Reply #17: I hate to say it, but I think this is a "pipe dream". As PeacePatriot points out, there's no

[bertman]

solid evidence that the drug war is de-escalating.

My skepticism comes from the HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS that are being made up and down the line by traffickers and drug law enforcers--but mostly up the line. Certainly the coca and poppy farmers aren't reaping the riches of the crops they grow.

Drug profitability comes from ILLEGALITY. Tax-free dollars made on an underground economy where profits run in the 100's of times the cost of growing and processing the drugs, are the reason we will probably never see a realistic drug policy in the Corporate States of America. Just look at who benefits: Police and drug enforcement agencies receive hundreds of millions of dollars of funding for personnel, weaponry, high-tech surveillance gear including helicopters. Plus they can confiscate property (homes, land, automobiles, boats, etc.) of accused--yes, accused but not necessarily convicted--drug law violators. Then there's the graft and corruption element of buying off the appropriate "authorities". Next we have the legal/judicial branch of the beneficiaries. Lawyers, judges, magistrates stay fully employed and well-rewarded for their efforts at "putting away" or defending the drug law violators. Farther up the line we have the Prisons-for-Profit Cartel, that newly-privatized element of "law and order" that is reaching deeper and deeper into the hip pockets of the U.S. taxpayers. Oh, how about the folks who manufacture all of that weaponry, high-tech gear, aircraft, etc? Many of them are also military contractors.

Did I mention the pharmaceutical giants? Why would anyone pay for a synthesized form of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, if they could grow the real thing in their own back yard or bedroom? How about Customs personnel? Could any of these paragons of virtue be on the take?

Last but not least, consider the politicians and religious leaders. Politicians are the ones who are wined, dined, cajoled, and bankrolled by the movers and shakers of the above "industries". Religious leaders make millions pontificating on the evils of drug use and how it undermines morality. Imagine how little leverage they would have if folks saw that these drugs were not the devil's tools they are portrayed to be.

European nations that have decriminalized drug use and implemented drug rehabilitation programs and needle exchanges see an immediate reduction in violence, property crime, and HIV AIDS. Imagine how a major reduction in those three areas would affect the funding for our ANTI-drug programs.

There's an excellent book out that goes into this topic in great detail. It's written by a Professor Emeritus of ECONOMICS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill named Arthur Benavie. The book is "DRUGS: AMERICA'S HOLY WAR" It's short but packed with valuable information.

If the journalist who wrote this article is correct, we could be on the verge of a huge step forward into a more enlightened, compassionate, and livable society. I hope he's right.