In the Rewrite, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell looks at some overshadowed remarks made by President Obama this weekend in Colombia, and what it means for the war on drugs that has produced murder and mayhem here and abroad for over 40 years.
A president tries to rewrite war on drugs
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Mon Apr 16, 2012 11:59 PM EDT
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As said by the Comedian Bill Hicks: "It's not a war on drugs, it's a war on personal freedom is what it is OK. Keep that in mind at all times. Thank you!"
During his time in the Senate and while running for president, Obama received a total of $77,051 from the oil giant and is the top recipient of BP PAC and individual money over the past 20 years, according to financial disclosure records
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/36783.html#ixzz1sTlPIQPm
When our County Sheriff was running for re-election in our local elections last fall he ran on a campaign of war on all drugs especially Marijuana and his long time record of opposition to any relaxation of his personal vandetta vs. any form of cannabis. I accused him of being part of the cabal which in efffect killed my son who had died in the summer of 1988. He had AIDS which he didn't know how he caught it as he was gay and using drugs and shared needles. When his friends could get marijuana for him he could keep food down and showed remarkable signs of remission, but in Seattle in l988 as Nathan Detroit might havee said "the heat was on" and grass was unavailable for almost any price, so he eventually died of starvation. I am running for election as delegate to the 2012 Democratic Convention with the intention of fighting for a more humane legislation with regard to marijuana use and/or possession.
Ah, sure do miss Bill. So far ahead of his time. Good rewrite, Lawrence!
Holy crap! I've been watching MSNBC all evening, per my usual, and I'm shocked to see that you're bringing up "The War on Drugs" issue. What are you thinking? I mean, I’m in total agreement that the war on drugs is a huge waste of time, money and lives, and most drugs should be legalized but why bring this up in an election year and why pressure President Obama on this issue?? Are you trying to push him into making a crucial mistake at such an important and delicate time? If you keep pressuring him on this issue then conservatives are going to eat him for lunch. Bringing up the drug issue is as insane as Rick Santorum bringing up the contraception issue. Please cease and desist this campaign immediately and stick to the economy, the wars on women and the middle class, and the constant subversion of democracy by the GOP and get off the drugs, so to speak.
MSNBC is supposed to be a news channel, not Obama's campaign aide.
The sole purpose of MSNBC is to promote socialist, liberal, progressive values. It was never intended to be a news outlet. Just listen to the crud Schultz, Maddow, Sharpton and O'Donnell spit out. It has nothing to do with news.
@ eugeniepatstheduck: I wonder what your opinion on "Fox News" is.
He loves Fox Lies.
I like Fox News. They give me the information that I want. Their business coverage is second to none.
You mean they (Faux News) gives you propagandic info you need to be a lop-sided thinker. Business coverage is one thing - political thought control is another.
PORTUGAL THE PRIME EXAMPLE OF THE EFFECTS OF DECRIMINALIZING DRUGS
Most people believe if drugs in general were available to the public for recreational use it would cause more addiction, crime and violence, broken homes, etc. Well, Portugal says differently. Drug warriors often contend that drug use would skyrocket if we were to legalize or decriminalize drugs in the United States. Fortunately, we have a real-world example of the actual effects of ending the violent, expensive War on Drugs and replacing it with a system of treatment for problem users and addicts.
Ten years ago, Portugal decriminalized ALL DRUGS. One decade after this unprecedented experiment, drug abuse is down by half:
Portugal is the first country that has decriminalized the use of all drugs, meaning anyone caught with any type of drug, if it's for consumption, will not be imprisoned. Spain and Italy have recently followed Portugal's example. What about america??
U.S.Patent 663-0507 is often overlooked and never mentioned when talking about Cannabis, which is shoty reporting. Another fact is that one Cannabis plant can produce over ten pounds, sometimes twenty pounds in one year, avg use/ person/ year is under 12 ounces. So our laws are trying to stop one person from growing one non toxic plant in their life time. 12 oz is the weight of one can of toxic beer or three fat inducing 1/4 pounders from Mcdonalds.
