“The manner in which this war against drugs is being waged is equally or perhaps even more harmful than all the wars the world is fighting today, combined.” Said Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos after accepting his Nobel Peace Prize in 2016.
The actual death toll from the drug war is not comparable to actual warfare waged around the world. Nevertheless, Juan's sentiment is appropriate because a significant amount of the world's violence would be prevented by ending the war on drugs.
Gang Violence Would Be Limited
Chicago has the largest gang population in the country, with approximately 100,000 members who commit 75 to 80 percent of the city's homicides. LINK
One of the main causes for this violence is controlling turf for drug sales. If we could eliminate the black-market for drug trafficking in Chicago we could see these numbers drop substantially.
The United States of America has the largest market in the entire world for illicit drugs. Right now we can also see a well-documented opioid crisis legally ensuing. The U.S. is also a bigger consumer of cocaine than all of Europe.
When no smoke and mirrors are used, we can safely say that the U.S. illegal drug black-market is a $100 billion annual industry.
To The Source!
America does have a serious black-market violence problem, however it seems like child's play in comparison to the countries which produce and transport those illegal drugs. A good example is Mexico which experienced over 29,000 murders in last year and roughly 30-50% were drug war related.
This statistic does not consider the 30,000 missing people who are presumed to be killed in Mexico.
This cartel warfare is conducted in a very blatant manner and is almost indistinguishable from terrorist groups. The acts conducted by these cartels include hanging rival gang members from bridges or putting bounties on corrupt government officials. Black-market narcotic money allows these organized crime groups to operate with near impunity.
The most recent example of this type of corruption involves the Los Rojos gang which has financed the campaigns of 11 mayoral candidates in exchange for complete political protection. Always remember that these candidates did not agree because of greed, if they were to reject the cartel's offer, they would most likely be killed.
Neighboring Countries Affected
Narcotics money corrupts every segment of government in the countries which produce, ship or consume the substances in order to protect the cartels. This includes police, prisons, judicial courts and politics.
Cartels are responsible for the worst massacre in Guatemala since their civil war. It was 2011 and cartel members beheaded 27 Innocent farmers in search of the ranch owner who was suspected of stealing drugs from the cartel.
Due to the war on drugs, the four countries immediately to the south of Mexico (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador) are in the top six highest murder rates globally.
Similarly, 43 of the 50 cities with the highest murder rates are in Latin America or the Caribbean. Four more cities are in continental U.S. (Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans, and St. Louis). Only three other cities (in South Africa) are not in the same hemisphere.
Quick History Lesson
Four decades ago, on 17 July 1971, President Richard Nixon declared what has come to be called the "war on drugs". Nixon told Congress that drug addiction had "assumed the dimensions of a national emergency", and asked Capitol Hill for an initial $84m (£52m) for "emergency measures". LINK
This was a time when drugs became a symbol of rebellion, social revolution and political objection. Nixon's "drug war" started a complete halt of scientific research which was evaluating drug's medical safety and legitimate uses.
Marijuana was then placed in Schedule One, the most restrictive category of drugs, pending review by a commission Nixon appointed led by Republican Pennsylvania Governor Raymond Shafer.
Between 1973 and 1977, eleven states in America decriminalized marijuana possession and almost allowed up to an ounce per person for personal use. This did not last however, soon the tide shifted.
1980s & 90s: Incarceration Skyrockets
Ronald Reagan's presidency marks the start of an industrialization of the prison industry, all thanks to Reagan's expansion of the drug war. The number of people behind bars for nonviolent drug law offenses increased from 50,000 in 1980 to over 400,000 by 1997. LINK
Public concern about drug use was huge, largely thanks to media portrayals (more like propaganda) of Americans addicted to cocaine's smokeable form crack.
A New Millennium: A Shift Towards More Sensible Laws?
George W. Bush was elected when the drug war was losing public interest. This did not stop him from allocating more money than ever to it. Bush's drug czar, John Walters, focused on marijuana and launched a major campaign which promoted student drug testing.
The George W. Bush era witnessed a massive escalation of militarization of domestic drug laws. By the end of Bush's term, 40,000 paramilitary-style SWAT raids were conducted on Americans every year - mostly focusing on nonviolent drug misdemeanors.
Federal reform moved nowhere, but state-level reforms finally began to slow the growth of the drug war.
Politicians Now Admit Drug Use
It is now normal for politicians to admit use of marijuana, even cocaine at times. Michael Bloomberg was questioned during his 2001 mayoral campaign whether he had ever used marijuana, he admitted "You bet I did – and I enjoyed it."
Barack Obama also discussed his prior cocaine and marijuana use: "When I was a kid, I inhaled frequently – that was the point."
Public opinion had shifted, but there was still a drug war being waged.
We Should Make Lawmakers Take Example From Portugal
The country has 3 overdose deaths per million citizens, compared to the EU average of 17.3 LINK
Portugal decriminalized the use of every single narcotic in 2001. Weed, crack, heroin, whatever you want. Possession of small amounts of drugs was treated as a public health issue, not a criminal one.
The drugs were still illegal (only decriminalized) so being caught with them meant a small fine and a possible referral to a treatment program - No jail and no criminal record.
"The reality is that Portugal’s drug situation has improved significantly in several key areas. Most notably, HIV infections and drug-related deaths have decreased, while the dramatic rise in use feared by some has failed to materialise." The Transform Drug Policy Institute says in its analysis of Portugal's drug laws.
