The global war on drugs has "failed" and legalisation would be a better option, according to a new report by group of politicians and former world leaders. Full Story »
Posted by Ron. Adams - via Memeorandum, BBC News, Sirajul Islam (t), Richard Lazzara (t), Vincent J Iori (t), Johan Jessen (t)
I'm never sure why journalists don't fact-check quotes. But this piece would have benefitted from it. It would also have been interesting to hear if there were any statistics to support this report. I wouldn't be surprised. But it would have given it more depth.
"...said National Security spokesman Alejandro Poire. "Legalisation won't stop organised crime, nor its rivalries and violence," Really? Worked when we got rid of prohibition. Gangsters moved on to other things. But we took that one away from them. And it reduced violence that surrounded it. I'm surprised the author didn't note that.
This is a well written article. Its only shortcoming is that more negative responses would add. This is an example of all major issues. The position makes sense, but many nations and experts will provide negative answers. A continuing discussion would likely result in comprise. Too many times shrill answers that are so certain that this idea might shelve this idea. Remember that the drug war has much money and many will not consider a new idea if it requires any changes.
That our nation's, and the world's, 100-year experiment with the criminalization of drugs has failed is beyond dispute. Although this article hints at the reality underlying prohibition of certain substances, it does not go far enough; many more people die as the result of enforcing drug laws than die from the drugs themselves. What is most striking about this story is that former world leaders seem to be in unanimous agreement that the global war on drugs has failed--would that they had the political courage to say so while they were still in office.
The most dangerous drug, worldwide, is alcohol. ALL medical authorities agree on this, yet we irrationally criminalize drugs that are far less dangerous--or, in the case of marijuana, hardly dangerous at all. Americans tend to forget that the criminalization of drugs began barely 100 years ago; before that Americans were free to use whatever drugs they chose. The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was at least a rational attempt to control the quality of drugs, which frequently were ... More »
The article reports the conclusions of an august body of leaders. As such, it reports fairly well. For depth and fact checking, you need to read from the plethora of articles on the subject, or alternatively read the actual report itself, which is linked in the article. The report is thorough and well referenced, and raises the rating I gave the BBC report itself.
VERYWELL RESEARCHED VERY WELL WRITTEN,AND IS EASY TO UNDERSTAND THE FAILURE OF THE DRUG POLICY IN ALLOWING CRIMINALS TO PROFIT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE TAXABLE GENERAL POPULATION
Retrieving Comments
