U.S. HAS LOST THE WAR ON DRUGS
Two decades of federal efforts to keep illegal drugs out of the
country and off U.S. streets have resulted in abject failure,
experts point out. Moreover, expensive interdiction efforts have
only made things worse -- generating new sources of drugs, new
drug-trafficking routes and new drugs.
o The U.S. has spent $250 billion to fight drugs since 1980
-- yet the street price of both cocaine and heroin has
dropped to one-fourth what it was in 1981 and their
potency has increased dramatically.
o Obtaining drugs has never been easier -- witness a
government survey revealing that 35 percent of high
school seniors say heroin is readily available.
o Illustrating the law of unintended consequences,
Colombian traffickers switched to exporting cocaine --
which is more profitable and compact than marijuana --
when the federal government launched a crackdown on south
Florida entry points in the early 1980s.
o When the U.S. government all but shut down the Mexican
border in 1969 to keep marijuana out of the country, drug
users here turned to prescription drugs, Mexican
traffickers switched to boats and planes and Asian drug
lords saw an opportunity to expand their heroin markets.
The National Drug Intelligence Center now reports that marijuana
is cultivated in every state in the union.
Critics point out that despite all these failures, Congress is
about to authorize $1.7 billion in aid to Colombia in the latest
round of drug-fighting efforts. The unintended consequences of
this latest campaign, experts warn, will probably be increased
coca production in other Latin American countries.
Source: Kevin B. Zeese (Common Sense for Drug Policy), "Just Say
No to More Money for the Colombia Drug War," Wall Street
Journal, April 28, 2000.
For text (WSJ subscription)
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB956879081905684657.htm
For more on Drug Use and Control
http://www.ncpa.org/pd/social/social4.html
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid
matters
and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html
<A HREF="http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
