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In ths US, drugs are basically the opiate of the masses. In particular, minorities. The drug laws are basically the rich white people saying: heads I win, tails

by 001sky 12y ago

In ths US, drugs are basically the opiate of the masses. In particular, minorities. The drug laws are basically the rich white people saying: heads I win, tails you lose. As such, nothing will change. Nobody runs faster from a school with minority over-represenatation faster than a (white, affluent) liberal in an expensive zip-code.

jacquesm 12y ago
Drugs are not opiates, opiates are drugs.
- JetSpiegel 12y ago
  The parent was quoting Marx, come on!
adventured 12y ago
I think you're clearly wrong. The 'war on drugs' is coming to an end right now. It's almost universally recognized as a failure. The majority of Americans have decided it needs to end, and as such it is ending. Obama has ordered his DOJ to stand down. The momentum that is already underway cannot be stopped. At this point it's merely a matter of the time it takes for every state to tumble into line, one after another. And as the US is moving rapidly toward that, the rest of the world is as well, and that lock-step will make sure there can be no reversal. So the US goes, the rest of the world will quickly follow, since it was the US war on drugs that was largely responsible for pushing the existing drug criminalization system globally. Every conservative I know these days supports either legalization or decriminalization, having come to the understanding that the approach that has been used for 40 years does not work. You can celebrate. It's an early, but great victory for justice and liberty.
- 001sky 12y ago
  No, i'm clearly reading the data. You're simply speculating. The drugs laws are widely used as pretexts for minority supression. The issue being discussed is the broader sociological function of the drugs laws: namely, to keep the elites in power, to elevate the value of their real-estate, and to provide a weak negotiating position for the under-priveledged in the labour market. The same people that want to run away from the kids of black people are the same as those that want to throw the parents in jail (for petty drug offences and trivial parole violations). http://www.businessinsider.com/kent-brewster-analyzes-atherton-police-blotter-2013-8 http://www.businessinsider.com/kent-brewster-analyzes-athert... http://paloaltofreepress.com/living-in-palo-alto-while-black/ http://paloaltofreepress.com/living-in-palo-alto-while-black... http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_11034532?source=rss http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_110345... Today, African-Americans are also more likely to spend time in prison for drug related offenses than their white counterparts. According to the Sentencing Project, African-Americans make up 12% of the nation’s drug users, but represent 34% of those arrested for drug offenses, and 45% of those in state prison for such offense as of 2005. Of course, there's plenty of white collar drug abuse running rampant in high-rent neigborhoods. To wit: http://dealbreaker.com/2014/10/jefferies-exec-sage-kelly-employs-unorthodox-approach-for-landing-clients/ http://dealbreaker.com/2014/10/jefferies-exec-sage-kelly-emp... Clearly there is a demand for low-level discretionary powers that can serve the social-sorting priorities of those with wealth and power. The drug laws fill those roles today, and whether we like it or not, there seems to be "a demand" that they serve for some people well beyond their "literal" or statuatory meaning.

by 001sky 12y ago

jacquesm 12y ago

Drugs are not opiates, opiates are drugs.

JetSpiegel 12y ago
The parent was quoting Marx, come on!

adventured 12y ago

I think you're clearly wrong. The 'war on drugs' is coming to an end right now. It's almost universally recognized as a failure. The majority of Americans have decided it needs to end, and as such it is ending. Obama has ordered his DOJ to stand down. The momentum that is already underway cannot be stopped. At this point it's merely a matter of the time it takes for every state to tumble into line, one after another. And as the US is moving rapidly toward that, the rest of the world is as well, and that lock-step will make sure there can be no reversal. So the US goes, the rest of the world will quickly follow, since it was the US war on drugs that was largely responsible for pushing the existing drug criminalization system globally. Every conservative I know these days supports either legalization or decriminalization, having come to the understanding that the approach that has been used for 40 years does not work. You can celebrate. It's an early, but great victory for justice and liberty.

001sky 12y ago
No, i'm clearly reading the data. You're simply speculating. The drugs laws are widely used as pretexts for minority supression. The issue being discussed is the broader sociological function of the drugs laws: namely, to keep the elites in power, to elevate the value of their real-estate, and to provide a weak negotiating position for the under-priveledged in the labour market. The same people that want to run away from the kids of black people are the same as those that want to throw the parents in jail (for petty drug offences and trivial parole violations). http://www.businessinsider.com/kent-brewster-analyzes-atherton-police-blotter-2013-8 http://www.businessinsider.com/kent-brewster-analyzes-athert... http://paloaltofreepress.com/living-in-palo-alto-while-black/ http://paloaltofreepress.com/living-in-palo-alto-while-black... http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_11034532?source=rss http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_110345... Today, African-Americans are also more likely to spend time in prison for drug related offenses than their white counterparts. According to the Sentencing Project, African-Americans make up 12% of the nation’s drug users, but represent 34% of those arrested for drug offenses, and 45% of those in state prison for such offense as of 2005. Of course, there's plenty of white collar drug abuse running rampant in high-rent neigborhoods. To wit: http://dealbreaker.com/2014/10/jefferies-exec-sage-kelly-employs-unorthodox-approach-for-landing-clients/ http://dealbreaker.com/2014/10/jefferies-exec-sage-kelly-emp... Clearly there is a demand for low-level discretionary powers that can serve the social-sorting priorities of those with wealth and power. The drug laws fill those roles today, and whether we like it or not, there seems to be "a demand" that they serve for some people well beyond their "literal" or statuatory meaning.