Real use of Cannabis is to power our cars, feed the birds, heal the sick, clean air pollution. The smoking of it is less then one percent of the total uses, but it is all anybody talks about. Every product made today could be made with Cannabis/hemp and Hemp doesn't pollute our world like oil, plastics, chemicals, legal drugs.
We see many religions talk about how morals have slipped away, yet these same people do not follow the Bible they just say they do. Page one of the Bible we recieved GODS first commandment which is to use all plants with seeds. Cannabis so far has been found to be able to be used for at least 25,000 products and that count is growing. IF you can't follow page one of the book which you claim to follow, guess what? Could it be so simple of a thing that our laws are limiting a favorite creation of GOD, which Cannabis must be or he is non existant or just plain dumb, just to profit by greed companies which are killing us and our planet? Which makes these laws unconsititutional and unchristian since they are based on fraud and not truth.
So then the enforcement of these laws is also fraud and to deny that is fraud, and to arrest people for it is fraud, hmm wonder why NO AMERICAN TRUSTS THEIR OWN ELECTED OFFICALS ANYMORE, Oh ya by not trying to change corrupt laws which are proven to be false, are these same people guilty of the crime of obstruction of justice? YES. How about treason?
IF just the laws about pot are erased, and people are allowed to grow one plant each, we would have too much to smoke forever in one year. Americans spend over 300 billion each year buying it, government spends hundreds of billions trying to stop it each year, wow if we just left it alone, we could solve our money issues overnight.
Why did President George Washington get to grow pot and endorse its use but not us?
America was founded by the growing of Cannabis and we would not be here today without it.
The V.A. now allows Disabled Vets living in states with medical Marijuana laws to use it, while those living in other states are viewed as criminals,what is that called but discrimination on a federal level. In fact the laws themselves surrounding possession and consumption are based on discrimination, which is focused on the non white americans. But the labeling of those who do not share a white skin color as something other then Americans is another topic.
The fact that 16 states now allow some use, and the medical profession accepts the healing value of it in those states is another form of discrimination in itself. THe real numbers of people smoking weed in America has not been found since to admit use means you are a criminal, but at least 1/3 of all Americans have smoked it. are they all criminals, no. Those who seek to continue these laws are criminals and need to be sentenced to life with no parole in what must be their favorite industry, prison.
why was prohibition overturned? cause we needed the tax money on liquor. i see no problem with pot being legal. but saying crack and meth should be legal is insane. portugal does legalize consumption of all drugs. but the penalty for manufacture of and distribution of crack and meth is death. lol of course this would never happen in usa. comparing portugal with america on drugs is kinda silly.
Actually, prohibition was overturned because the states had already started to overturn their state prohibition laws starting with NY way back in 1923, back when States rights meant something, before the real Federalization of America got started. The reason we have income tax today is directly linked to prohibition, when prohibition was first introduced the Federal government got nearly 70% of it's tax revenue from alcohol sales, it was the Drys who introduced the idea of a federal income tax as a way to offset the lost revenue from prohibition. Now our current drug laws are directly linked to Harry Ansingler []who created the myth of the EVIL WEED, he was the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, problem was like J.Edgar Hoover at the FBI, he had no background or experience in narcotics and was wholly unqualified for the position he held, but he began the crusade against the Devil Weed with all the enthusiasm of a zealot, he created just about every lie and myth associated with Cannabis, and was ably helped by Mr Yellow Journalism himself William Randolph Hearst, who is the sole reason HEMP is illegal to grow in America, but that's another story.
