Whack-a-mole or legalization? The War on drugs

Losing the word war - Juneau Empire: "The phrase 'war on drugs' is a metaphor, and as George Lakoff and Mark Johnson point out in their book 'Metaphors We Live By,' how we use words to frame our behavior often creates our reality. The use of drugs is not something one can go to war with, nor is an ideology something we can go to war with." July 22, 2010


Democratic Contenders in Arizona Debate Drug War: "When asked about border security, Dougherty presented what may be a controversial solution to the drug war raging in Mexico. “The war on drugs is a complete and total failure,” he said. “The war on drugs is destabilizing Mexico — 25,000 people have been killed in the last few years. The facts do not support the continuation of this policy. We need to move it out of a criminal enforcement model that has failed to keep drugs off the street and protect our youth and into a medical treatment model. Regulation and taxation will provide money to reduce government deficits and fund treatment programs and advertising to discourage drug use.”" July 21, 2010, Yuma Sun


Americans Decry War on Drugs, Blame Mexico for Allowing Cartels to Grow A large proportion of Americans acknowledge that the country has a serious drug abuse problem, but two thirds believe that the so-called "War on Drugs" has been ineffective, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion Poll has found. July 20, 2010


Report Says U.S. Fails to Assess Drug Aid to Mexico - NYTimes.com: "Despite claims by the United States and Mexico that drug traffickers are feeling the effects of the countries’ joint offensive, a review by the Government Accountability Office has found that millions of dollars have been spent without enough regard for whether the money is doing any good." July 20, 2010, NY Times