UN losing war on drugs - 12 March 09

The United Nations' 10-year war on drugs has yielded little result, with the global drugs trade ballooning to about $300bn.

And, as Al Jazeera's Sebastian Walker explains, not every world leader supports traditional anti-drugs policies.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• un
• losing
• war
• on
• drugs
• sebastian
• walker
• aljazeera

[AlexMoensChannel]

Just legalize it already. It's not the government's place to enforce responsibility, and it's beyond me why alcohol and cigarettes made the cut when other drugs didn't.

If you want seedy activity to stop occurring around drugs, stop making it a seedy activity. Drug cartels and all these deaths would stop almost immediately if it were legalized.

For the record: I'm not a drug user, nor have I ever been.

[WeRtheVoices]

Ok so first of all, you are mislead if you think legalizing drugs will give "them" more options. Do you realize how easy it is to get drugs on the street? Legalizing and regulating drugs would practically eliminate underground gangs. This is where half the people find other options. If someone goes to their dealer to get some pot and he has cocaine or what not, you might be apt to try it. If pot was legal though, that person would go to a regulated government station to get pot and only pot.

[kuei1248]

The US will never legalize drugs because there is too much money in keeping it illegal. Too many government jobs depend on drug traffic. That is why the CIA was busted 2x for flying in large amounts of drugs. They could never tax it enough to come close to what they make from illegal drug trafficking. Now they can seize your house, cars, money and all other assets. Over half of government employees and contractors would lose their jobs by legalizing drugs. Your government is HOOKED!

[Mockzrockz]

Cannabis wont make ure body accited to it. get ur facts straight!

The only way u can get addicted to pot is ure psychologially addicted to it.but then Tetra-g9-Hydrocannabinol is not to blame!

Then u have other personal problems.

even though cannabuis does not harm ur body in any way like alcohol does.

Alcohol makes ur body get addicted to it.

Stupid alcohol drinkers deny that, and say weed is badddd and they are so wrong, whiel tehy get pissed every weekend! and destroy their braines

[VulcanXL]

Only drug that I see could become legal is pot. Safer than Alcohol and Tobacco.

[pedro17d]

Like I mentioned before, just because a drug is legal and accepted, it will not make it not addictive. A lot of people who do rehab are happy that they managed to get off drugs. When you are addicted to drugs, it no longer becomes a personal choice.

Alcohol is completely legal and accepted, yet there are people just sit at home and get drunk and bitch about how the world is screwed up.

You want to given them more options? which will also affect their brains besides their liver?

[snedhead88]

to be fair, a person who takes drugs in a society that calls him a criminal is NOT going to want to conform to the governments rehab centres or anything, because there are very few people who agree with what they do, this is the kind of thing that makes people crave drugs more. if it was an acceptable thing to do and we were taught the FACTS about it from an early age then people wouldnt feel left out in the world, sat at home taking bongs bitching about how the world is screwed up.

[pedro17d]

How about the fact that some drugs are highly addictive? Do you think that if we legalize them the addicting part will disappear?

Don't you think that somebody with an addiction would still need to commit other crimes such as robbery or theft to fulfill their needs?

Clearly prohibition didn't work out, yet alcohol remains one of the biggest social problems today and causes more death than any other crime (drunk driving, accidents, etc)

[MDUMANOVIC]

Yes, countries and gangs are also coercive, and operate on the principle of violence. Just like the drug cartels do, as you had pointed out. I'm not arguing that point. Instead, I'm establishing that cartels cannot by definition be free market entities because they rely on the use of force.

Consent does not equal Force

[tainoaz]

Ok?! Drug Cartels operate just as countries and gangs operate. You let us get what we want and stay out of our way OR we will FORCE our will on you.

Wrap your head around that FACT. The cartels were willing to sacrifice a few soldiers to the altar of PROHIBITION but when you put pressure the shit hits the fan. Love to hear your come back : )

[MDUMANOVIC]

A free market is by definition based on voluntarism. Drug Cartels operate on the basis of violence and hence do not and CANNOT reflect a market that is free. Equating consent to violence is a very blatant contradiction.