The War on Drugs with John Stossel 2of6 Unintended Consequences of Prohibition

[GhibliFan1]

The war on the drugs that are far more harmless than alcohol and tobacco... well they're just insane. Take magic mushrooms for example. Impossible to take on a habit forming basis due to tolerance, and impossible to overdose on. At best you'll get enlightened with wisdom, at worse you'll be scared shitless for 4 hours and probably won't want to take them again Yet possession or cultivation can get you LIFE imprisonment. Insane.

[BloodskullMannoroth]

"Sucks children into the underworld" This is what I think of when I hear that.

Mom: Have fun at school today Billy

Billy: I will mom!

*Netherhole opens up and sucks child into the underworld*

Billy: THE DEATH GOD IS STEALING MY SOUL

[Danielgolightly85]

Do ever wonder that the reason why cops continue to push for drugs to be outlawed is b/c they want to stay on the take w/ dealers?

[NYC1E1]

The war on drugs is a failed one.

[Scorpitarios]

The war on drugs is about as illegitimate as the berlin wall used to be. Both rob people of their freedom.

[k8thetoubab]

It's not just poor kids. Rich kids use and sell, even if they do have a legitimate job.

[delavalmilker]

I read recently on the Alternet website, that if America's current prison population was reduced to what it was in 1970---1 million jobs in the prison industry would be lost. Not to mention all of the "private" industry that has moved into the incarceration business.

Since the vast majority of people in prison are there because of drug related offenses, stopping the "War on Drugs" would hit some very important (and powerful) people in the pocketbook. They aren't gonna let that happen

[zeppelin0110]

I love that reverend. If I was near his church, I'd go, even if I'm not religious. It's nice to see more prominent persons actually be reasonable.

[evergonge]

least the US is talking about it i gat arrested for growing weed in the UK and the court ordered me to do a Drug Rehabilitation Order which means hanging around with a load of herion junkies! its bollocks i wasn't selling weed i was not prepared to pay street prices! now i'm getting fat from drinking and eating shit food getting into drunken fights and smoking 2 packs a day because i'm forced to work a stressfull job inorder to pay high taxes to fund the UK's war so so called drugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[barrius1234]

Who the fuck do they think they are to say what we she put in our bodies and what we shouldn't?

[frantic1971]

Didn't we learn our lesson with National Prohibition of alcohol in the twenties?

[panzer903]

@frantic1971 this is America, we don't learn shit.

[Coldstonechampion]

@frantic1971 hell we do not even learn our lesson from Pearl Harbor and look what happen 60 years later Sept 11 2001

[frantic1971]

Didn't we learn our lesson with Prohibition?

[mushroomcloudy]

"Sucks children into the underworld" sounds sooo sinister.

[HardBodyNyC]

This is from 2002 or 2003 and now in October 2, 2010 the war is.... Oh wait it's still on going.

[DutchGamerCompany]

i love weeddd

[TheJoelef]

well they didnt mention how drugs influenced Kurt Cobain and Layne staley genius Lyrics

[magicidiot12345]

Lol Heroin doesn't do shit to your brain dumb bitch

[ArcyTheFurryArcanine]

20k a weekend? WTMF?

[silversobe]

The drug war makes cartels and drug lords very rich men.

Prohibition never works.

[whiff1962]

William Bennett was a partaker of Tobacco and alcohol, two very healthful substances. What a very frightening embodiment of Puritanical facism he is!

[Kingdoc1976]

You only have to look at mexico! & colombia.

[fenriz218]

Not too long ago I had a cop search my backpack - he began digging and actually SNIFFING through it!

I asked him whether he was looking for drugs. He confirmed.

I asked him - slightly sarcastic - whether he was looking for crack, smack or exstasy. He said that I should be careful with what I said and continued ... SNIFFING!

There goes my tax-money - idiot didn't know I keep my weed in my pocket ...

[jeffsandychelsea]

"...it's a deadly and poisonous activity..." as are smoking and drinking. WTF? Hardcore drugs, I can understand. Those should be taken off the streets. But POT?! REALLY? Why are we wasting out time with POT?

[EternallyRecurring]

@jeffsandychelsea What hardcore drugs are you talking about? Heroin? Because we prescribe many different kinds of opiates. Things like Oxycontin are just as addictive. Or where you talking about methamphetamine, because if you Google Adderall, that's a type of amphetamine. Most street drugs are used in medicine and are prescribed. They're just derivatives of older drugs which have been refined to use for more specific problems. Opium(unrefined heroin) was used for everything 100 years ago

[TuneSlingr2]

What is right is that we are free to live our lives the way we want.

What is wrong is government sending thugs into our communities to kick in our doors and destroy our lives.

"they" should go to prison for a long time. "they" being the Governement officials who voted to war against free citizens of the U.S.

"They" being the thug cops and DEA who war against free citizens of the U.S.

"They" are the criminals. Not the drug users.

[GreyWolfLeaderTW]

@TuneSlingr2 People are free to make choices. They are NOT free to escape from the consequences. It is Newton's Law: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." It just so happens right now that jail is one of those consequences.

I think you forget that the police enforce the law, the drug users just break it like any murderer or rapist.

[TuneSlingr2]

@GreyWolfLeaderTW

You just compared a flower to murder and rape. Do we really need to further talking to you at all? Your ignorant beyond measure.

[VictoryCough]

It's not governments role to regulate adults private behavior!

[Ddstairclimber]

@VictoryCough yea, stop teh war on personal freedoms. legalize drugs and prostitution.

[arch571332]

If government has a financial incentive to raid people for drugs so they can make money, then the gov. could just lie and say a house is a drug house even if its not just to get the money.

[mikejackson4ever]

I agree completely. We've created a dangerous precedent for a violation of the right against unlawful search and seizure and the right to due process. If you are an individualist conservative, you should support the right for people to do whatever they want with their own bodies- otherwise you believe in a "community" or government ownership of our bodies.

[DantesObjective]

It is wrong to stop people making free choices about what they can put in their own bodies.

[GreyWolfLeaderTW]

@DantesObjective That doesn't mean that people destroying their bodies is right either. The smart thing is to educate them, show them what destroying their body will do to them, and then let the ones who won't listen destroy themselves.

[TuneSlingr2]

@GreyWolfLeaderTW

I would argue that marijuana use is not destroying anyones body. I would argue that it improves the quality of many peoples lives. I would argue that your view of 'drugs' is twisted because of warped propaganda campaigns. Maybe you need to be educated?

[grraadd]

it's obvious that prohibition doesn't work.

It's also obvious that if we don't know why they keep it, it must be BIG money involved...