If Republicans are all for "small government", what's with the "War on Drugs&quo

...Who is the government to come in and say that a PLANT is illegal and you are a criminal for growing it and a criminal for what you choose to put in your own body?

Who is the government to build massive amounts of jails and a criminal justice beurocracy just to house political %26quot;criminals%26quot; ie NON violent drug offenders (50% of jail population),

diverting the police and investigators attention away from REAL criminals, like murderers, child molesters and rapists?

And filling our court houses with BS red tape?

Is this all to create government jobs

and kill two birds with one stone, the poor are sedated and have drugs to sell, and when caught, are housed in jails keeping the unemployment rate low while creating more jobs for government workers?

If Republicans are all for %26quot;small government%26quot;, what%26#039;s with the %26quot;War on Drugs%26quot;?

I think you are confusing several distinctly separate issues and are attempting to tie them all together into one neat little package.

First, who is the government? It is %26quot;We The People...%26quot; You may have been too zoned out in your governments class to catch the part about the basis of all civilizations being built upon governing laws designed to protect. You don%26#039;t strike me as the type to REALLY study the chemical composition of the various %26quot;plants to which you refer, their effects on the cell structure as well as the residule effects. Perhaps you should.

Your spelling (%26quot;beurocracy%26quot;) is even worse than mine! You were sitting in the back of the class? Or, you simply didn%26#039;t see a need to make it that day...

Here%26#039;s a thought for you: The poor are poor because of bad life decisions -- repeated decisions. You honestly think getting blasted out of one%26#039;s mind is going to help them make better decisions? They have little to no money, so you condone the idea of them spending what little they do not have on %26quot;recreation%26quot; such as Ipods, cell phones, beer, cigarettes and %26quot;plants?%26quot; I thought that was what cable TV was for!!! Personally, I%26#039;m tired of my tax dollars being wasted on this class of people and those who would condone the advocacy of such %26quot;lifestyles.%26quot;

If Republicans are all for %26quot;small government%26quot;, what%26#039;s with the %26quot;War on Drugs%26quot;?

loan

....cont.

Are you one of them by chance? Report It

|||Todays republicans are not the true republicans.|||looks as if you could land a job a NORML...go...|||You%26#039;ve got them all figured out. Good for you.

You left out the part about the evil Republicans and the CIA running the drug trade and making billions off of the misery of the poor minorities.|||I couldn%26#039;t agree more. And there is not much I could add to your thoughts...except that the decriminalization (note, not legalization) of marijuana would cut down the criminal statistics dramatically. This would be a very good first step. That, and the government getting their priorities straight...and focussing their attentions on issues that are important to the country, and winnable!|||Actually just to add to this. If that is their mission in which they claim it is, why do they avoid talking about it? Maybe because under this administration they have added something near 200,000 govt. jobs since Buttwipe took office. Seems kind of backwards huh.|||If you can%26#039;t see why preventing the flow of illegal drugs into America is important, you need some serious help.|||Also, they pretend to want to keep %26quot;big brother%26quot; out of America, yet see no problem with our army standing behind the Iraqi government and pointing a gun at the population.|||That is another interesting paradox of the supposed get rich republicans. If they wanted to get rich, they quit the war on drugs and tax them. Then they would have their friends import them for the fabulous profits.

And for Aslonas 鈥?you might think about what are the differences between republicans and conservatives.

%26quot;People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.%26quot;

- George Orwell|||You sound like you%26#039;re on drugs.|||Today%26#039;s republicans are more interested in the government regulating morality than they are about them upholding the Constitution of the United States of America.|||Because the GOP has too many fianancial ties to the drug industry to REALLY care about our kids more than money!|||The %26quot;War on Drugs%26quot; is just propaganda for show. There is no war it%26#039;s for appearences only. If they really wanted to get rid of drugs in the US they would have already.

I believe the government keeps illegal drugs in the market because honestly it controls Americans. It keeps people satiated and content. Imagine what it would be like if alcohol was suddenly banned? If it%26#039;s a violent place now, it we would be 100 times more so. Same reason cigarettes are not banned even though it%26#039;s proven harmful to your health.|||This is a very good question, but the dilemma is that most street drugs cause such things as paranoia and extreme anger and these lead very easily to violent behavior. And the truth is that most violent crimes, statistically, are performed by people who are on these street drugs at the time. So your question almost answers itself. I will say, though, I believe the government contributes to the drug problem in this country because there%26#039;s no way they can%26#039;t stop these illegal drugs from coming into our country - just no way. So, in the end, the whole thing, as you said, really does just perpetuate itself, doesn%26#039;t it?|||Their claims about a small government are purely propaganda...totally false......

Under the current administration, the size of the government in both number of people working, as well as expenditures, have risen to their highest levels in the history of the republic.

Dont be fooled.......|||The only difference between republicans and democrats is that I detest democrats more than I detest republicans.

