We have a million people in jail simply for doing drugs. No robbery, no rape, no assault, no manslaughter... simply for choosing to get high in some form of fashion.
I remember, when I was in elementary, our school had a program called DARE. [Drug Abuse Resistance Education.] This would have been the late 80's... so I know the government was just doing its part in helping me not to become a crack-baby. "Just Say NO!" And nowadays, you still see commercials from the "Partnership for a Drug Free America" so, clearly the war on drugs has been a success. We are helping rid our streets of drugs and crime, right? Who are some of the major funders for the Partnership for a Drug Free America, you ask... you may be surprised to know a lot of their major donors are Tobacco and Pharmaceutical companies. (click here) Just a few of the "who's who" list includes: GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Proctor Gamble Beyer, and Merck.
Thats odd... why would tobacco and pharmaceutical giants want to donate millions of dollars to drug prevention. Hmmmmmm... buy our drugs instead? It seems America may not be for blanket drug prevention, but selective. Marijuana is illegal, but what about alcohol?
Well, we tried the "prohibiton" of alcohol in the 1920's. There were a few things that we found out. Crime escalated as an illegally uncontrolled and unregulated black market business took off. Al Capone was a bootlegger (among other things) and as this money wasn't going to the government or to corporations, it was going to illegal practices which allowed expansion and required muscle and protection. We saw the same thing in the 1980's. The gang's already existed in the 1970's... but as the crack came in... the increase in accessible money led to escalations such as the number and types of firearms. The government, under FDR, lifted prohibtion as a way to lift American spirits (pun intended) to get us out of the Great Depression. They also realized that the alcohol was still being made, it was unregulated, uncontrolled, and most important in the eyes of the government, IT WASN'T BEING TAXED. And ask yourself, what is worse... alcohol... or marijuana?
Drugs were not always illegal. In the early 1960's, in the days of the "counter-culture"... there were no laws on the books about drugs. In the mid and late 1960's, certain drugs became illegal, and it only got worse when in the early 1970's Richard Nixon created the DEA. If you look at crime rates in this nation, you can see that convictions rose dramatically after the DEA was established. You could drink all day... unless your kidney's failed... but smoke marijuana.. thats OUTRAGEOUS. Speaking of smoking... the tobacco industry has, perhaps, the most powerful lobby in the nation, because you'll never see a box of cigarettes with the "ingredients" on them. Can you think of any other product that the FDA (which is, itself, a joke!) doesn't require to divulge the components? They should just call it... "Nicotine Surprise!"
Anytime, someone criticizes the inconsistency of the drug war, they're labelled someone who wants to legalize all drugs. As if all drugs are the same. Simpletons. Noone is suggesting legalizing crack-cocaine. But mushrooms? We're making laws against vegetation now? Or only when you try to eat it? Is it okay in the forest... just... not in my plastic bag? Are you blaming me or God? Okay, now I'm confused. I dont want to legalize cocaine or heroine either. About 10,000 people die from them each year. But what about alcohol? Not even counting wife beaters... 150,000 people die each year from alcohol related deaths. And those prescription drugs that Rush Limbaugh loves so much "Maid... fetch me my accessories!"... they kill 100,000 people per year. Just ask yourself this... why are PRESCRIPTION drugs advertised directly to me anyway. "Ask your doctor if placebo is right for you!" Shouldn't your doctor tell you what drugs you should take? Whats wrong with this place? And the grandaddy of them all... tobacco... the annual tobacco related deaths in this country total around four hundred and fifty thousand a year. Wake me when someone overdoses on marijuana... thats all Im saying.
What are the side effects of marijuana? Who's ever died from marijuana? The next time you see a prescription drug commercial... and you will, if you watch tv for another... um.... 13 minutes... focus on the the LITANY of side-effects the narrator tries to breeze through while the music is turned up and you get to see a lot of people smiling and dancing on screen. Is it any surprise that Meth is made from over the counter drugs. No secret ingredients. The same crap you get at the pharmacy, just mixed differently! They donate money to causes that prevent illegal drug use, because they want you addicted to their drugs. Many of these prescription drugs either... offer no real use... or are used only to fight symptons... not causes. Restless leg syndrome? Whoever made that up deserves a medal. And whoever buys it deserves a very tall white hat. Maybe you dont need 4 pills a day for the rest of your life! Maybe you just need to get off your couch and walk, get the circulation going... you ever considered that? And these drugs that have fine print (in white) on their commercials saying they dont treat any diseases. So why take them. To dull your awareness of the symptons that GlaxoSmithKline has no motivation of actually CURING. Unwitting hypochondriacs... taking multiple pills a day... everyday... to the best drug dealer.
