Prohibition just doesn't work. For examples see Al Capone.

In the case of marijuana too many lives have been ruined over a natural plant, that does much less harm than either ciggarettes or alcohol. Let's end the insanity and prosicute real crimes not someones choice in relaxation materials.

About damn time. It's a shame this is motivated by the need to raise revenue instead of the need for smaller government and more freedom for the American public. I thought the Declaration of Independence said Life, Liberty,and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Why don't we continue to incarcerate and demonize people that no longer have the ability to make rational decisions? Because it's stupid.

The initial decision to use a substance is a decision. The continued use thereafter is less so. I don't understand why it has taken so long for people to understand that incarceration does not work, and that treatment will. But then again, people believe whatever they are told, e.g. world is the center of the universe, world is flat, deterministic theories work in the quantum world (Einstein believed that one).

I am going to use this forum, and I apologize to Neal Boortz for this, I am going to use this to talk about an underlying issue in the world, and America in particular. There is nothing to believe in anymore. All of the values that we have taken for sacred have vanished in a negative correlation to scientific and philosophical progress. This, unlike previous times in history, has left us dumbfounded and without a firm grasp of who we are and where we are going. Since this is a political forum, i will talk politics.

Republicans believe that personal freedom is the most important aspect of human life, particularly when it comes to business. However, they miss that fact that those that work for them, and even those Republicans themselves, have little freedom. Their view of freedom is in the freedom that money gives, which is a false freedom. We all will always be a slave to the almighty dollar. That view of freedom is false.
Democrats view of freedom is in the freedom to choose what is best for other people, under the guise of "helping". But remember, just because you choose for someone else, does not mean that someone is not choosing for you as well. Once again, that view of freedom is false.

There is no freedom, there is nothing to believe anymore. What is needed more than anything else is a common purpose, a common goal. We are not Americans anymore, we are individuals that live in America.
If your objective is to tell people how to live their lives, than be consistent. But if your idea of freedom is to let people choose, and when they need help to offer it to them, then of course treatment is the best option.

Since I am a philosopher, lover of knowledge, I ask that if you respond to this comment you include your definition of freedom. I want to know how "free" you think you are before I continue this discussion with you. I am not searching for problems, I am searching for solutions, and without an understanding of your personal philosophy that is unattainable.

Hopefully this will lead to some discourse.

Unfortunately, prohibition doesn't work. It also produces worse results for society than if we didn't prohibit drug use.

Drug legalization will provide more traction for the Fair Tax. Why? The Alcohol, Tobacco, and US Criminal System lobbying groups will lose tremendous power. They want the rules to remain the same so as to maintain power. Passing the Fair Tax decreases the groups power to an even greater degree. Thus, power is the fuel that prevents the Fair Tax. Decrease power, increase the chance of passing the Fair Tax. Its simple logic.

The US will not be affected by drug legalization like some of these misguided and propgandized posters imply. ANYONE CAN GO BUY DRUGS TODAY, (even 7th graders) and Uncle Sam cant stop them. Sure you can get arrested for poor behavior while on drugs for example violence, driving, etc. Criminal behavior while on drugs is increased due to the illegality of drugs and it is obvisious the problem is not going away.

Personal responsibility and truth are the solutions to all problems.

. . .have a roadside test for pot:

Officer: "Have you been smaoking pot?"
Driver: "No, sir."
Officer whips hand from behind his back: "Then you wouldn't want this Twinkie©, would you?"

I am all for legalization of drugs of any and all kinds in a truly free society, but we do not and will not likely ever live in one.
If and/or when this happens:

- Employers will have no legal right to exclude these users.
- Insurance (auto, life & medical)companies have no legal right to exclude these users.
- The Taxes that come from these drugs will go in to the same black hole as everything else
- Drug addiction will be "disability" allowing for the collection of social security and other government handouts.

Count on it.

illegal drugs are bad, check out what aspartame can do to you.

How many now un-needed Federal and State employees can be let go now that their services will no longer be needed? This would be a tremendous savings to taxpayers.

