i'm doing homework, and one of the questions asked me if drug enforcement should focus on stopping the supply of drugs or stopping the demand of drugs. I would like to know what other people have to say on this subject! thank you!
206073
Cut the supply and the user is more inclined to quit using.
224107
There cannot be a victory for the U.S. "War on Drugs" until there is intelligent and comprehensive changes to the laws.  But more than that a change of attitudes moving drug use to a medical issue rather than leaving it a legal issue.  Now we criminalize drug use, filling up jails with addicts.  Social costs are extremely high.  If we instituted needle exchange programs, prescriptions for drugs including heroin to addicts who must register, and provided counseling and other support services to users on a multiagency level, then we would see crime organizations go bankrupt because customer base for illegal drugs would diminish, users could pursue a more normal existance, public health costs would go down, and it would steer users away from prison and crime.  check out the "Merceyside Model".
432734
It is about polititions play God on another issue to get or more likely keep votes. If you ask them why they will talk circles about protecting us from ourselves. The truth is the polititions are protecting the pharmisudical companies. If marijuana was regulated and sold leagaly it would it would put the smuggelers out of business and help to keep it from the younger kids that should be protected. I personaly know hundreds of people who have been smoking pot for 25-35 years. They go to work every day, pay there taxes and are better citizens than many of the people who preach against letting people live their own lives. As far as pot being a gateway drug, it is only a gateway drug because it is illeagal. People smoke a little and they like it or not, if they like it they start loosing respect for our laws because they realize everything they have been told is a lie. Law and order should not be based on lies!  I do agree that driving and smoking is bad. But given a choice I would much rather be on the road with a hundred stoners than one drunk. If all of the government money wasted on enforcing marijuana laws was put into fighting the dangerous drugs the DEA might actually make a positive difference in drug use. In the mean time you have millions of people in this country with a lower respect for the law and find it difficult to get and keep a job because of smoking a joint after work. So the holyer than thou polititions and their supporters have us by the short hairs and will not give up their veiws because they want everyone to live the way they want us to live. Is this what a "free country" does to it's citizens? I think not. Sorry for the mis-spelling but spellcheck isn't working today. And I wasn't a very good speller long before the first puff of smoke!
185780
Yes.  That way we could use the police for more preventative measures.  We could get rid of the drug dealers.  We could regulate the substance - people would get what they paid for - no sugar, flour, Comet, Drano, etc - and the O.D.s would practically disappear.  We could tax it and help remove the national multitrillion dollar debt. \nI don't use drugs, but I don't think it's the government's right to tell me that I can't.  I am a functioning tax paying adult. The government is not my parent.
70317
The war on terrorism isn't trying to prevent people thinking what they want to. It is trying to make people think twice before they try something. Let me put it this way, if I hated this country and wanted to blow up some stuff, I would think twice if I knew that the consequences would be something along the lines of carpet bombing of my country. It is severe and unjust, but it is also more than anyone else is trying to do.\n\nAs to the war on drugs, it is not fought against inanimate objects, it is fought against those who make and distribute those objects.\n\nI am not meaning to sound high and mighty, I am just putting forth my opinion, and trying not to disrespect yours.
634216
Demand for illegal drugs is helping to destroy countless species of animals and plants, placing the public at risk, and supporting the disappearance of rain forests around the globe. The loss of these rainforests contributes to changes in the global climate. In addition, the production of some illegal drugs pollutes our drinking water supply by releasing carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals). \n\nReducing the demand for illegal drugs is one way we can ease the pressure on some of our most fragile natural habitats. We can reduce the demand for illegal drugs by not doing them and educating our friends, families, and communities about these facts. \n\n\n\n\nMarijuana \nMethamphetamine \nCocaine \n\nMarijuana\n\nThe illegal growth and cultivation of marijuana has destroyed and contaminated thousands of acres of public lands in America. In fact, more than 2,500,000 marijuana plants have been found and eradicated on National Forest lands since 1997. The damage begins when marijuana farmers burn off native vegetation, destroying natural wildlife habitats. Some growers clear cultivation areas with chain saws and spread fertilizers and pesticides. The arsenic-based poisons kill small animals and rodents and in turn, the larger animals and birds that consume them, devastating the food chain and area water supplies. \n\nOften, tons of trash and high concentrations of human waste are left behind by smugglers, who come to the U.S. to care for the crops. This impacts wildlife, vegetation and water quality along rivers and streams. It also detracts from natural, scenic qualities and can affect human and animal health from spread of bacteria and disease. \n\n\nMethamphetamine\n\nMethamphetamine or "meth" labs, using inexpensive over-the-counter chemicals to process the drug, can cause soil and water contamination, threaten fish and stream wildlife and