We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities.
John Ehrlichman-Aide to President Richard Nixon
As its golden jubilee approaches, some, if they are to think hard about it, will wonder, based on the quote above, why this farce is still being called The War on Drugs. Ehrlichman said it in so many words. It was power defending itself; reclaiming the power it thought it lost in the 1960s. This power was and is maintained by, among other things, propaganda; and propaganda, as many of us know, is built on the irrational fear of the other. But before the war on drugs was codified in official policy, there was always the vilification of minorities, and those who stepped out of the linear fossilized mode of thought that was dictated by the dominator culture. Therefore, by tying an ethnic group to the use of a drug, it could be demonized and hence that group could be bludgeoned into submission.
The word, marijuana many might not be aware, is used instead of cannabis because it was tied to Mexicans who were vilified because they were thought to be stealing jobs from white men. Opium was given a similar treatment to vilify Chinese immigrants. For blacks, it was cocaine initially. Since then the war has only intensified. It seems to be abating though since many US states are pushing to either legalize or decriminalize marijuana use. But the side-effects continue to be felt, and they will be felt for some time still.
Consequences of the Farcical War on Drugs
Over a trillion dollars spent without any tangible gains: This involves arming contras and other drug lords on several continents especially in South America.
Paying drug lords to produce and transport drugs:
a. Recently, Pablo Escobar’s son wrote a book revealing his father was on the CIA payroll. As an aside, we have hardly heard anything about that from the mainstream media.
b. Those who follow this issue closely may recall Gary Webb, who, long before Escobar’s son published his book, wrote in an investigative piece, which was to later become a book, how the CIA was bringing drugs into black neighborhoods. He was vilified by the mainstream media, until, the reports allege, he killed himself. The Washington Post gave him a posthumous apology. So, while Nancy Reagan was saying, Just Say No, the CIA was making sure she had a campaign worth waging.
c. There are also the fumigation practices instituted by Washington, where the Amazon was sprayed with herbicides to eradicate coca—the plant that is used to make cocaine. The long-term effects of this have not been studied, but aerial spraying was suspended because there were fears of a rise in the incidents of cancer and other diseases in those areas. Whether or not the spraying of herbicides gave rise to diseases is still not resolved. Though a complex interplay of other variables must be considered, one cannot discount the fact that this is something in need of further investigation. The question, however, is, who is going to believe a group of peasants in the jungle over people in Washington?
Thousands dying
The opioid epidemic that is now afflicting the United States provides a wonderful case study regarding this war. The abuse of prescription opioids is touted as the biggest drug problem in the United States, and probably in the world. With close to one hundred (100) Americans dying each day from prescription overdoses (higher than illegal drugs), why have we not seen anyone from big pharma prosecuted? As far as I know, no one has ever died from smoking marijuana, which I think should be called a medicine and not a drug, but this is for another article.
Purdue Pharma, the makers of opioids, has raked in billions. Her competitors have also made their fortune. There have been multiple lawsuits against Purdue and her competitors by families whose loved ones have died or have become addicted using their products. The result is that they have had to contend with paying out millions. Paltry sums in comparison to what they have earned.
Opioid Abuse down in States where Marijuana has been Decriminalized
Colorado, California, Oregon are among the states that have reported a 25% decrease in the level of opioid abuse. Therefore, if the aim is to stop people from abusing and dying from drugs, wouldn’t it make more sense to reclassify marijuana as a medicine that could be used to treat pain, and push for its use? One would acknowledge that more studies need to be done. To say, however, that we have nothing working with is rather ludicrous. The fact that no one has ever died from using marijuana should be a starting point where the statistics, garnered from the aforementioned states, irrespective of how crude, could be used as a starting point.
Conclusion
If indeed there was a war on drugs, the CIA would have been investigated. The owner of Purdue Pharmacy and the developers of drugs like Percocet, Oxycontin and other opioid and non-opioid drugs would have been convicted. By the way, does it strike anyone as odd that since the invasion of Afghanistan, poppy production has gone up? Also, that it should coincide with the present opioid crisis should give one pause to consider. After all, Fox News above every other news station has shown US soldiers protecting poppy fields. Don’t believe, watch the video below:
Also, if marijuana, a non-lethal plant, has proven itself to be a potential anti-dote in this so-call opioid epidemic, shouldn’t the top scientists in that area be called in to conduct studies?
Shouldn’t the moratorium on studies into substances like marijuana instituted by the Nixon administration be lifted?
If there really was a war on drugs, this piece would be completely unnecessary. It is a war on people. It is a war on one’s right to not only heal oneself, but also to decide what goes into one’s body. As my friend Nadine Muschette wrote:
"Your rights and freedoms end where mine begin. That meeting place, that line that separates the two even as it brings us together, is called respect."
Please, leave me while I light my spliff.
