Today I heard on BBC radio that the new National Drug Control budget would be increased to 5 billion dollars. I was happy to see that programs like Access to Recovery, VA Treatment, the Second Chance Act, and programs for drug involved offenders were getting an increase in funds. It has been disappointing to hear conservative talk lambasting the President for having the gall to say that the U.S. is, in part, responsible for the increasingly violent drug wars along the border betweenthe U.S. and Mexico. Conservative talk show hosts insinuate that the President is sympathetic to the gangsters, accepting fault for the growing crisis and blaming America for the violence, torture, and death.

Of course no American ever forced one of these murderous lunatics to commit violence. I don't think that was what Obama was saying. I believe he was acknowledging the fact that the U.S. is the consumer of the drugs that are being trafficked into our country by the ton. The killing is over the right to control a license to print money, which we have created with our insatiable appetite for cocaine, marijuana, heroin, Ecstasy and methamphetamine.


I am glad to see that the new budget is allocating more money towards prevention and treatment. The funds for each will be increased by 13.4% and 3.7% respectively. After all, if there is no market for drugs, there wouldn't be anything to fight about, right? George W. Bush said plenty of stupid and corny things during his presidency, but he was right at least once during those 8 years. He said that if you are using drugs, you are helping the terrorists. Drugs don't just come from poppies in Afghanistan. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and Ecstasy are all being brought into the country by organized crime. The violence over drug sale territory is escalating to terrorist level. Unless you are growing your own pot, you are contributing to the "war" when you use any of these substances.



Unfortunately, the Obama administration also stated that they would not discuss the legalization of any of these substances. Here was the chance to really think and act outside the box, and the President is taking a pass. Can't we at least discuss federal recognition of medical marijuana laws? I think we spend too much time and funds chasing down marijuana. The most recent statistic on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration web sight was from 2005. The DEA seized 282,139 Kg's of marijuana that year. That does not include the pot that was actually consumed. Can you imagine the revenue that marijuana would generate if it were legalized, regulated, and taxed?

Take it easy, folks. I'm not advocating giving weed to kids. Marijuana should be treated like cigarettes and alcohol. It should only be available to adults. Of course, kids get a hold of cigarettes and alcohol anyway, but no one is talking about making either one of those drugs illegal. We tried to criminalize alcohol in the 20th century and that was a gigantic failure that turned organized crime into an institution. There are much more powerful and addictive drugs available from the pharmacy right now. Why are we fighting marijuana? I can only conclude that we are fighting the stigma. Marijuana is seen as a "gateway" drug that snares users and leads them to try harder drugs and spiral into addiction. Again, marijuana should not be available to kids. There should be a serious and honest debate about legalizing it for medical use, and eventually legalizing it completely. Let's stop fighting a substance that is about as harmful as cigarettes and beer and let's spend more time and effort fighting the use of and addiction to the other drugs that are being smuggled across our borders. We need to eradicate the consumers of the drugs and eventually the salesmen will go away.