Losing the 'War on Drugs'

Forty years after US president Richard Nixon declared a 'War on Drugs', the global commission on drug policy declared that the war has been lost. Al Jazeera's Cath Turner reports on the losing battles in a tiring war.

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News & Politics

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• war on drugs
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• Drugs

[m1up]

Legalize. Its the only way. Look at the stats, and you will see country's with legalization, have way less crime, less death, more happiness.

[Ausaini17]

Man, Fuck Nixon! I'm glad I wasn't alive to vote for him! I wish a few politicians would grow a pair and legalize it. Do we really need to lose more money on the phony war on drugs, a war that more about a government trying to control what people do to themselves.

[snowboardman420]

@0413kat Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier just to legalize it?

[Chaoitcme]

@funterms7 Come to British Columbia, Canada. Marijuana laws are really lax here and many people openly smoke it on public streets without fear of being arrested. In Canada if you are caught growing over 200 plants I think that the maximum sentence that you can get is 5 years. Pretty lax compared to America where if you were caught with 200 plant then you would probably be in jail for the rest of your life. My advice is to move to Canada. It is a much better country is so many ways.

[Chaoitcme]

The War on Drugs only causes criminal organization to thrive which produces more drugs than would have been produced if the drugs were legal. One Trillion on fighting drugs but more drugs are being produced. What a joke. America is failing due to these horrible politicians.

[Scorpitarios]

@gmanhell94 I agree! If we really were in a free country, we'd have the right to put anything we want into our own bodies - required we don't harm anyone else. I don't need a government to tell me that taking drugs might be bad for my health, even less a proto-fascist ideology that results in the demonization, ill treatment and mass-incarceration of drug users.

[funterms7]

lol i come from colombia, ive seen fields of weed, and even bigger fields of coca plants, it is so fucking cheap, and easy to get, yet it is ellegal, now i live in new york, and fucking weed is mega expensive, i dont care about any other drugs, meth cocaine crack opium ect. all i want is my weed, makes you relaxed and non violent. :D

[0413kat]

this war will not be over until Amer. quit buying I D s and stop using them no n one needs The I D s DRUGS DEALERS MAKE MONEY(GREED) It is time to find a better way to live / those who need to kill their can get many things here

[andrichj420]

They could win the war on drugs if they wanted to. Eliminating paper money would put drug dealers all over the world out of business overnight.

[gmanhell94]

@Scorpitarios TBH, I am for legalization of all drugs. I will only do pot tho. It shouldn't be up to the government what we put in our bodies