Humans Will Continue To Use Drugs
What we have to realize is in order to better the situation we must drop the stigma. Incarcerating an innocent citizen because you still believe the murky past and current political situation that has been forced on you by your parents or political leaders is ridiculous.
Humans can and will evolve, I believe we will move from a species focusing on the drug war towards a society that values health issues and expansion of our consciousness through plant medicines above profits for the private prison complex.
What is your opinion on the drug war? Tell us in the comments!
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.
Sources for images is provided by clicking on the image itself.
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I do believe this is your most extensive piece to date. Awesome to see :)
My understanding is that in the 60s when the world began to wake up, major decisions were taken to clamp down all those bloody hippies who believed in love as the driving force behind existence. It was messing with the control system.
Those same hippies have children & grandchildren now... and that would be us.
And our revolution will not be televised!
Psychedelics Vs Pharmaceuticals was pretty extensive too.
Truly despicable system that is in control, we will not sit back and watch.
Our revolution will be STEEMED!
Why @chron if you keep going down this rabbit-hole, you might start to think the whole drug war was a pretext to take away our freedoms as well! As if our leaders were under some form of Reefer Madness or something! :)
When Mullah Omar prohibited the cultivation of opium poppies in Afghanistan in July, 2000 (for shipment to the west...) I knew he was done. His ban actually worked, as western reporters saw for themselves in Spring 2001.
Next thing you know...
I very much enjoyed that film, very funny one when looking back!
That was another point I wanted to write about but never got around to, before the cultivation of the fields of poppy was protected by western soldiers in Afghanistan, there was no heroin problem in the US!
Interesting read there! Thanks for sharing 😀
This was extremely well put-together. Thanks, and I couldn't agree more. I manage a recreational cannabis dispensary in Colorado. I've seen nothing but good coming from "normalizing" cannabis. People are relieving themselves of the doctor-prescribed burden of opioids. But that's not all...
Black market and cartel control in the area has declined significantly. We help countless veterans, public servants, and uninsured people with serious health problems.
A big part of our company's mission is to spread the idea that it's an herb, not a drug. The only drugs anymore are the far more dangerous ones that are being created by the pharmaceutical industry and pushed onto the population.
That is an awesome message you are spreading! Educate those people!
Are you using Crypto in your dispensary? I wrote this post which talked about the use of marijuana Crypto and how the state was trying to ban it.
No crypto yet. A couple years from now I can definitely imagine cannabis cryptos being used in shops,but for now it's still very much cash only. Some dispensaries are set up to accept cards, but they have to be a little sneaky about it.
I just hope I'm holding whichever coin moons first. Last year I didn't know which to choose, so I got like four different ones :)
actually i think the war on drugs like the new witchhunt on copyright terrorists and downloadmom is not a war on people. It's a tool to keep people in the money by serving their own needs. The only ones advancing themselves are the witchhunters and the inquisition, and a few politicians who get to look good making hard promises.
Other than that its pointless, since they killed escobar cocaine didnt drop and now i hear trump is gonna kill them all b/c of opoid infestation ?
I say, old chap ... who trained them in afghanistan first?
and then he'd say "but that wasnt me"
wel it wasnt me, why do i pay for all your cops and the people in jail with consecutive life sentences ?
so we'll kill them
ofcourse, after a decade of trials so all of you make money off of it ...
so we'll speed up justice and kill them faster
yea that sounds about something you'd say
and so on ... laws are written to protect those who wrote them and keep them in power. The governments tend to be legalized mafia with enforcers wearing blue
nothing new under the sun there
No, it is hard to find anything without propaganda and monetary gain attached to it these days.
I am for the free-flow of information and justice to all the world's citizens.
Thanks for commenting 👍
commenting is what i do :) ... for lack of inspiration and motivation since my chemical lobotomy i fear opinion and catalysation is all i have to offer at the moment, thanks for noticing and reading :) and true dat ... if i had it in me to be a marketeer and try to sell people what they like to swallow while i dont believe in any of it i might be making actual money here
despite that ... it beats facebook by several lightyears when it comes to peoples topics ... if you scrape off the foam on the feed first
Another excellent piece. What hell has been unleashed upon us with this war. Crazy criminal politicians and legal system. The politicians, judges lawyers police and prison workers deserve to be put i front of juries and tried for their crimes against innocent people.
Thank you Danny! I would be so pleased if that would happen.
How about we put all these evil politicians in a glass house in a Zoo for the rest of their lives and let the freed citizens watch them become the enslaved?
Would be a paradigm shift?
Wow, that was a deep read. I guess you never think about how far the war on drugs goes. I think it is rediculous to regulate a plant. I hope they never find out that tomatoes make me feel good! 🙃
I will keep my tomatoes out of the sight of helicopters for sure 😅.
It is a MASSIVE RABBITHOLE. I could not fit enough of what I wanted to say in this article!
Thanks for commenting 😉
Youre right! It can get pretty deep. Be well!
Thank you, right back at ya 😀
thats so true . drug mafia is the biggest mafia in the world . they kill people easily for their benefit. they go to any extent for their selfish motive.
They are so tyrannical in this way! They must be stopped soon!
Thanks for commenting 😀
Nice work my Chron bro :) Hope you are enjoying life... Lots of love :*
Life is wonderful thanks for asking @michaelvagas! Will see you at Bali Spirit Festival next week if you come 😅
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TrufflePigGreat, great, great post! Visual, clear, full of references. Love your style
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