cloth eared suits in congress..

[TheNerdJeremy]

i will vote for him immediately if he is for legalization. i will consider voting for him if he is for medical purposes.

I will even switch parties if he stays on the platform...

and i hate the GOP

but Obama is failing is this area.

[jims69camaro]

If the war on drugs isn't working, why doesn't the Governor sign the petition with the Governors from RI and WA?

[TheNerdJeremy]

@jims69camaro good point. i hope someone points that out to him if he doesnt already know.

[CalisCool]

@jims69camaro You can't goto war with drugs, because there inanimate objects. You can however go to war with the people who do drugs. IE american civilians and so on. The war on drugs is a direct insult to American intelligence.

[guitarpunisher]

This is a very smart man. The war on drugs has done nothing but harm. We need to rethink our laws and figure out a way in which all the people are happy.

[Sumoto999]

Thank god. Finally a conservative that wants to end this drug war. The conservative thing to do would be to end it because it will save ton's of money and protect more law enforcement. If I could vote for this man I would.

[skeptictom818]

Why the fuck is he giving a press conference in a kitchen. LOL!!!!!

[TheMango121]

Why did you give support to MITT ROMNEY Christie?

[NumberOneFear]

"...Stead of a war on poverty, they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me..."

[Luieburger]

Ooooh... I'm starting to like this guy. I wish he would endorse Ron Paul.

[yakyakyak69]

No injured party... NO CRIME!

PERIOD

[ryanschweighardt]

he's on the same page as Ron Paul now. Finally someone else has the guts to no save face and admit the failure of the Drug War.

RON PAUL 2012, or, GARY JOHNSON!

[ambigroove]

Im hoping this becomes a non-partisan issue and we can end this crap.

[garybrownfie]

Gee, where have I heard this same thing before? Wait for it....wait for it....Ron Paul said it a long time ago!

[IAmMichaelMyers]

@garybrownfie like the economy, and just about everything else, Paul has been saying correctly for quite some time!!

[cellojordan]

Well done, Mr. Christie.

[bonemailtanks]

Why would he say such a thing and then support Romney?

[lsdownz]

@bonemailtanks Maybe he thinks the 2012 election will be based on more than one single issue....

[judale54]

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[judale54]

61MOSTLY RINO senators betrayed you and the Constitution today. They authorized, as an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act, the indefinite suspension of habeus corpus. We are now officially a police state. Their names are as follows:Ayotte (R-NH) Barrasso (R-WY) Blunt (R-MO) Boozman (R-AR) Brown (R-MA) Burr (R-NC) Casey (D-PA) Chambliss (R-GA) Coats (R-IN) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Corker (R-TN) ***Cornyn (R-TX)** Crapo (R-ID) DeMint (R-SC) Enzi (R-WY)

[MooseOfReason]

Anything non-violent would mean a customer's voluntary transaction with a drug dealer wouldn't result in incarceration.

[rhinnawi95]

I love slowly watching the views Ron Paul promotes slowly creep into the mainstream, even if he isn't the direct cause in certain cases.

[migkillertwo]

Well fuck our lives because he isn't running in 2012. Christie/Ryan 2016 if Romney loses?

[clkndggr]

Well, Rand Paul is obviously going to be President in 2016, but kudos to Christie. Great video.

[mesler1]

Smart man.

[mjr8730]

Well said, Governor Christie.

[DarenTx]

It's nice to see a member of the GOP who dares to cross the party line and speak the truth.

[deter6895]

do the right thing and legalize marijuana

[CharlesCavallaro]

There's a lot of things I disagree with Chris Christie on, but in rare gems like these, I find him very sensible. And he's certainly far more sane than the majority of Republicans nowadays. If I have to have a republican governor, I suppose I am glad it's this guy.

[hyperrreal]

Wow. A Republican finally says something smart. What's next? Re-opening the "commie" drug treatment facilities and public mental health clinics that republicans shut down 30 years ago?

[migkillertwo]

@hyperrreal

To be fair, Michael Medved (one of the most popular conservative radio hosts and commentators) has campaigned for reopening public mental health facilities for many, many years and has openly and harshly criticized Ronald Reagan for shutting them down as Governor of California.

[hyperrreal]

@migkillertwo You can be fair, but I prefer to be realistic. With their wars on brown people, wars on drugs, and wars against the middle class, Republicans have set American progress back 3 decades. Who cares if some former washed up movie critic, now right wing radio host sees the light when the rest of the Republican Party is insane. Nice to see Christie sees the light on this one issue though.

[hyperrreal]

@bshea217 Yes, Democrats are better. They've pushed for an end to the wars, fixing healthcare, legalizing marijuana, and higher taxes on the 1% to pay for the debt. Republicans cut needed government services and cut taxes for the rich. What have Republicans done to stimulate business or jobs in the last 3 years? They seem to just want the economy to keep on failing to win the election.

[itachi705]

@hyperrreal You could take all the money from the 1% and you wouldn't pay off an eighth of the debt. Raising taxes will just send even more jobs overseas.

