Monday, September 21

Walter Cronkite - Drug War Soldier


Last month the Supreme court of Argentina decriminalized marijuana and made personal use a constitutional right. Now I don't keep abreast about what's happening in South America, so I just found out about this today, but it makes me wonder when the United States will finally wake up and smell the ganja. Now first off I want to say I'm not a pothead, so this isn't about me... it's about personal freedom and justice. That's right, justice. By declaring "War on Drugs" our nation declared war on a part of it's own population. Locking people up in prison and throwing away the key for morality. In many states a heroin addict will receive a longer prison sentence than a child molester. Now you can certainly argue that by purchasing drugs the addict is supporting illegal activity and crime, but that's exactly why we need to rethink our current prohibition. Which is exactly what Argentina did last month when they decriminalized pot. Shortly before Walter Cronkite died he made a statement that I think sums it up best:

"Today, our nation is fighting two wars: one abroad and one at home. While the war in Iraq is in the headlines, the other war is still being fought on our own streets. Its casualties are the wasted lives of our own citizens. I am speaking of the war on drugs. And I cannot help but wonder how many more lives, and how much more money, will be wasted before another Robert McNamara admits what is plain for all to see: the war on drugs is a failure."

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