I am a constitutional conservative and I DON%26#039;T support big government or the stupid war on drugs.

I consider both democrat and republicans to be looking out for what is best for them politically. Give a government money and power they shouldn%26#039;t have in the first place and you%26#039;ll rarely get it back.

The government, republican and democrat both are OUT OF CONTROL and we need a CLEAN SWEEP of the entire government to get rid of these career politicians that form the political class and are out for their own interests, NOT what is right and good for the country.|||The %26quot;small government%26quot; claim is just propoganda. Over the last 5 years the United States government has mushroomed in size and accumulated 3 TRILLION dollars of debt. All of this while under GOP control.

The GOP has always attacked Democrats and %26quot;Tax and Spend%26quot; but the story they won%26#039;t tell everyone is that the Republicans %26quot;BORROW and SPEND MORE%26quot;.

It will finally come to a nasty conclusion in 2020 when 33% of the US budget will be to pay interest on the DEBT !!! Wait until you see what the taxes will have to grow to in order to keep enverything else funded.

The only thing small about the GOP government is the long term planning.|||You are talking about a major, life-threatening epidemic in this counry! Small government or big government needs to step in for the safety issues. What in hell would this world be like w/ 1/2 the population stoned or high and putting their lives as well as innocent lives in constant danger? We have enough degenerates running loose as is and there are times when government mandates are necessary.|||I believe that the so called war on drugs is a farce. If you want to find the truth about why drugs, especially certain ones, are illegal, follow the money. What industries, for example, benefit the most from the fact that marijuana is illegal? If you want to learn the truth about most anything, the same thing applies...follow the money. Whoever has the most to gain, in terms of profit, is most likely behind whatever you are asking about! *sm*|||First, you%26#039;re statistics about 50% of jailed offenders in prison for drug offenses is inaccurate. The majority of those incarcerated for drug related offenses are for the sale and distribution of drugs!

Second, it is not the US government alone that provides for law making marijuana and THC illegal.

The United States with its International Treaties and agreements relate the following:

The Congressional findings in 21 U.S.C. 搂 801(7), 21 U.S.C. 搂 801(a)(2), and Template:21 state that a major purpose of the CSA is to %26quot;enable the United States to meet all of its obligations%26quot; under international treaties - specifically, the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The CSA bears many resemblances to these Conventions. Both the CSA and the treaties set out a system for classifying controlled substances in several Schedules in accordance with the binding scientific and medical findings of a public health authority. Under 21 U.S.C. 搂 811 of the CSA, that authority is the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Under Article 3 of the Single Convention and Article 2 of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the World Health Organization is that authority.

A provision for automatic compliance with treaty obligations is found at 21 U.S.C. 搂 811(d), which also establishes mechanisms for amending international drug control regulations to correspond with HHS findings on scientific and medical issues.

Unfortunately, many young drivers don%26#039;t understand the risks associated with marijuana use. Approximately one in six (15%) teens reported driving under the influence of marijuana, a number nearly equivalent to those who reported driving under the influence of alcohol (16%), despite higher prevalence of alcohol consumption among teens.

Research shows that smoking pot affects concentration, perception, coordination and reaction time, many of the skills required for safe driving.

In 2001, an approximately 38,000 high school seniors in the U.S. crashed while driving under the influence of marijuana and 46,000 crashed after driving under the influence of alcohol.

This response is NOT to make judgement against anybody...but to provide facts from reliable sources and not from teenage friends. There is no mistake that marijuana COULD be used responsibly just as drinking alcohol.

The problem lies with those who drink/drug and drive (in my own opinion). Additionally, my opinion is that until our government, based upon the majority vote, decides to rescind those international treaties and sway the medical authorities to change their opinion of marijuana, it will stay classified as a Schedule I drug!

Best wishes!|||The %26quot;small government%26quot; rhetoric of Republicans has been aimed primarily at the topic of ECONOMIC regulations. Historically, the federal government%26#039;s most important priorities have been to ensure a healthy, growing national economy and to ensure national security. Drug regulation was traditionally understood as being a subject regulable by the states.

The federal-jurisdiction/state-jurisdiction dichotomy has been signifigantly blurred during the 20th century. The federal government has been taking on an increasing sense of responsibility to %26quot;fight crime%26quot; and to nationalize issues which were previously at the discretion of the states instead. Much of the reason for this has been because of the Supreme Court%26#039;s interpretations of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

I am not interested in addressing your belief that drugs are used by non-violent persons and are less dangerous than murderers, child molesters, and rapists. I am only trying to respond to the issue of why the Republicans seem to have abandoned their belief in %26quot;small government.%26quot;|||There is no war on drugs. To much money is being made from drugs. The police department make money from seize property, lawyers make money from the arrest, Rich people get rich by up fronting money to dealers,politician skimming money from programs and making jobs for friends, etc.

If they wanted to stop cocaine from coming to the US, if would be cheaper to buy all the coca leaves in South America and burn them.