OK, so I am sick to death about these commercials that blame drug users for terrorism. Anybody who understands the economics involved with illicit drugs knows that while lots of money gets spent on drugs, that money doesn't fund terrorism. It doesn't even go to the terrorists. So, lets say that I am a druglord or a terrorist that funds my operation with drug money. Why the hell would I want to kill my customer base? The fact is, if drugs were not illegal, and were regulated by the FDA, the money would instead go into government coffers, and the black market that makes drug sales so astronomically profitable would disappear. Therefore, drug users don't support terrorism, drug LAWS support terrorism.
Now, back to my topic. Drivers of cars that get poor gas mileage support terrorism. Where is that commercial? Understand that I am a driver of a truck that gets roughly 8 mpg, so I am not trying to be a jerk, but it's true. Al-qiada is almost entirely funded by wealthy oil baron fundamentalist muslims. Sure, they also sell drugs, but research has shown that the drugs they produce (opiates), while quite valuable, do not produce anywhere near the revenue that oil does. There are roughly 100,000 regular users of heroin in the United States, but EVERY AMERICAN, even children, is hopelessly dependant upon oil. We are so addicted, our economy couldn't function AT ALL without it. So people that do not use fossil fuels efficiently are supporting terrorism by not using it conservatively. My point of contention lies with people that buy a new Excursion or Suburban to drive themself around, and don't need it to tow a boat or motorhome. They just buy it to have a big vehicle, under the illusion that they are "safer". It's sickening.
So, instead of trying to convince me that I should criticize drug users for supporting terrorists, they should be telling me to conserve gasoline because it's the only necessary resource we cannot supply entirely within our own holdings!
BDV

 

Actually only 3/4 of your money goes to terrorism, the rest goes to Alaska Feel better now

 

A little bit better. But isn't there some kind of crazy Inuit terror cell that's trying to infiltrate the Halibut industry by shooting paintballs at passing ships?
SUV'S ARE DESTROYING THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY! RED LOBSTER WILL FALL OF THE FACE OF THE EARTH! They had better make a commercial warning the good sheeple of America about the dangers of SUV use on the price of fish.
BDV

 

I find it ironic. All that gasoline they used to torch those SUVs.

I wonder what the particulate emissions of an Expedition is when it's engulfed in flames...

 

>A little bit better. But isn't there some kind of crazy
>Inuit terror cell that's trying to infiltrate the Halibut
>industry by shooting paintballs at passing ships?
>SUV'S ARE DESTROYING THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY! RED LOBSTER WILL
>FALL OF THE FACE OF THE EARTH! They had better make a
>commercial warning the good sheeple of America about the
>dangers of SUV use on the price of fish.
>BDV

Too Funny!

 

Yep, the problem is if they make drugs legal, then lots of law enforcement and an entire agency will lose their jobs. In addition, its no secret that 'bosses' pay off the authorities. Who knows how much drug money ends up in the hands of politicians, one way or another. The propossed tax from legalized sale of drugs doesn't hold a candle to their current revenues, obviously, or pot would be legal.

I'm right there with ya, anybody that buys a SUV to haul lattes home from starbucks should be held accountable for supporting terrorism. They should be taxed and the money taken to fund the 'war' of terror.

 

I've ranted for days about this War on Drugs issue. You know, the tide is slowly starting to turn against the DEA and the ONDCP, because people are getting smarter about this issue. If you watched football yesterday (saturday), you saw the new "drugs=terror" commercial with the two affluent white guys talking about it, with one guy preaching to the guy who starts out with a sensible point of view...it's the stupidest commercial I have seriously ever seen! Anybody who's attended college (which is the type of person I am assuming they are trying to portray with this character) would IMMEDIATELY tear that guys logic to shreds; I sit on my couch and want to throw my beer at my TV! The older, presumably wiser guy gives the other guy a "chain of accountability" that starts with a guy buying a bag of weed and ends up with a kid getting shot by a drug lord...gimme a break! He left out about 5 players in the chain, because those 5 players are all people that wanted to make that commercial.
Eventually, I am hoping, people will get sick of it and do something to change the current policies that go after the end-consumer and throw them in jail. Our prisons are full enough.
I want to keep typing, but my keyboard will catch on fire...
BDV

 

Actually, getting bad gas mileage keeps the other "more moderate" players in the oil business. Saudi Arabia, the home of terrorism, is by far the low cost producer of oil. if the price of oil fell as everyone bought 50mpg econoboxes, all the other higher cost nations would be unable to compete. (Russia, europe, etc), and all the money would flow to Saudi. That would be bad.

so, keep driving your gas using automobile that you choose to drive because this is America and do your part to support moderate states.

But yes, the drug war commercials are so unbelievably stupid it's not even funny. It's like Reefer Madness days all over. Truly stupid. Make the government look even dumber. And why are they using OUR tax money to do such stupid things? I KNOW i could come up with better uses for MY money.

 

I don't know, they're making more and more busts now days. With the extra liberties law enforcement can take with people. All they need to do is say you're working for a foreign government and you have no more rights, really.

