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>> "...beholden to retrograde moralizing." I wish that was the only reason for the drug war, but moralizing is probably a relatively minor factor. I claim the
by avn2109 11y ago
>> "...beholden to retrograde moralizing."
I wish that was the only reason for the drug war, but moralizing is probably a relatively minor factor. I claim the bigger reasons are:
1) The prison-industrial complex is large and politically powerful, and it needs drug "criminals"
2) Many recreational drugs make the working populace less productive. They'd be blowing lines of coke and screwing each other all day or giggling at Spongebob after smoking a bowl instead of diligently churning out more boxes at the packing plant. Drugs that make you more productive are perfectly legal and widely prescribed (Adderall etc).
3) Many popular drugs are easily produced at home in quantities appropriate for individual use. You can trivially grow enough weed at home to support a serious habit. The man hates that and prefers drugs that are only amenable to production on a vast industrial scale, such that monopoly, taxation, and centralized control of production are easy. Tobacco and the aforementioned psychostimulants are the ne plus ultra industrial-only drugs; it's no cooincidence that they're quite legal.
- merpnderp 11y agoI'm all for ending the horrible consequences of prohibition, but people often ignore or gloss over that a lot of the war on drugs was requested by poor communities who had to deal with the consequences of high levels of drug use. When you're poor and can't move elsewhere, you turn to the police to get the heroin junkies off your front lawn or out of your apartment complex hallways. Which is too bad because it is really a job for social workers.