Actually prohibition and the drive for it was funded by oil companies because many people used alcohol as their fuel and made it themselves. The had found a use for the refinery waste aka gasoline, that they have been dumping into the rivers but couldn't find a market for it. So they made one. With prohibition they made the regular honest person stop making alcohol aka fuel and they needed fuel so along comes the oil companies with their waste product aka gasoline to fill the void. Alcohol was kept illegal long enough to make gasoline the fuel of choice and get their distribution system for it working and to get the auto makers to redesign the fuel systems of their vehicles to get them to run on gas properly. I concur with legalization of marijuana. It should be done now. But as myself and others have pointed out, it has more uses than crude oil and is safe to eat and environmentally friendly. It can rebuild the fallow farm land and allow farmers to grow crops without having to use all the oil based chemicals, one of the biggest markets of the petroleum refining business is farm chemicals and the fuels they use. Without our using of petroleum based fuels the overall health of people would improve thus putting the big health insurance and the big pharmaceutical companies out of business. Legalizing marijuana would give us a new tax revenue source and help the environment at the same time. That is far too much information for these dumbed-down right wing whiners to handle. 90% of today's farmers couldn't farm if they didn't have all these hazardous chemicals to make their GMO crops grow. They have forced most of the real farmers off the land. A guy with 60 acres could grow enough hemp/marijuana to support a family of 6 most comfortably and not need any of those chemicals. It's safe to say that the petroleum industry would be the one that takes the biggest hit from legalization of marijuana. The other industries have become or were made to be dependent on the oil industry. Without hemp we would of lost both World wars. Also our founding documents are written on hemp paper. That could be why all these politicians want to roll and smoke the Constitution. Until we take our congress back from all of these corporate owned zealots we will not get a civil society that will be for all people.
Cigarettes are the true "gateway drug" - more addictive than heroin, and they kill 400,000 people a year. Cigarette smokers are already committing suicide and they know it, so why not do meth or heroin? Just try and find a crackhead or junkie that doesn't smoke cigarettes. Tom Delay, cigarette corporation darling, epitomizes the cynical, malicious nature of their industry, and they (and big pharma) are the ones behind the war on some drugs, namely Marijuana.
A corollary of the war on some drugs is that its a legal fig leaf for what is effectively apartheid in the USA - 80% of an entire generation of black men are behind bars as a result of the bogus cigarette/pharmaceutical war against their competition.
Thanks, Lawrence, for making time for this incredibly important story.
Leave it to a liberal to link smoking with racism.
It is not Mr O'Donnell's fault when US law enforcement officials are racist.
you must have a problem with obama taking money from tobacco company execs. or do you? as obama admitted to illegal drug activity as an adult in college how can he comment on it? seeing dems say ann cant comment on the economy. lincoln was never a slave, how could he comment on it?
"It is not Mr O'Donnell's fault when US law enforcement officials are racist."
OUCH!!!!!!!!!
arresting a mexican smuggling drugs is racist?
@ mika from commie russia:
arresting a mexican smuggling drugs is racist?
No, of course not. "Mexican" is a nationality, not a race.
I was referring to the racism that was discussed on the show, i.e. the unequal treatment of black and white people who are caught possessing illicit drugs.
After watching the segment on legalizing marijuana, I have to disgree with O'Donnells assumption that in Obama's second term, the President will make some movement toward the legalization or decriminalization. The President has made it clear that this will not be the case. That is why, as hard as it is going to be for me, I must vote my conscience and vote for the legalizing candidate instead of Obama. I am 54 and all of my life as a marijuana user I have had to endure societal ridicule and treated like a criminal. I am fed up with this and I am just saying no to Presidential candidates who dont publicly support legalizing marijuana. Mr. O'Donnell, shame on you for making the false assumption that Obama will change things in the next term. He has indicated that he will not - ever!
Georgeatt
You were treated like a criminal because you ARE a criminal.
@ eugeniepatstheduck: A victimless crime is not a real crime.
eugenie can't comment without insulting. I've know tjis for quite some time. We've listened to his insults on several sites before he was banned.
The comment below is indicative of the ignorance held by some folks. It looks as though Eugenie could stand an education on the effects of the legal drugs, alcohol and tobacco and then do a comparative analysis with marijuana. The fact that marijuana is far safer is a no-brainer Eugenie...or do you have a brain.
