Opioids are legal and have been the source of many drug addictions, which then leads to illegal drugs. The US has spent billions of dollars on the War on Drugs Nixon started to imprison black voters. The effects of our drug laws have been disastrous for many people, especially minorities. No-knock warrants are often used for suspected drug cases and many times result in the death of innocent people. Breonna Taylor quickly comes to mind, but there are many others. A news story here on DU this week reported that cops in Georgia stopped a bus with a girls team on it and searched for drugs. Granted, that bus was most likely stopped because most of the people on it were black, but searching for drugs has become a handy excuse for police abuse.
In our decades of spending billions every year to stop drug trafficking, the Mexican cartels have gotten enormously rich, and drugs are still available everywhere. China and Afghanistan also supply a good amount of illegal drugs. Getting drugs to support a habit also contributes to quite a bit of crime.
People who want to take drugs, whether recreationally or because they’re addicted, will find a way. Why not try a different approach, such as licensing the sale of drugs, collecting taxes on them, and using the money to treat addiction and to provide safe places for drug users to gradually reduce their use. Even though the DEA confiscates illegal drugs constantly, the supply is never ending because it is a lucrative business.
What we have been doing is not working to reduce drug addiction, crimes related to drugs, and deaths from overdoses. Why not try something different.
Edited to add this link for an article I just saw in the Washington Post. No-knock warrants allow law enforcement to do essentially what they want, and in the South they’re especially a tool for harassing black people.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/no-knock-raids-mississippi-monroe-county/?itid=hp-top-table-main
= new reply since forum marked as read