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Immeasurable Costs
The United States of America has been fighting a "drug war" for over 80 years now, and we are no closer to winning that war than when we started it. One sure thing that this "drug war" has given us are the casualties -which are far too numerous to give any true figure. Some of the byproducts of the "drug war," which the average teenager can readily see, have been the division of our country, the erosion of the morale of its citizens, the destruction of the family unit. It has created a new welfare state as well as a police state, it has allowed for the destruction of our great Bill of Rights along with the United States Constitution. It has assisted in the rise of more potent type drugs, lowered the price of drugs so that all can afford to use them. A multi-billion dollar black market has been created for all types of drugs and all their related services and equipment. When will come the time when the politicians will admit to the public that it is their very own policies that have failed? When will we learn from past experiences? History should tell our leaders that this futile "drug war" can not continue, despite continued escalation, and be successfulfor the cost can not be measured by any amount of money or even by the devastation of the American family, but by the total destruction of America itself. Have you taken the time to think about how many more doors must be busted open by the men who dress in "black," or how many more warrant less arrests must be made until the people of America turn against their own government? How many more lives must this "drug war" destroy? How many more families must suffer? How many more properties must be confiscated before the children of all those broken families take up arms against their invaders? Invaders who come not from a distant land to destroy, but invaders who are agents of our very own governmentthe very same people who have been sworn to protect us and our property. These invaders have sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States but, see what they now do to the very people who employ them? I guess that they forgot who just pays their salaries. Today, many people live in fear of our government. We have a government who uses our armed forces against its citizens. We have a government who uses our armed forces to raid private homes, to shoot down unarmed planes, to go against the very citizens that they swore to protect. We have a government who uses armed helicopters, sharpshooters and whatever other deadly force they feel is necessary, not against armies from abroad, but against its own citizens in a vain effort to stop the "drug" trade in this country. The politicians have failed to see that drugs are not the problem in the country today and just as a matter of fact that drugs have never been a problem in this country until the do-gooders in government, backed by puritanical fanatics, created their "PROHIBITION LAWS", which came into effect early in the 20th Century in this country with the passage of the Harrison Act. Prior to the passage of the Harrison Act in 1914, drugs were legal and it was not a crime to use them as one pleased. Folks were free to choose if they wanted to use them or not, as it should be in a free nation. Back then, drug problems were treated medically, not criminally, nor was there any "black market" for drugs, there was NO problem with breaking any "drug laws", and there was NO violent drug trade. Sure, there were addicts, just as there are today and as there will be in the future, but there was NO crime per se as we have today because of "PROHIBITION." Today, what we have in this country is failed policy and lies about winning an unwinnable war... just like in Vietnam! These lies are creating a growing tension between the government and its citizens of the likes we have never experienced in the past. Today, we incarcerate more of our people per population than any other civilized nation in the world. Our leaders have made a mockery of our Bill Of Rights. Our American Constitution is steadfast becoming nothing more than a worthless document which was written by a group of dreamers over 200 years ago. However, not one politician in this country today would dare tell us the truth about drugs and their failed policy. They would rather see our country collapse than to admit that they were wrong in their 80+ year-old drug war, a war fought on the streets of our country by our armed forces against the citizens of the United States. Today, we have politicians who picture themselves as the "GOOD GUYS" fighting the evil of "drugs" which makes rational political debate on the "drug war" next to impossible. More people will suffer, more people will go to jail, and more families will be destroyed each day for the lies told over 80 years ago. The saddest part of this crusade are the thousands of families whose lives are being devastated daily for the ideals of the few who have long forgotten just what this country is all about. The few who have forgotten that this country was form based on religious freedoms and beliefs. The few who have forgotten mercy and actually believe that they know what is good for us. They choose for us or implement their will upon us all. For the few fanatics and the elite I say: Leave us alone for what is morally right for you is not necessarily right for me or the next person in line. Going back in time when this country was great we can see that numerous people risked their lives and ventured to come to America for it was the land of the free. Here they were free to worship and raise their children the way that they thought it should be. It was a time when the American people actually believed in individual freedoms and the natural God given rights. Today all that is but a vision of the past and that is why this country is doomed to self-destruct if things don't change or if we continue on the path of "prohibition." In closing, I would like to remind the reader that we can not control the morality of the nation through criminal sanctions and that is one of the reasons why the "war on drugs" was a failure from the start. That is why we have a failed policy today. Therefore, let us end this "war" honorably; release all the nonviolent war prisoners nowso that they may once again be reunited with their families. Stop once and for all the hurting that has been caused by this 82-year-old unholy crusade. The writer, a Political Prisoner, is currently serving a "LIFE" sentence for peripheral involvement in a first-time, nonviolent drug offense involving FBI entrapment schemes. He is a former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Engineer and Pilot for Eastern Airlines. Tragically, he is a former refugee from Cuba, brought to the U.S. by his parents as Castro rose to power in 1960. |
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