Georgeatt
I don't use drugs, alcohol, tobacco or marijuana. I don't have to worry about comparing what substance will kill me the soonest.
I'm just curious, why do you have to use marijuana?
You don't have to answer that....I think we all know.
Dorothea
A victimless crime? Ask the families of people that got killed by stoned drivers.
A guy I worked with in the 60s got passed over for a promotion because he liked a little pot now and then. I got the job. Georgeatt....did you work in Boston back in the 60s?? LOL
I was 5 years old in 63 - I guess your math skills are in need of a little help (I gave my age). Did you really get the head chef job at McDonalds in Boston.
All joking aside Eugenie, you really should consider a driver under the influence of marijuana a far safer driver than one on alcohol. Once again, your knowlege base is lacking.
Georgeatt
How's this sound.
NO drivers under the influence of alcohol or marijuana.
I guess that's unacceptable in Liberaland. Just remember you have the right to remain silent.
You avoided my question.
Why do you have to use marijuana?
My friend, I don't have to use marijuana just as I don't have to drink coffee. I do both for pleasure - not because I am compelled on either count. I am not a liberal - I am libertarian in thought and in action. Conservatives want to control every form of behavior - even what we put in our bodies and that is why conservatism fails so miserably. As far as DUIs are concerned, I believe every state allows for a degree of alcohol to be in your system while driving as they should allow for marijuana. Bottom line though: Marijuana influenced drivers are far safer than alcohol influenced drivers. Some recent studies even show that marijuana users are just as safe, if not more than, completely sober drivers. Now, answer my question: Why do you feel the need to control the behavior of people through laws banning marijuana. That does not sound like a conservative stance, it sounds like a facist position. The late true conservative, William F Buckley, said, "
Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at
face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more
people than marijuana ever could."
@ eugeniepatstheduck:
A victimless crime? Ask the families of people that got killed by stoned drivers.
You totally mix things up again. Typical right-winger.
Mere drug consumption is a victimless crime, whereas driving while intoxicated endangers other traffic participants.
Dorothea
Is drug abuse legal in Germany?
Depends on the kind of drugs. Legal drugs are legal. Illegal drugs are illegal.
"Marijuana influenced drivers are far safer than alcohol influenced drivers."
You're absolutely right, and a driver with 10 drinks in him is safer than a driver with 15 in him, but both will kill you dead.
Georgatt, if you want to have some fun go to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting some time and listen to the stories of how harmless marijuana is. I think you'd get a kick out of it. You could tell them all that their screwed up lives were caused by global warming.
Dorothea
Are cocaine, pot, or heroin legal?
Are cocaine, pot, or heroin legal?
Cocaine and heroin are illegal. Pots are legal and used in the kitchen to cook dinner. What's your point?
I'm not trying to make a point (yet). Just asking what's legal in Germany.
MY MY MY!! Your comparison of a driver with 10 drinks or 15 has nothing to do with marijuana. Why don't you experiment a little and have someone who has not had any alcohol to drink try driving after smoking a joint of some good quality weed and video the activity, then have someone who hasn't had any weed drink a 6 pack of some high quality beer or 6 shots of good whiskey and drive the same route with video rolling as well, then put both videos up on youtube for others to judge which one is the better driver. Do it in a closed course off the public roads. I can tell you from my own personal experience that the drinker will be the bad driver every time. I know cops who tell me that when and if they ever they bust someone for driving stoned that they have alcohol in their systems as well on most occasions. They said that most folks who just smoke weed and drive are actually safer drivers than the drinkers. They drive slower, take fewer risks and pay more attention to detail. If you are going to base your opinion of pot smokers on what you see in the movies you are getting a false opinion. Cheech and Chong movies are not the facts or real at all. Tommy Chong will tell you that. May I suggest to all folks who would like marijuana legalized that if you drink alcohol as well, to stop drinking alcohol, boycott the booze makers until they made weed legal. I stopped drinking booze in Oct 1998 and don't even like the smell of it anymore. "Bud is wiser than Budweiser" is my motto. Booze makes you stupid. Weed opens the mind, booze destroys your brain cells. Also most of the folks that have to go to those NA meetings are required to say something negative about whatever drug they were busted with or they don't pass, and most of them were busted with crack or coke not weed. In many states possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is only a misdemeanor crime, why are they prosecuted like it's a felony? While many folks get just a slap on the hand for a DWI. If you take a careful look at what constitutes a crime in the Constitution it says that a crime is when someone is hurt or killed by another and or if an individuals property is stolen or damaged by another individual. Having and or using marijuana does not fall into that category, you are neither hurting anyone or stealing and or damaging another individuals property. You are only exercising your freedom of choice. Socialism would be much better than the religious/corporate fascist state we have here now. The rights of the individual are suppressed when they endanger the corporation and it's domination of the state. Hitler would love our government now. We have become fascist. Where the state has more rights than the people.
