Sorry, but the constellation of ill-effects stemming from heavily militarized, increasingly lawless, and demonstrably corrupt police forces goes way beyond the relativly limited number of people who produce, distribute, and consume recreational drugs.
If you're wondering why you've been severely downvoted, it's probably because of extreme irritation with such willful blindness. We are well past the point where intelligent, well-informed people can kid themselves about the conspiciously nasty "side effects" from the War on Drugs.
No reasonable person is saying that recreational drug use isn't problematic. The question is how do we deal with those problems. Whatever else we may decide on, it's become abundently clear that the criminal law-enforcement based approach we're taking now is doing vastly more harm that it is ostensibly reducing. Moreover, it's doing serious damage to a growing number of people who have nothing to do with drugs. Indeed, the rot is seeping into the very foundations of democracy.
If you're wondering why you've been severely downvoted, it's probably because of extreme irritation with such willful blindness. We are well past the point where intelligent, well-informed people can kid themselves about the conspiciously nasty "side effects" from the War on Drugs.
No reasonable person is saying that recreational drug use isn't problematic. The question is how do we deal with those problems. Whatever else we may decide on, it's become abundently clear that the criminal law-enforcement based approach we're taking now is doing vastly more harm that it is ostensibly reducing. Moreover, it's doing serious damage to a growing number of people who have nothing to do with drugs. Indeed, the rot is seeping into the very foundations of democracy.