The War on Drugs 101

Drugs come to this country by invitation

 We lost the drug war just a few years after we became aggressive to stop drugs from coming into this country. I'm talking 1975, when a bag of marijuana went from $10 an ounce to $30 and that was just the beginning. By cracking down on bulky and smelly pot, the prices jumped and when the prices got high enough, pushers found it more profitable to bring in heroin and cocaine than the easily recognizable marijuana.

About this time is when we in the Houston area began to hear about people carrying guns and robbing or shooting each other over marijuana. The reason was simple. Now there was a lot of money involved, not just 10 bucks.

Young people who were used to using grass for entertainment purposes, used what was available instead and this included LSD, PCP - or angel dust, Quaaludes, uppers/speed/meth and heroin and cocaine. I'm skimming the surface of what was available in the absence of marijuana. All of this was available for a price and that price didn't come with any guarantee of quality either. On top of that, the prices just kept going higher. Remember when they raised the tax on cigarettes to the point that smash and grab crimes involved grabbing cartons of cigs?

Now, bump forward 43 years later and we have the identical system in place with the identical dismal track record. Of the many heinous concoctions to come down the dope trail is this myriad of chemicals and blends called synthetic marijuana. In Illinois alone, it has recently killed 2 and severely hospitalized 54 patients who after ingesting this substance have began to bleed from various parts of their anatomy. If that isn't scary, please clue me in on what is.

Regulating vice due to our Puritanical teachings has done nothing to stop the flow of drugs into this country. Nothing. If anything, it has created a bigger monster of criminal black markets and dangerous unregulated pills, powders, liquids, and leafy substances that is like playing Russian roulette to the end user. Now if I was with the righteous far right on this matter, I would say it was good medicine, but I am not and they wouldn't be either if it was their 14 year old son or daughter on that gurney at the emergency room.

I would much rather she was guilty of sneaking a bit of Jack Daniel's or sliding a Winston cigarette from the pack than buying god knows what from a stranger. Now mind you, that is an example and kids will do what they are told not to, more times than not. The point I'm making is if they are going to experiment, I would much rather they got their hands on something that is regulated as to type and strength and for what its worth, accidentally over-dosing on anything including alcohol is not a pleasant experience.

Our country gets all up in a frenzy any time a nut job with a gun shoots inside a school and rightly so. However it doesn't make sense to me when kids are using these home-brewed or cartel drugs with unknown characteristics and mass-storming emergency rooms why our government refuses to decriminalize marijuana.

When Concealed Carry first became law, there were many who believed there would be mass shootings, or maybe we don't remember that because it didn't pan out like that. But remember recently when Open Carry was allowed? Again some folks swore it would be the OK corral.  Didn't happen, did it? Legalizing and regulating marijuana will cause a certain segment of the population to try it and those who wish to continue using it can get a known strength product, much like alcohol. It will continue to be illegal to drive or appear in public intoxicated and cops can arrest anyone they suspect of PI at any time, so nothing will change there.

Synthetic marijuana is Russian roulette

What will happen is a number of good things. First, kids will stop using crap like rat poison laced fake pot. Second, the very cartels we've made rich will have to find other animals to suck blood from. Third, people who simply wanted pot for medicinal or recreational purposes will no longer be considered criminal. Fourth, the thousands of products that can be made from hemp plants will suddenly open up a number of business opportunities. Last, there will be a mass educational effort to help people understand the safe usage of pot, as some of it is very strong.

Its time folks. The war on drugs is a miserable failure that has only created a bigger problem. The only responsible thing to do is vote to legalize and regulate it and the government simply cannot be allowed to levy a hefty tax on it. Why? Because it will create another black market.

Black markets exist when restricting laws are enacted or taxes are unduly raised.