Well, this is a genius idea. And we could end the war on terror and just let everyone run around doing whatever. Because, we legalized alcohol and it leads to drunk driving. But surely no illegal substances will lead to a future of problems and consequences. And does the American public REALLY need more stimulus to be retoded?

Like a broken clock is. Even a jug eared clown can get something right now and then.

Well Greg, perhaps if we decriminalize all the laws that aren't really crimes (like smokin' pot), our crime rate would fall.

This is one of the two good ideas coming out of the current administration. And I forget the other.

Treatment is the answer, look at Portugal, five years in and drug use by teens is down.

Drugs can rot your brain if used incorrectly, moderation is key. However, I'd much rather be in a room with a bunch of my friends toking down, than popping a concoction of pharmies trying to achieve mental wellness.

Simply put, marijuana has such positive effects because it has created a community within America that is more close nit than suburbs have turned out to be. If everyone on a block tokes then they are probably all friends, yet in some neighborhoods people no longer even know their neighbors.

Local action is the key to a better America; and if you don't know or care about your neighbors, we'll never achieve a level of local action to succeed.

President Obama:
My fellow Americans, “Dudes”. Myself and 2 Senators from California, the honorable Bud Green, and the honorable Mary Jane Grass have formed a homegrown Joint committee to investigate putting and end to the “war on drugs”. In the following months we will be gauging the feasibility of this endeavor. We will be looking to weed out draconian laws that are both bogus and harsh. Ladies and gentlemen, let me be blunt.
As the head of this committee, I promise you, we will leave no turn unstoned.

The sad fact is we spend so much money on the so called "war on drugs" that we could fully fund treatment for many more people than are actually addicted. That's pretty sad.

My fear is that it's going to be replaced by something even more bizarre, like a "war on CO2", or as someone noted the money will be shifted over to empowering federal healthcare rationing. The government isn't going to give up the power or its abuse.

aha! so you are a drug user! don't try to deny it. you said....."i like cookies" therefore.... DRUGY! DRUGY!

it's friiiiiiday! go do 'sumpin (il)legal...

DRIP don't return incumbent politicians

I've never understood this. If one individual is willng to buy drugs from another individual who is willing to sell it to him. And they both know beforehand the effects of the drugs, who then is the victim? Certainly not the government because the government does not have any rights what so ever. The governemnt has PERMISSIONS granted to them by the people. So who is the victim when nobody is violated?

Neal:
You're dead on about the War on Drugs is not winnable and is nothing more than a power grab by the Federal Government. You're also dead on that it should be ended.

However, it will not because the one's that are controlling the campaign, DEA, are enjoying their power and will not give it up. Besides, who was it that said, "The closest thing to eternity on this earth is a the existence of a government program."?

"There is NOTHING recreational about any illegal drug and I have used most of them."

You must have been using them around annoying people, using them improperly, or using them while listening to country music. LOL

Other countries legalize and have reduced addiction rates lower drug-related crime.

Treatment is cheaper and more productive than incarceration.

The facts, for anyone who chooses to investigate, are obvious.

I am not a drug user, but our laws, especially this stupid war on drugs, are moronic.

Just a few thoughts...

Dwight,
If you need evidence of what is (likely) to occur when the criminal penalties are removed from narcotics, look to Spain, Portugal and the Dutch. All have removed the criminal penalties, and initially there was a small spike (especially with MJ) and then usage dropped significantly.

Further, this is a civil rights issue. There would need to be no *new* laws passed either. We have penalties already for coming to work impaired (if you can be dismissed for alcohol consumption, what difference does it make for another mind-altering substance?), same for driving, etc.

I agree with the post below; if you are on public support you had better *not* be using that to support a chemical habit, be it alcohol, cigarettes or whatever. Had I the political power\influence, I would also prohibit having children while on public support. You want procreational rights, you have to be able to support yourself (and your children).

