Democratic politicians support a *major* policy based entirely on fantasy.

[Jonathan50]

In the thread below, I show that Democratic politicians support the War on Cannabis almost to a man.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x610367

In this other thread I show that practically everyone on this board knows that those who smoke cannabis are far less dangerous to society than those who drink alcohol.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x623294

Is there anyone who thinks that the Democratic politicians who support the War on Cannabis don't know what virtually everyone here knows?

There is no rational basis whatsoever for the War on Cannabis, therefore anyone who supports it is basing that support on something that they know to be fantasy.

Is that the way we wish for our elected representatives to act?

We expect basing policy on fantasy from Republicans, why should we expect it of Democrats?



Here is what basing policy on fantasy has lead to in the USA.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0818/p02s01-usju.html

US notches world's highest incarceration rate

A report highlights extent to which many citizens have served time in prison.

By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON – More than 5.6 million Americans are in prison or have served time there, according to a new report by the Justice Department released Sunday. That's 1 in 37 adults living in the United States, the highest incarceration level in the world.

It's the first time the US government has released estimates of the extent of imprisonment, and the report's statistics have broad implications for everything from state fiscal crises to how other nations view the American experience.

If current trends continue, it means that a black male in the United States would have about a 1 in 3 chance of going to prison during his lifetime. For a Hispanic male, it's 1 in 6; for a white male, 1 in 17.

The numbers come after many years of get-tough policies - and years when violent-crime rates have generally fallen. But to some observers, they point to broader failures in US society, particularly in regard to racial minorities and others who are economically disadvantaged.

"These new numbers are shocking enough, but what we don't see are the ripple effects of what they mean: For the generation of black children today, there's almost an inevitable aspect of going to prison," says Marc Mauer, assistant director of The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington. "We have the wealthiest society in human history, and we maintain the highest level of imprisonment. It's striking what that says about our approach to social problems and inequality."

[opihimoimoi]

1. Brings back memories of HARRY ANSLINGER.the asshole who started the denigration of POT in the first

place.

Refer to REEFER MADNESS...if I recall correctly the author was Larry Sloman....

The damage done to the use of Pot by Asslinger was reprehensible at best....him was the head of DEA/or equivilent...much like J EDGAR HOOVER was to the FBI....

He had laws enacted to CRIMINALIZE POT to the point of peeps spending time in prison for minute amounts...seeds even...guys went to jail for 3 0r 4 GRAMS....somew ...even less...

Its time we join Reality...the war has failed...Nancy's just say NO was a joke....

I could go on but relent to brevity

[John Q. Citizen]

2. Vote Kucinich, For a change.

[High Plains]

3. Shame on the Democratic Party.

Ending the drug war should be a plank in the party platform.

[guitar man]

4. hear hear

I'm with you 100%. There is simply no good reason to keep Marijuana illegal, and probably no good reason to keep any of it illegal. It just creates a gangland society that is dangerous to our nation at large and solves nothing.

[Deep13]

5. Richardson signed NM's medical marijuana bill into law.

[skipos]

6. He sure did. Because it was the right thing to do. nt

[Jonathan50]

7. Apparently no one disagrees with me..

Sometimes it is a long and winding road to arrive at the truth.

Why should we trust Democratic politicians to do the right thing when virtually all of them are in favor of a policy which has such profound implications for freedom in America and virtually all of them know that the policy has no basis in reality?

People know that prohibition is a thoroughly bad idea, look at the responses I got on this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x596448

[Jonathan50]

8. It's amazing how many replies I got..

To my "a simple solution for drunk driving" thread.

And how few I'm getting to this thread.

I guess only a few Democrats even care that their country now houses twenty five percent of the prisoners in the world while only having five percent of the population.

Where is the outrage that your Democratic politicians are lying to you?

[Jonathan50]

9. Six replies from posters other than me..

And yet there are eight recommends, and I didn't recommend my own thread.

Apparently this is not a fit subject for discussion on DU.

All the Sturm und Drang, thread after thread, about Imus.

And yet something far more important goes all but ignored.

[Daedelus76]

10. why are drugs good, free speech bad around here?

Very libertarian on drugs, but not so libertarian on free speech, why?

Most Americans are quite content with the drug war. Maybe they want more treatment programs and less harsh sentencing, but they don't want easy access to drugs for their kids, and they don't want to deal with the social problems that drugs can cause. I think more candidates and politicians are willing to look at prison alternatives and treatment for drug addicts. But ending the war? I don't think so.

[Jonathan50]

11. The kids can get all the drugs they want in high school.

[Daedelus76]

13. most people will look at that

and conclude the drug war needs to be intensified, not that drugs need to be legalized. It's hardly an arguement for legalization that most people will accept. Most people are not inspired to change by setbacks. Just look at Iraq. Do you think most people care how many people are dying over there? No, they don't want to "cut and run". At least that's a very powerful idea, even if people eventually get tired of it. But for the drug war each new generation brings new victims, so people just can't let go and hand their kids over to the drug pushers. Nor should they.

Also, your stats show that about 40 percent of the population has never used illegal drugs. That's pretty significant. I myself have never used pot, cocaine, heroin, or anything like that. There's alot of other people out there like me too. Not everybody is toking up, and sending the message that everybody is, is bad for children. It's perfectly OK to say no to drugs.

[NormanYorkstein]

12. most people here are free speech extremists

what are you talking about?