is the obama administration signalling an end to the "war on drugs"? well, his choice to head the drug control strategy, Gil Kerlikowske, sure seems to be indicating that is the direction! in an interview with cspan's washington journal today, kerlikowske indicated that the administration is backing away from the decades old strategy of "punish the addict" championed by the "WAR" on drugs! (WHY, for heaven's sake, do repubicans choose to have "wars" against inanimate objects anyway?)
for the video link and more info, please flip...
here is a link to the video - don't have a clue how to embed... sorry!
Kerlikowske points out that the focus will now be on preventative measures (like clinics) and treatment of addicts to reduce the demand. he said that we have more than nighttime goggles to offer other nations to bring down drug use. while there is still debate whether legalization is effective or not, it would remove the profit from the illegal underground empire (described in james mills book of same name in 1986)[the book, btw, explains how illegal drug money is the SOLE subsistance for many governments, including mexico, and that if the drug funds were pulled, many governments would collapse. in other words, drugs make up a large part of the economy of many nations. until another economic model is developed, there will be no stability in these countries. think afghanistan.]
for a bit of history, the war on drugs started with nixon. the cia and centac headed the fight against illegal drug trade until reagan moved the operations into the fbi, which disbanded the centac operations. (reagan, if you recall, traded arms for drugs in the iran contra scandal - and skated. so maybe that's why we need his picture on the 50?)
it is so refreshing to hear that THIS administration is actually focused on reducing drug use and finding real solutions to the out of control real drug wars (like the violence on our borders between rival drug gangs!)
what is refreshing is hearing that our government is working with other governments to set up treatment facilities instead of just throwing more money at military and police solutions.
one further tidbit in the video is how the heads of police depts never considered this a "war" either!
also, in california yesterday the city of san jose has voted to pursue guidelines for medical marijuana clubs - including taxing the clubs and product! in july of last year, thecity of oakland did exactly that.
the obama administration, by changing the federal policy of raiding these medical marijuana suppliers, has signaled a much different approach to the drug problems faced in this country.
another interesting sidenote: afghanistan has switched from opium to cannibisin response to pressure over growing opium. with the draconian drug laws currently in place, it is simplistic to only focus on an war that is not winnable by enforcement only!
unless we find a way to reduce (or legalize) the use of drugs, the violence associated with drug turf wars will only increase. oerhaps, since we've already moved into that "socialism medicine" - now is the time to look at how britain and other nations deal with legalizing all drugs and providing maintenance and treatment of addicts! as Gil Kerlikowske says in this interview, we are in a different era - enforcement and "war" is not the answer!
please go view - it is a good sign of the times! perhaps we have entered the realm of grown-up - finally!
UPDATE FOR CLARIFICATION:
some posters have questioned my use of "ending" - some have said they don't think obama has "ended" anything - i want to clarify. this diary is about the use of the word "war" in regard to "drugs, terror", etc.
while i believe that obama has begun the process of "ending" multiple wars - iraq, afghanistan, terror and now drugs - i would hope that semantics doesn't derail the discussion. thanks for sticking to the real issue, the change of focus in the drug policy under obama!