Eliminate the extra penalties and the ability for a cop to pre-emptively stop motorists on the *suspicion* of consumption of controlled substances. If no crime has occurred, e.g. no one *else's* liberties have been compromised, then they have no business stopping you\ticketing\detaining or whatnot. Our police force has migrated from researching and apprehending criminals (those who violate another's right to life, liberty, property) to an occupying military with the ability to randomly detain, harass and confiscate from citizens.

holy crap!!!

you have started a stampede.....folks are breaking bones trying to get to their dictionaries....stop that! some folks won't be able to spell it.

you are a mean man John Ray!

DRIP don't return incumbent politicians

if you have proof that drug use will skyrocket let us see it.

your use of drugs may have had an effect on your thought process. so far it seems as though "it ain't doin' you no good" or am I missing 'sumpin'?

quit spending money on the DEA, ATF and more on the cure for human STOOPIDITY or the common cold.

DRIP don't return incumbent politicians

And did you quit because it was illegal, or because you recognized the harm it was causing you?
No one quits drug use because it is illegal. No significant amount of people will start using simply because it is legal.
It is perfectly legal to drink at age 21+. I started at age 17... I almost entirely gave it up at age 21.

I think those drugs may have had an effect on your cognitive functions.

If there was an illegal product being sold that was funneling money to a neo-Nazi, anti-gay terror group, Pelosi and Co. would be all over it. But drug users funnel money to FARC and Mexican narco-terrorists, and that's all society's fault for banning drugs.

Drug users are at war with us, not the other way round. 2-3% of our population have declared that they will do what they want and take what they want, whenever they want, regardless what the law says.

It is absolutely amazing that so many people think that legalizing drugs will not result in an increase in usage and that an increase in usage will not result in a huge expense on our society. We will all have to pay directly in tax money for fighting the crime that always follows addiction whether legal or not (i.e. black market cigarettes, drug use in europe). Whatever money might be saved through legalizing drugs will be lost expontentionally in the affect drug usage will have on society as a whole. The most assenine comment I have read on this blog is the reference to these drugs as "recreational". There is NOTHING recreational about any illegal drug and I have used most of them.

the only problem i see with a democratic administration doing this is that they will still maintain power in the process. they will start a massive new government program for 'treatment' that will mesh nicely with socialized healthcare. but hey, it's better than continuing to flush billions down the drain incarcerating and ruining the lives of non-violent drug offenders.

i feel the same way about DUI laws (neal will probably disagree with this). if you hurt someone while driving i don't care if you were drunk (or on drugs) or not. you should pay the price. if someone kills someone because they were putting on lipstick or something else stupid while driving, is that really better than if they do it because they had a beer?

same thing for crimes committed, if it's a crime it's a crime. it doesn't matter if it was done for drugs or anything else.

republicanremix.com

Ok, these laws are on the books and now will not be enforced? Sounds like immigration laws. Time for some resignations or terminations for senior administration staff members that won't do their jobs. Maybe we need a new admendment that allows a majority of states to have impeachment powers over US Presidents? This would be a excellent solution for controlling the abuse by the federal government of the 14th Admendment.

I have long heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same result. Unfortunately, that means our entire federal government is completely insane. We have been committed to this war on drugs for 30 years and never seen an improvement.

The arguement against legalization of drugs is simply that it would lead to massive increases in drug abuse, but there is no imperical evidence of that anywhere. The only case of a country legalizing it in recent history is Portugal and they showed a drop in drug use.

Let's try effective policies, not wasting tax payer dollars to protect people from their own idiocy.

Ending the war on drugs bankrupts the Terrorists... They get a large percentage of their income from selling poppy/heroin. Legalize it and they loose their market share.

While I understand that the "War on Drugs" is failing, what about our "War on Crime". Even though that is a battle never won, we must still fight it. We will never eliminate murder, theft, and rape, but we must continue the battle.