[Madfoot713]

@hyperrreal ...What? Ending the wars and legalizing marijuana? That's, what, a handful of Democrats who support those issues? As for "fixing healthcare", well, that's relative :-p. I don't think saying MOAR GOVERNMENT is much of a fix.

A bill passed the Senate last week which allowed the military to infinitely detain anyone in the entire world. It passed by a vote of 93-7, and the opposition was equal parts Democrats and Republicans. Fuck the Democratic Party and everything it stands for.

[migkillertwo]

Michael Medved went to law school. He's written 30 books and has been commenting on these issues for much longer than he's reviewed movies, and has an audience of over 5 million people. He's far from some "washed up movie critic", he's a powerful figure in the republican intelligentsia.

"now sees the light" again, he's criticized him for many years, even while Bush was still in office, for closing public mental health facilities.

[hyperrreal]

@migkillertwo My regards, but I wouldn't strain myself patting him on the back. Having public mental health facilities is a no-brainer. Of course you would want to have crazy people off the streets. Of Course! Still the idea that the government should provide for the general health and liberty of it's citizens is rejected uniformly by the Republican Party. My fiancee lost her job caring for Alzheimer's patients due to state budget cuts, so you can understand why I don't trust the GOP on this.

[ambigroove]

@hyperrreal Im sorry but the harsh reality is you take a huge risk like that being dependent on the government for anything. This country is in so much debt that even if we raise revenue and cut spending it still wont be enough to get out of the hole. Instead of following a political party which only tries to manage symptoms, look for the source, the Federal reserve. As long as that banking scheme exists this country will be in debt.. FOREVER.

[Gnarleypunkdude]

why is that all behind him?

[sniper6081]

We can change state law as a start, though I do agree that the Feds are the biggest problem.

[Maserati7200]

God damn they need to raise the volume when they edit these videos.

[migbee]

This is good. Christie also allowed for medical marijuana in NJ. Remember though, he's still a fuckstick who cut 74% of the public library and school system's funding in NJ... I'd say that's a more important issue than marijuana right now

[ShadowCloud143]

but using drugs is not a crime....or at least that's the problem.

[DinosaurJesus]

If this is what Gov. Christie truly believes, then why is he stalling on the NJ medical marijuana program? And why did he endorse one of the most staunch supporters of the war on drugs for President?

[cridantis]

Move outta the way so I can see them yummy ingredients!

[Cubs1719]

I'm a Liberal and have voted Democrat for a bit, but I have known Mr. Christie for awhile and I must say the more he talks the more I might cross that line.

[mattmemo06289]

why the fuck is he giving a speech in a kitchen

[mydogfarted]

My guess is he's realized that it is cheaper to have rehab programs than keep people in prison. Portugal has shown this is an effective model. My guess here is that possession will become a minor offense with a fine, like a traffic ticket. This way, there is still revenue generated without having to having to burden the court system and prison system.

[sappyjohnson]

He came to this conclusion after dreaming of a world where donuts are illegal.

[Dash277]

Agree! ...Except for the 'treated" part, by which I assume he means the Government should treat them? Non violent drug offenders who arent really bothering people I'm with you.

[Romulus12002]

Drugs are bad....mmmmkay. Just kidding. Legalize it.

[esd2000]

And how will you pay for it there Gov.? Remember we're "broke"?

[wuzreeelytho]

legalize marijuana and do NOT tax it. The Gvt doesn't need another revenue stream to squander. And why would anyone want to gvt to have an incentive for people to consume drugs? They should let people do what they wish, and stay out of it.

[rubbersole79]

@wuzreeelytho

I'm with you. It should be treated like produce. Like a tomato plant.

[Fuscoooo]

legalize pot and TAX the crap out of it.

this kills the drug cartels. well at least for now......

[Aeschylus]

@Fuscoooo The first, main and overriding reason for overturning marijuana prohibition is to allow the American citizen the natural freedom to do as he likes, as long as he isn't hurting others. An additional benefit is that putting it above board will make the black market negligible. Taxing "the crap out of it" doesn't work towards either of those goals.

[garak99]

New Jersey needs revenue The war on drugs is a failure if you add that up what do you get how about GOVERNOR CHRISTIE TO PROPOSE LEGALIZING POT IN NJ" it would be the 1st intelligent thing you did since being elected into office

[nogivenogets1]

My respect for Christie just went up a notch. I don't do drugs but I do pay taxes, why should I pay to imprison someone because of their personal choice that effects no one but themselves. if someone commits a crime while under the influence of a drug then charge them for the crime, not the drug.

[asphyxiafeeling]

DING DING DING!

WE HAVE A WINNER!

GOP Candidate for 2016 has been selected!

[don818]

@asphyxiafeeling He's still pretty corrupt, but he's got the popular idea in mind.

[IndigoVagrant]

@asphyxiafeeling A winner? Nehh

[hXcPegz]

YES. I'm starting to like this man more and more.

[prysmith37]

@hXcPegz Cosign. He is far saner than most of the people who run this country and make money out of For-Profit Prisons.