How, oh HOW, can you have a complete segment about the War on Drugs, and not mention that Ron Paul has been saying this same thing against that stupid war for 30 years??? I see London, I see France, I see Lawrence's biased underpants. Shame.
I agree. That was biased.
End the "war on prostitution", too! You can use pretty much the same arguments as with the "war on drugs".
The war on drugs killed by son. No, he wasn't in the crossfire of a raid led by narc and local storm troopers. He died in bed, actually of starvation. He sufffered from AIDS and that condition made it impossible to keeo food down-- as fast as he swallowed the food would come right back up--except after smoking s joint it would stay down and if that happened ofter enough he would always take a turn for the better. But as Nathan Detrroit put it "the heat was on" and most of the time grass was scarce and what was obtainable was extremely expensive. Sure getting AIDS was not something he could blame on someone else but not being able to obtain the medicaion which would have allowed him to live was not his choice. The lying zealots who continued to promote the untruths about marijuana were to blame.
Eugenie my bo-beanie: I use marijuana for the same reason I drink coffee...I enjoy it. I am not ashamed nor am I impressed by people of your ideological bent who think they know everything. You have said you have not used any drug including the legal ones: alcohol and tobacco. By my estimation, that places your age at aprox. 10 years old...am I correct?
I never said that I haven't used. I said I don't use. I grew up. LOL
Are you saying that grown ups don't use alcohol and marijuana? Or are you saying that you are more mature than someone who uses?
Yes
Wrong on both counts my friend: adults from all socio-economic stratas use drugs and, apparently, you are delusional.
Saving jobs for cops (of all strips), correctional officers, and other criminal justice employees is what the drug war is about. We are pathologically afraid of change even though millions of useful jobs can be created by decriminalizing marijuana/hemp.
BigGerald
Let's say you're in a car accident, they bring you into the operating room to reassemble your head and then Dr. Georgeatt walks in and says. "Hey Maaaaan" What's happenin'? "You'll be feeling as good as me in no time". "Anybody got some munchies?"
Boy the out-dated stereotypical arguments are running rampant in your little world? I haven't use the phraise "hey man" since I was 15. Alcohol would be worse on the doctors brain surgery, and yet I don't hear you calling for alcohol to be banned. Have a little common sense Eugenie.
Ban alcohol???? That might be a good idea. Prohibition made the Kennedy's billionaires.
Haha! It was such a good idea, that it actually worked....not. The same principles are at work in cannabis prohibition.
Eugenie, I can't believe you are on the same page as Obama on the marijuana issue. Usually, conservatives will oppose anything the President says, no matter what the issue is.
I'll support anything that gets Barry sent back to ChiTown. I didn't realize that he was against drug abuse.
I've decided to change my position.
Excuse me while I spark up a bone. (Do I have the lingo right?)
During his time in the Senate and while running for president, Obama received a total of $77,051 from the oil giant and is the top recipient of BP PAC and individual money over the past 20 years, according to financial disclosure records.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/36783.html#ixzz1sR3lGBL2