Since murder, theft, and rape have distinct victims, no problem. Somebody said retool the war on drugs. If people are to be given the freedom to do drugs, we need the following:
* companies have the freedom to immediately fire people that are stoned
* create a minimum legal age, like alcohol
* giving drugs to minors should have a similar complement of offenses as does giving alcohol to minors
* DUI is extended to include drugs. Severity of sentencing may need to be adjusted based on severity of drug.
* to receive welfare checks/WIC/food stamps, you must be free and clear of drugs and alcohol. THIS is means testing. You must be free and clear for at least 30 days, and subject to being re-tested randomly, and at least every 30 days. THAT would motivate some people to get off of welfare.

Basically, if you sit at home and have no kids with you, do what you want. But if get behind a wheel, have kids in your home, or go to work, you are in the presence of potential victims and should suffer suitable consequences.

read the article. james pasco, f.o.p. says "when you violate the law, there are consequences." how about this...
just because its a law, doesnt make it right! see sharia law if you need examples

I think everyone missed the point. Nothing except the name will be changed. When "global warming" was shown to be a scam it became "Climate Change" so the people seeking to destroy the country could say "see, I told you so" either way the climate went. Legalizing drugs in addition to alcohol would solve a lot of problems, create a few new problems which could be dealt with in an easier fashion, and reduce crimes attendant to the drug trade.

It isn't a done deal yet. There are special interests that would not like to see this go through.

The White House has made an excellent decision. I just wish everything else was fine. There is just too many other pressing issues right now.

Although a good idea, put this in the "not gonna happen" column

Too bad it will never happen. Kind of like the FAIR TAX.

It's about time. This is one of the few things Obama has done that makes any sense. The war on drugs is a waste of money that spends even more money to put otherwise non-violent people in jail.
Not to mention that the government does not own the bodies of it's citizens, and they can do what they want with their bodies as long as it does not harm another person.
I think that drug users are idiots, but I don't want my tax money spent preventing them to do something stupid that they are going to do anyway.
Another aspect of the "war on drugs" is that is has given the government way too much power in the name of fighting drugs. No knock raids and other abuses of the Bill of Rights are directly attributed to this so called war on drugs.

The war on drugs is the 2nd longest failed war in America, right behind the war on poverty. Recent escalation of this war in both Mexico and here has led to large increases in violent crime along the border. Any steps to end this ridiculous war should be applauded.

A drugged population is easier to control -- and to manipulate.

1. Frees up prison cells for real criminals. We will need to build fewer prisons and we will be safer.

2. Frees up the police to go after real criminals. And we might not need as many policemen.

3. Frees up courts and we could get back to speedy trials.

4. Tax the horsesqueeze out of the drugs. Put most back towards drug education/rehabilitation.

5. Makes it harder for kids to get their hands on. It's now easier for kids to get drugs than alcohol.

6. Takes the gang's income (and power)away from them while providing legal jobs for law abiding citizens.

And I could go on and on and on...

I'll believe it when I see it. They need the war on drugs to keep up the war on guns.
Check this article:http://www.reason.com/news/show/133198.html
Maybe it's an apeasment?

It's about time we killed this "War on Drugs". It's highly probably that we have endangered or killed more lives than we would have saved given the mission at hand. The will be the first piece of legislation that the Obama administration will enact that will make any sense at all.

However, there are two things I dislike about this coming from an Obama term. Firstly, even though the funding will save heavily on wasted government expenditures, this administration will just find other social programs or welfare concepts to use the savings on (and call it an "investment"). The other thing that is unattractive about this is the fact that it will give Obama plenty of momentum going into his next campaign and will reinforce the Democratic stronghold in Congress during the next election.

Bottom line...let's do it and find a way to enact the FairTax...we will have made a huge leap forward if this can be done.

We spend billions of dollars on this annually; eliminating the WOD would free up that money, keep non-violent offenders out of prison, and eliminate the black market that fuels the violence.
It only makes sense.

They still don't acknowledge that prohibition is 1) Unconstitutional, and 2) antithetical to FREEDOM.
At least the pusillanimous step they are proposing to take is in the right direction.