create fires. \n\nFor each pound of "meth" produced, five to six pounds of hazardous waste are generated, posing immediate and long-term environmental and health risks. For example, National Forest Service employees who have been in contact with meth dump sites have become ill (remember, this could be the mom or dad of someone you know). The waste contains chemicals such as lye, red phosphorus, hydriodic acid and iodine. Some of this hazardous waste is dumped directly into domestic water wells, farmland and mine shafts, creating broader public health risks from contaminated water. \n\nIn California, for example, chemicals from large meth lab dump sites have killed livestock, contaminated streams, and destroyed large areas of trees and vegetation in that state. \n\nCocaine\n\nThe U.S. consumes nearly 260 metric tons of cocaine every year, which is grown and processed in the fragile environments of South America. The result has been the destruction of almost 6 million acres of fragile tropical forest over the past 20 years in the Andean region of South America, one of the planet’s most valuable ecosystems. \n\nEach year, millions of pounds of chemicals are used to process coca and then dumped into waterways or onto the ground in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. Terrorist groups in Colombia linked to the narcotics trade frequently bomb oil pipelines resulting in toxic spills. One pipeline has been attacked more than 700 times since 1986 resulting in an overall spillage of 2.2 million barrels of oil into the surrounding ecosystem. In Colombia, which contains roughly 10 percent of the Earth’s biodiversity, roughly three million acres of tropical rain forest have been ruined by the coca trade. In Peru, ten percent of the total rainforest destruction in the last century is due to illegal drugs. \n\nThe rapidly eroding rainforests may mean that scientists may not find potential cures for deadly diseases, (one in six prescription drugs has a tropical source). The loss of rainforests also contributes to changes in the global climate. Pollution of waterways will perhaps permanently erad
461965
THANKS DEREK,\n         FOR THE WEB SITE, AS WE ALL KNOW THE F.D.A. AND A.M.A. DON'T WANT TO TREAT PEOPLE WITH NATURAL\nMEDICINE AS IT WILL PUT A DENT ON THE BIG BUSINESS THEY ARE ALREADY GENERATING THROUGH THE PHARMACY INDUSTRIES!!!  SYNTHETIC DRUGS ARE KILLING\nOUR NATION!!! IT'S UP TO THE PEOPLE TO WAKE UP AND REALLY VOICE THEIR OPINION CONCERNING THIS SERIOUS MATTER!!! DRUGS IS "BIG BUCKS" LEGAL AND ILLEGAL!!!
502535
Buying opium to stop farmers from growing it is like buying wheat to stop farmers from growing it.   Opium is nothing but an agricultural commodity, like any other.   All they will do is grow more & sell it to their private customers.  In fact the exporters will simply out bid the US government; which will have to raise its bid which will lead then to up their bid & we'll end up with a spiraling market; like with any other commodity in short supply.  More & more farmers will get into the market & things will be infinitely worse than it is now.     \n\nAs to the suppression cost; it is irrelevant because we are NOT suppressing the trade.  Every penny spent on fighting it is wasted.
345282
So, let me get this right, you are implying that police enforcing narcotics laws is "harassment"?  Just by what I have read, you sound as if your a drug dealer.  If you don't like being "harassed" then don't sling dope on the street.
524599
Yes, but even that won't work.  Demand for their services is too great.  I suspect the government will be as effective stopping illegal immigration as they are stopping drug smuggling.
243449
yes, certainly , the issue is already answer by you , i have plan the programme to work in Africa also , following the Bbc report of drugs in Africa, also i plan to make it strict for only the addict confirm by the doctors, is obvious that it will reduce the crime in the society , very certain , since no need to steal to get money for the drug , the reason drug addict steal is to get the money to buy the drug, and yo know during the stealing it can lead to robeery if his having chance to use weapon
373896
No, meth is the drug of choice for politicians now. Coke is too expensive. Thats also why they are slow to do anything about the mexican illegals...it would stop their supply.
326439
Think about this:\n\nLegalizing drugs - cuts down on criminals.  no need for drug dealers, smugglers; people who purchase drugs can pay taxes on them, country gets payment for people's drug habits.
343049
Hey Mr."Free market" Kevin K:  what happened to the government practicing a "hands off economic policy"?  I guess it's important to let the responsibility of the people be paramount when it comes to our own protection from terrorists, but when it comes to our protection from smoking pot we need regulation from the government.  Sorry dude...You are a hypocrite.
415576
Although I don't support it, the war on drugs is not over, it continues to this day.\nI do think they need to change the definition of illegal substances. Pot is not any more harmful than beer. throwing people in jail for having a small quantity of pot is ludicris. It overcrowds the jails and bogs down the system, it also destroys lives. A person caught with a few grams of pot is considered a criminal like a person caught with a pound of heroin. It's a joke (the war on drugs).
500928
yes they should of been told to shut up. the point is drugs are illegal anyway and they shouldnt of been using. they home office actually did them a bloody favour by making em go cold turkey! they should be paying the home office rehab fees!
264893
The war on drugs is a waste of time and money. It hasn't had any impact on the use of drugs in our country. We could easily use those resources on something more useful. You don't even hear anything about the so called war on drugs anymore because it has become an embarrassment.\n\nCheers :)