by Christyl Rivers

Created on: September 07, 2010   Last Updated: September 08, 2010

The war on drugs is an industry that purports to serve society, but in many ways creates more criminals. Illegal drug dealing is a bloody, violent, harmful business.  Regulation is inconsistent, and sometimes insane.

Because harmful drugs can and do create cravings that lead to theft, assault, and murder, much effort goes into combating the trade.  For less harmful drugs, such as cannabis, enforcement is justified because these are lumped together with other criminal trades.

How did this come about?  In every situation where there is a living to be made, people will do so.  The “bad guys” sell the drugs.  The “good guys” work in a system of patrol, arrest, incarceration, court assessments, and more.  Where corruption exists, many profit from both sides.  It is hard to shut down a graft system which rewards many handsomely.

Drugs are just like money.  Addiction to either is destructive, yet need for them is obvious.  Both can be abused, and/or used wisely.  In fact, the same could be said of any resource, even the resource of earth itself.  Drugs both save lives, and kill people.  What needs to happen is to sort out which drugs are truly dangerous.  Many people will be surprised to know that the huge pharmaceutical corporations produce and sell some of the most destructive substances.  At the same time, that shady looking character on the corner could be selling less harmful pain management marijuana for your grandmother.

A clear distinction is made between which one is the “dangerous outlaw.”  It is backwards.

Distinctions are made among substances too, but they are contradictory and not consistent.  Tobacco, alcohol, and even caffeine are recognized as drugs by most, but are not affected by complex drug schedules of controlled substances.

Which drugs are deemed acceptable, and which are deemed demonic, largely depends upon which era in history we examine, social and cultural norms, politics, and of course, profits.  Drunks and addicts have often been sources of our greatest arts and literature.

Illegal and legal drug trades fuel wars, terrorism, and global, as well as local economies.  Yet, in those nations with a “war on drugs” the very rich and powerful are almost never touched or impacted to slow the flow of narcotics. Often they are the officials themselves. Only those who are on the lowest rungs of the trade business

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