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A report at Alternet gives some context to the amount spent by the U.S. on its drug policy.
- 1,100 - The number of Americans that die each year due to violent crime caused by the drug war
- $51 billion - The amount that the U.S. government spends each year on the war on drugs
- 61 percent - The percentage of individuals targeted by drug-related SWAT raids who are people of color
- 82 percent - The number of Americans who believe that the government is losing the War on Drugs
- 18 months - The age of Bounkham "Bou Bou" Phonesavanh, a recent American casualty of the drug war
The article goes into further details on the number, including:
On May 28, a team of police officers raided the Phonesavanh's home, with the mistaken belief that the residents were involved with drugs. As they entered, they tossed a flashbang grenade that landed directly in the crib of baby Bou Bou, which exploded within point-blank range - critically injuring him.
In a harrowing article, his mother, Alecia, described seeing "a singed crib" and "a pool of blood", and later being informed by medics: "There's still a hole in his chest that exposes his ribs". Alecia said that the sole silver lining to this story is that it may "make us angry enough that we stop accepting brutal SWAT raids as a normal way to fight the war on drugs".
Fortunately, Bou Bou has been making a gradual recovery, but his family is relying on donations to support their living and medical costs.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Immerman on Friday July 11 2014, @03:20PM
>The only winners are the individuals & third parties who profit from the violent oppression of "suspects" and the commercialization of prisons.
Don't forget the drug lords - nothing like violent oppression to keep the black-market prices sky-high. Sure, their foot-soldiers have a rather poor life expectancy, but that's just the price of obscene profits.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 11 2014, @08:13PM
"What's easier to get: booze or pot?"
Answer: "Pot. They ask for ID for booze".
When you make stuff illegal, you lose all control.
Now, ask a doctor which is worse for human health: alcohol or cannabis?
Hint: Cannabis has been used medicinally for 3 millennia.
The 2nd item in the Related Stories portion above shows that when you control it and TAX IT, it's not only no longer a resource *sink*, it's now a revenue SOURCE.
Down in the thread, [soylentnews.org] metamonkey has a real firm grasp on how this is part of the Southern Strategy [wikipedia.org]
One item that bears repeated mention is how Reagan started his post-convention campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi, a touchstone for racial prejudice. [wikipedia.org]
Baby Boo Boo's story has me outraged.
I'm reassured now that this story finally made the front page.
My previous attempt [soylentnews.org] at getting attention for it was deleted from the queue.
-- gewg_