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The value was explained back in the Nixon era, and it was a BAD value: " “You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either agai

The value was explained back in the Nixon era, and it was a BAD value: " “You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin. And then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities,” Ehrlichman said. “We could arrest their leaders. raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”" https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/23/politics/john-ehrlichman-richard-nixon-drug-war-blacks-hippie/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/23/politics/john-ehrlichman-rich...

m_mueller 5y ago
as a native German speaker it really stands out to me that his name translates to “honest man”...
etaioinshrdlu 5y ago
Doesn’t explain why most of Asia is even harsher and more restrictive than the USA.
- pstuart 5y ago
  The USA does export its drug policy stance, and per the Nixon policies, it's a win for any government to have those tools of oppression on tap for when needed.
  - etaioinshrdlu 5y ago
    I think a simpler explanation is that the general public in a country such as Japan deeply hates drug use.
    - rfd4sgmk8u 5y ago
      except booze, the worst drug. vocational drinking is a cultural phenomenon. The deal is lack of education, and exposure. The west is a lot further along on the pathway to legalization. I do believe that when the day comes, usage will be similar to in the west under legalization. We are all humans after all.
      - bluefirebrand 5y ago
        > except booze, the worst drug. Look, people are coming around to the idea that alcohol is really bad for us despite it being embedded in our social norms. Let's not go getting carried away calling it "the worst drug". That's absurd to an extreme.
        rfd4sgmk8u 5y ago
        https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/06/25/what-is-the-most-dangerous-drug https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/06/25/what-is-... Pretty clear its alcohol, and this is not the only chart that clearly labels it as such. Alcohol is the worst drug. I'm sorry if you like it, hey, I like alcohol too, and it being the worst drug means that you like the worst drug...
- ipaddr 5y ago
  Opium comes to mind historically.
zrth 5y ago
Last time when this quote was posted on HN, consens turned out to be that its is quite unclear if it was ever say. I remember this as i really wanted to belief that the story was was true but ended up thinking it rather no true.. Unlike in the article you linked to, last time the conclusion was that the source recalled overhearing Nixon two decades ago, and thus was deemed quite unreliable at best - Anyone know more than me about this?
- peytn 5y ago
  It’s obviously a made-up posthumous quote. Nobody who cared about their image (as John Ehrlichman clearly did) was using “blacks” instead of Jesse Jackson’s “African Americans” while talking to journalists in 1994.

m_mueller 5y ago

as a native German speaker it really stands out to me that his name translates to “honest man”...

etaioinshrdlu 5y ago

Doesn’t explain why most of Asia is even harsher and more restrictive than the USA.

pstuart 5y ago
The USA does export its drug policy stance, and per the Nixon policies, it's a win for any government to have those tools of oppression on tap for when needed.
- etaioinshrdlu 5y ago
  I think a simpler explanation is that the general public in a country such as Japan deeply hates drug use.
  - rfd4sgmk8u 5y ago
    except booze, the worst drug. vocational drinking is a cultural phenomenon. The deal is lack of education, and exposure. The west is a lot further along on the pathway to legalization. I do believe that when the day comes, usage will be similar to in the west under legalization. We are all humans after all.
    - bluefirebrand 5y ago
      > except booze, the worst drug. Look, people are coming around to the idea that alcohol is really bad for us despite it being embedded in our social norms. Let's not go getting carried away calling it "the worst drug". That's absurd to an extreme.
      - rfd4sgmk8u 5y ago
        https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/06/25/what-is-the-most-dangerous-drug https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/06/25/what-is-... Pretty clear its alcohol, and this is not the only chart that clearly labels it as such. Alcohol is the worst drug. I'm sorry if you like it, hey, I like alcohol too, and it being the worst drug means that you like the worst drug...
ipaddr 5y ago
Opium comes to mind historically.

zrth 5y ago

Last time when this quote was posted on HN, consens turned out to be that its is quite unclear if it was ever say. I remember this as i really wanted to belief that the story was was true but ended up thinking it rather no true.. Unlike in the article you linked to, last time the conclusion was that the source recalled overhearing Nixon two decades ago, and thus was deemed quite unreliable at best - Anyone know more than me about this?

peytn 5y ago
It’s obviously a made-up posthumous quote. Nobody who cared about their image (as John Ehrlichman clearly did) was using “blacks” instead of Jesse Jackson’s “African Americans” while talking to journalists in 1994.