Given the popularity of the legalized drug discussion, I thought I'd take the initiative and go one step further on that discussion. Here are some things I would do about the drug war-let me know what you think.

1.)Legalize the possession of marijuana, but put a limit on how many ounces/pounds a person may have. Possession over the set amount would be a misdemeanor with a fine. Money procured as a result would be earmarked for treatment centers and other programs(faith based or not, just as long as they aren't too nutty)

2.)Adopt a needle exchange program and try to steer users into adjoining rooms with counselors and drug educators who could help those who want to make an effort to quit.

3.)Have psychiatrists and counselors who specialize in drug treatment have their loan debt cut in half if they serve in programs for three years.

4.)All non-violent drug offenders should be released into community based programs.

5.)Allow for the sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes-requisit being a doctor's prescription and a certifiable second opinion. Profits from the government selling marijuana will be used to fund further studies of using marijuana for medicinal purposes and drug treatment.

What do you think? Would any of the above mentioned programs be a viable alternative to the draconian failed policy that we now follow? Which programs do you like and which make you quite frankly, sick to your stomachs?

An intriguing set of questions.

#1: I'm with you on one, provided the weight is low, like 2 ounces (1/8 pound) or something. However, it leads to a problem: the person selling it to you must obviously have more. Does that make it illegal to sell it, but not illegal to buy it? Seems a difficult position to rationalize.

#2: Needle exchanges with counselors is like a soup kitchen with social services. However, you'll need to go further than just counselors if you want to get them off the habit. Affordable or gov't supported detox PLUS counseling is also needed for the needle user.

#3: What loan debt? For schooling? Is this like AmeriCorp?

#4: All non-violent, NON-FELONY drug offenders should be released into community-based programs. For example, a prime mover of drugs could be non-violent, but also a menace to society. I think a lot of times, except with crack, this is the case anyway. It's the stupid "mandatory sentencing" that gets in the way and that needs to be abolished or severely curtailed.

#5: That's already being tried in some states and I'm all for states making the decision on this without interference from the Justice Dept.

The "War on Drugs" is a bad joke being played on the American people. It's sounds like good "law and order", but just a lot of people getting locked up and eventually released without getting the help they need. We focus on the supply side and have done little since Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign to focus on the demand side.

We need to focus on decreasing demand through gov't subsidized or covered drug detox/treatment, including medical assistance as well as psychological assistance. Getting people off drugs and back into a normal world will be the best way to defeat the problems that come with drugs -- violence, poverty, broken homes, neglected kids, etc.

1) Make possesion of Marijuana the same as the possesion of cigarettes, with corresponding taxes. Also, the taxes should be earmarked for treatment programs, free to those under a set percentage of the US salary.

2) Needle exchanges are very good for IV drug users, but also make some kind of easy/unobtrusive/proprietary/private registration as well, to track them for the CDC. Also, IV drugs should be treated as #1 issue above.

3) Yes, and tax breaks for pro-bono work as well.

4) Should be released period. Re-visit the felony possesion cases as well, to determine if they were bottom level pushers/users as opposed to "drug lords". (Some places have any amount of possession of MJ a felony)

5) See #1

1) Legalise everything but only allow it to be sold buy registered vendors. Then you can break the link between drug dealing & crime, as most drug dealers charge vastly inflated prices for the drugs they sell , the proceeds generally end up funding terrorism or financing generally unpleasant people. If the government controlled sales instead, then, even if they taxed, they could still charge lower prices & put other dealers out of business.

The taxes then fund programs to help drug addicts & develop less harmful substitute drugs.

I realise the huge moral flaws in this argument, but I think it has a certain value in its pragmatism. If we assume that drug dealers are always going to exist, is it not better that the government, rather than criminals, should control the market? It may even be possible to make the drug available by prescription only to addicts.

In fact all of the other ideas suggested by nebraska29 would make sense if ALL drugs were legalised, my suggestion is that it be extended beyond marajuana.

Like I said, it's not a good moral argument - but I think it has certain advantages given that we live in an imperfect world.

I am curious to what is stopping the government from just poisoning all illegal drugs they sieze then releasing/selling it back into circulation to induce a scare, then use the money they make to continue funding a drug poisoning program. The possibility of unreliable drugs have deterred a lot of people from xtc, why not apply the method to all banned drugs. Such a program would make people actually believe that there is a war on drugs.

Forget reform. Just legalize it. End the black market for the stuff. Bring down the cartels overnite. Tax any sales of any substance. Require licenses to sell same as alchohol. Personally I believe that once legalized the coolness factor would evaporate quickly. I think use would taper down. Users, no longer having to dodge the law and sneak around to get whatever would probably have much better control over their habits just like the majority of people actually only drink once in awhile. As for those who would go nuts and binge like crazy, Good Riddance.
Counseling programs? Personally I have no sympathy for users. If they want to find one, more power to them.
Prisoners who are under sentence should finish their sentence. I could live with this however.

Xtc was still legal when I was doing it- could buy a dose with a shot of oxygen and a glass of champagne for 10 buck at a club called the broadstreet in San Antonio. Didn't have near the problems with it till they made it illegal

So would it be fair to say that the market for xtc, as well as the potency of the stuff, grew as it became illegal? Just asking, I don't know that much about it. I do know that meth did have a long history of being used by the Japanese in WWII and that in small doses, it's been effective in experiments with counseling patients and helped them reach new levels of introspective understanding. Just curious.