U.S. can't justify its drug war spending, reports say

[Judi Lynn]

U.S. can't justify its drug war spending, reports say
Government reports say the Obama administration is unable to show that billions of dollars spent in the anti-drug efforts in Latin America have made a significant difference.
By Brian Bennett, Los Angeles Times

June 9, 2011
Reporting from Washington— As drug cartels wreak murderous havoc from Mexico to Panama, the Obama administration is unable to show that the billions of dollars spent in the war on drugs have significantly stemmed the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States, according to two government reports and outside experts.

The reports specifically criticize the government's growing use of U.S. contractors, which were paid more than $3 billion to train local prosecutors and police, help eradicate fields of coca, operate surveillance equipment and otherwise battle the widening drug trade in Latin America over the last five years.

"We are wasting tax dollars and throwing money at a problem without even knowing what we are getting in return," said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who chairs the Senate subcommittee that wrote one of the reports, which was released Wednesday.

"I think we have wasted our money hugely," agreed Bruce Bagley, who studies U.S. counter-narcotics efforts and chairs international studies at the University of Miami at Coral Gables, Fla. "The effort has had corrosive effects on every country it has touched."

More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-narco-contract-20110609,0,1742011.story

[ixion]

1. End the 'drug' war... now

n/t

[RKP5637]

2. It's been ridiculous since day one and has just fueled the black market, crime

and deaths and needless prison time. Cautions, education and treatment are preferable. And the war against marijuana is absolutely stupid.

Hopefully one day this country will grow up.

Of course many make big bucks from the war on drugs, so I doubt much will change.

[Rageneau]

3. Obama will fix this -- by giving special growing privileges to Big Pharma

Lucky we have an enlightened liberal like Obama who brings us change we can believe in.

Unfortunately, the reason it's easy to believe in the kind of change Obama brings is because he's changing things for the worse -- for the benefit of that big corporations and the police state, and to the detriment of his country and his fellow citizens.

When it comes to the stupid "War on Drugs" Obama is no different than Nixon, except maybe he's even harder-hearded.

[truedelphi]

4. Something like 85% of all drug users only smoke dope

It's a higher stat than that but since I don't remember it precisely I am erring on the low side.

The only way that any Administration can protect its DEA is to go on and on about how there are all these hard drug users out there.

Ain't so.

And the worst thing about smoking marijuana, Presidential Commission after Commission has shown, is the jail time it can lead to.

[meow mix]

5. expensive war on non-violent weed choosers.

k&r

[spin]

6. Drugs are readily available everywhere ...

Prohibition never works. History repeats itself but at least back in the days when this nation prohibited alcohol we had enough sense to realize that prohibition wasn't working and repeal the law which only lasted form 1919 to 1933.