It's time for NARC and the Dare Bear to STFU. So says the newly confirmed WHITE HOUSE DRUG CZAR, Gil Kerlikowske. In his first interview as Drug Czar, Kerlikowske tells The Wall Street Journal that it's time to:
banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting "a war on drugs," a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use.
Our new czar goes on to tell WSJ that
"Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on a product,' people see a war as a war on them," he said. "We're not at war with people in this country."
This is great news to a country that increasingly favors the legalization of pot . A new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds that "46 percent of Americans favor legalizing small amounts of pot for personal use, up from 22 percent in 1997."
Last week Gov. Schwarzenegger also took a brave stand against his party and suggested:
"I think it’s time for a debate (regarding taxing and regulating the sale of cannabis for adults). I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues, I’m always for an open debate on it. And I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what effect did it have on those countries? It could very well be that everyone is happy with that decision and then we could look at that."
With governors beginning to recognize the insanity of the nation's current drug policy and our new czar open to "banishing" the war - maybe we're actually nearing the end of criminalization.
Finally. It's time to give peace a chance.
-Turkey