The whole reason behind pot being illegal started as a reason to deport mexicans that were stealing farm work from the US residents. They had this stamp you had to buy, but you couldn't buy it unless you had so much pot in your hand, but you couldn't have the pot in hand until you had a stamp. A catch-22 that resulted from some loop-hole in the law. Anyway, they deported alot of mexicans this way. Then the propaganda machine started up and took us down the road to piety.

As for those commercials, I think any sensible person wouldn't buy into that nonsense anyway, and any drug addict is not going to stop due to that rhetoric. I'm getting sick of hearing about terrorism. We lost 250,000 people last year from doctors that are supposed to be our friends. Not to mention the plethora of other ways we die, not including terrorism. Why aren't we morning them? We can do more about those things. Death by terrorist has got to be one of the most unlikely ways to die. You stand a better chance of winning the lottery than ever being in a terror attack.

 

RanDawg, I wrote an essay in college about Hemp prohibition, and I have it on my hard drive. If you'd like to read it, I'll e-mail it to you. Just lemme know.
Sure, they are making lots of busts, but not as many as they would like you to believe. Besides, if they used half of the resources they waste finding, busting, prosecuting and imprisoning non-violent drug offenders on more important things like health care and education, we wouldn't have the drug problem they want you to think we have.
There are more non-violent drug offenders in prison than any other type of criminal, and it's been that way for 10 years. Of course, there are far more drug consumers than rapists, murderers and robbers, but if those drug offenders were released from prison, there would be no worry about prison space. We have a higher percentage of our population in prison than any other country in the world, including China and Russia, and it's because of the War on Drugs, which is really nothing more than a War on the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. You would schlitz your skivvies if you knew how many of your rights have been taken away from you in the name of drug eradication, which is ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE.
I don't see why the terrorist organizations don't just contribute their money and energy to the War on Drugs; it would bring our people down much faster than flying planes into buildings.
BDV

 

Big Daddy, I would be very interested in reading your essay. Quantrex454(No Email Addresses In Posts!)
Those commercials you mention have to be taken with a grain of salt. Remember, most actors consume drugs as part of their job and most producers and directors allow a certain amount of drug use on all their movies and TV studio sets; not taking action until the performer is too enibriated to do his job. It's even a running dialogue on the Tonight Show.
I find it amusing that they are trying to equate drug taking with terrorism. The last thing most of the drug cartels want is a war involving the US simply because the increased security makes it harder to import their product and any backlash against them would cut into their profits. Although terrorists might use drug sales as a means to finance their operations, these groups are generally small and scattered; because if they became too large, the drug cartels themselves would take control of them.

 

BDV, appreciate the offer the view your work.
Guess I better get MY writing up to code.

I get wind of certain changes, if you catch my drift. The smaller, very local newspapers are reporting an increased incidence of arrests, especially by the troopers. Maybe it's not a homogenius, nationwide occurance; but, days are getting hard for the local dealers. We live in the information age and the enforcement branch has the most of it. There are alot of them too. I can't drive anywhere w/o seeing a partrolman (driving around all day in gas guzzling crown vics or ltd's). Maybe that's a good thing, since the comming economy will bring an increase in crime.

Yep, the prision situation is pretty well documented. I can offer a thought. People are generally happier in good times, and the 90's showed us the best of times. When times are bad, people get desparate. They do things they shoudln't. Violent crime will rise compared to drugs use in the future. The law enforcement techniques will be hailed a success.

Something just don't seem right about letting ALL the drug offenders out of prison; however, having a record number of inmates, and the majority of them are "solely" drug offenders, is concerning.

I do agree that the war on drugs is no more winable than prohibition was. However, I don't want homeboys in my hood coked up either. I don't mind stoners, but cokeheads and alcoholics are the worst. If they're not begging, they're stealing. One or the other. But I suppose locking them up is better than shooting them.

 

YOU have it all wrong.......SUV owners are working for the devil.says the preacher i saw on TV

 

I suppose that letting all the drug offenders out of prison is illogical, but if they released the NON-VIOLENT offenders, and treated them for addiction or probated them, it would be much less costly than imprisoning them. I agree that the coke dealer that beat some guy with a pipe should remain in jail, but the pot dealer that only sold to his buddies from his own house does not belong in jail.
As far as Saudi Arabia getting all the proceeds from our oil addiction, that really wouldn't be so bad. Those Saudi's would be happy as a clam if we funneled more money into their country, and their sponsorship of terrorism would decrease considerably. I would much rather the Saudis and the Kuwaitis get the money then the Iraquis, but I have to say this: does Saudi Arabia remind anybody of France? We bailed them out just like we did France after Dienbienfu, and kept them from even having to fight in the Gulf War. And now they are saying we can't use their land to stage an attack on Iraq. Ingrateful shmucks...
BDV

 

>I agree
>that the coke dealer that beat some guy with a pipe should
>remain in jail, but the pot dealer that only sold to his
>buddies from his own house does not belong in jail.