America, Land of the Free?

America, Land of the Free?

Whoever told you that is your enemy...

"According to a new federally backed study conducted at the University of California, Irvine, [California]’s corrections costs have grown by about 50 percent in less than a decade and now account for about 10 percent of state spending — nearly the same amount as higher education."

from the New York Times.

Spending as much to lock people up as you do to educate the youth!?!??!!?!?!?!?

The bigger picture comes into play here -- a failing and irresponsible War on Drugs perpetuated since Richard Nixon that needs to be ended or amended very soon. This policy has greatly evaporated the resources in this country, and when you have the most populous state in the Union spending as much on prison as they do on education, you know something is wrong. Marijuana should not be illegal -- its criminalization was a complete farce passed in the 1970s with largely racial undertones in the Congress. The American Medical Association never said it was harmful enough to be regulated, and opposed the very first bill against marijuana -- the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.

"Since the medicinal use of cannabis has not caused and is not causing addiction, the prevention of the use of the drug for medicinal purposes can accomplish no good end whatsoever. "

Other drugs like cocaine, heroine, methamphetamines -- drugs I do not use or support the use of -- should be decriminalized. People who use these drugs are in need of help the same way alcoholics are. An entire one percent of the adult population in this country is in jail, and one-third of those people are non-violent drug offenders.

Obama and McCain have held three debates and debated ad nauseum about saving the taxpayers money. How about ridding us of this silly, expensive, and futile war.

Prohibition never works as well as regulation.