The Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914 was legislation that established a tax and registration requirement on narcotics and cocaine. Politicians and journalists openly targeted Chinese immigrants, Southern blacks, and Mexicans with outrageous propaganda. The real priority of the legislation, however, was to comply with the first international drug control treaty, the International Opium Convention of 1912. The legislation quickly evolved into an outright prohibition. Enforcement bureaucrats argued that doctors prescribing narcotics for drug addiction was an illegitimate medical practice. The courts ruled in their favor and addict-maintenance medical practices and addiction clinics were forced to close. Marijuana started out as a tax in 1937 but quickly morphed into a ban that again morphed into a gateway drug as the popular reason to ban it. The war on drugs has been disastrous. It has progressed with more enforcement capabilities and greater penalties, the black market has responded with higher potency and more potent and dangerous drug types. It has taken the lives of many and often innocent of any wrongdoing. This is what happens when government decides what is best.
On this issue the conservatives want a return to the Progressive era: to the policies of Wilson, Hoover and FDR. Legalize all drugs. No regulation, no taxation, no licensing.
No. Carolina Cops Make Major Drug Bust... North Carolina Police Make Major Drug Bust July 23, 2018 - Fayetteville police arrested three people and seized more than 100 pounds of marijuana, large quantities of cocaine and heroin, guns and $70,000 earlier this week in conjunction with a months-long investigation into gang and drug activity.
Colombian drug cartel put a $70K bounty on drug dog... Colombian drug cartel put a $70K bounty on this dog July 27, 2018, A Colombian drug gang has out a $70,000 bounty on a police dog. Sombra or "Shadow" has sniffed out almost 10 tons of drugs in more than 300 operations. The K9's work has lead to 245 arrests.
Mitch McConnell and the Republicans have saved Kentucky by bringing Industrial Hemp manufacturing legal to all 50 states I highly recommend considering investing in the hemp industry Why we decided to spin all our fabric out of liquid oil for a century is beyond me
Interesting post, but I disagree with your closing statement. Government is a human institution, and just like any other human institution, it reflects the values of the specific people running it. That can be bad or good, depending on the selection of individuals in charge at any given time. Government is no better or worse than any other human institution. With the right people leading, government can and sometimes does, remarkably good things. Blanket statements like you post generally don't fit reality very well. I agree with you that the "War on Drugs" has been a disaster. I've gradually come to believe the answer to the drug problem is simply make drugs legal, and freely available to anyone at a cheap price. That would undermine the drug cartels & kill the market. Soon, demand would decrease everywhere, and put an end to the issue altogether. This way, government could control the supply and maintain safety standards while the market gradually died.
.....it's very clear that decriminalisation hasn't had the severe consequences that its opponents predicted. As the Transform Drug Policy Institute says in its analysis of Portugal's drug laws, "The reality is that Portugal’s drug situation has improved significantly in several key areas. Most notably, HIV infections and drug-related deaths have decreased, while the dramatic rise in use feared by some has failed to materialise." https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...dly-anyone-dies-from-overdosing-10301780.html