These guys spend billions and billions of dollars cornering the market on trying to get you high. "Do you ever feel depressed or scared?" Its human emotional moron. Not even. Every animal has fear. Its a natural defense mechanism. Think long... and hard about this next question. When is the last time you pet a squirrel? Now... when is the last time you saw someone kick a squirrel?
It seems as if there is a double standard for tobacco, alcohol and prescription drugs, but AT LEAST the government is consistent in their prosecution of the law. Right... right?
Lets talk about a man named Ronald Reagan. He's one of those simple-minded (former actors) turned politicians who truly believe... the enemy of my enemy is my friend. You know these guys, for, they have used that complex philosophy to once forged partnerships with enlightened "freedom fighters" like Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. Anything fighting Communism must be good... right? Well, that was the policy that led to the Iran-Contra scandal.
"Soft" Democratic President Jimmy Carter allowed the US embassy in Iran (which has never reopened) to be overrun by Iranian dissidents. Its believed that current president of Iran Ahmendenijad was part of that student protest in the late 70's, but thats neither here nor there.
During the 1980 election, Republicans, who always rattle their sabers of war to prove they're tougher than Democrats, said they would get those hostages back and that they wouldn't negotiate with terrorists. I believe they meant, they wouldn't negotiate with terrorists with cameras around, because they did negotiate with terrorists. Not only did they negotiate, but they sold the Iranians (who we had no diplomatic status with America at the time) weapons in exchange for the hostages. Wow... thats showing them, Oliver North!
Where might the money have gone from those weapon sales? Why to Nicauragua of course, silly. You see, the "Contras" (great Nintendo game, btw) were "freedom fighters"... helping to save their country from the ill of Communists. There are a lot of South American conflicts we got involved with PURELY to curb the spread of Communism. The "Contras" appreciated the money from Oliver North to fund their fight against the Communists, but they needed more. Where would they get it? Well... Hmmmm... lets see... thats a tough one there... i mean... they do have all this... cocaine... but... where are they going to put it?
Thats right! They put it here! If you guessed America... you win a free one hour supply of crack! Thanks Ronald Reagan! The CIA gave the Contra's permission to push their drugs into America in order to raise money for their civil war. The CIA even used their planes to bring the drugs over. Now infamous crack dealer "Freeway" Ricky Ross rose to prominance after meeting with (now known CIA operative) Danilo Blandon. Blandon came to the US selling pure cocaine to help fund his brothers in Central America. Author Gary Webb (shown above) wrote a graphic depiction of all the events in his book "Deadly Alliance." Ricky Ross is still in jail, Danilo Blandon is no longer in the US, Oliver North was never prosecuted for any crimes, and Gary Webb was found dead in his home of an alleged "suicide"(?) But this is a clear example of a time when the government of this country knowling let drugs into our nation. I bet it was just that one time though. And I'm sure they just "happened" to end up in a predominantly black neighborhood. Coincidence. Happenstance!
Below is a picture of the REAL "Freeway" Ricky Ross.. not to be confused with the Chicken George Rapper who took the name to perpetuate a stereotype of the man and his life for profit.
In 1972, the first year of the DEa, $10 million of your tax dollars went to fight this war. Now its $10billion a year in tax money. What else is making profit?
Did you know that since the 1980's... there has been a big shift to the PRIVATIZATION of America's newer prisons? There is now private profit in sending people to jail. People are rich off jails. Its been said that prisons recieve $50K a year per prisone, not only that... but these prisoners are giving (all but) FREE labor to the prisons. They not only get money because you're there... but they get you to work for pennies on the dollar. GeoGroup (formerly Wackenhut) trades its stock based on the increase or decrease in the number of prisoners they hold. Its also a way to create jobs in small rural towns that have been hit hard by the transition of oil and manufacturing to overseas markets. There are American towns whose biggest source of revenue and employment are prisons.
And what do you we call people who are physically confined and forced to labor with little to no compensation? Exactly...
PS: Rush Limbaugh's OxyContin is made from opium. Can you say... heroine addict.
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