Monday, December 3, 2007

Half baked war

There's an incredible essay in Rolling Stone detailing the United States' colossal failure in the War on Drugs, where we've managed to to fund death squads, prolong civil wars, overcrowd our prison system, prevent peaceful citizens from mitigating their physical pain, turn non-violent one-time-users into violent repeat-offenders, and use fighting drugs as an excuse to buy new expensive weapons.

It's time that this country got serious about legalizing medical marijuana (in the way that far more dangerous drugs are already legal), ending mandatory minimum sentences, promoting treatment over jail time, and sharply reducing our offensive actions abroad.

More than anything, we need to begin to heal our society from the cycle of violence that results from how we deal with drug addiction. It is a disease, and should be treated like one.

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