FEDERAL MONEY FOR LOCAL DRUG WARS

Kentucky's two illustrious candidates for the Senate seat to be
vacated by Jim Bunning, Mr. Paul and Mr. Conway, are arguing over
financing the War on Drugs. Mr. Paul says that Federal money should
not be given to the states to fight what is essentially a local problem.

Mr. Conway believes that the War on Drugs cannot be fought on the
local level without Federal help. That Federal support for local drug
task forces is key in fighting the war.

The reality is our approach to drugs and substance abuse has not
recorded one successful year in which drug use has declined since
outright prohibition became Government policy.

President Nixon appointed a commission to study the drug problem and
make recommendations on what to do about it and then rejected the
commissions findings and declared the War On Drugs. Since then
numerous studies have repeatedly shown that the most successful
policies are those based on harm reduction.

This type of policy has been successful in those countries bold enough
to try them and seems , in the eyes of doctors, law enforcement people
and forward thinking politicians, to be the one that holds the
greatest chance for resolving the problems associated with drug abuse.
Sadly, neither Mr. Conway nor Mr. Paul are willing to recognize that
harm reduction policies work. They are perfectly happy to continue
following the 1914 Harrison Act blueprint of arrest ( over 800,000
citizens were arrested in 2009), incarceration, maybe rehab and back
to the community to do it all over again.

Conway favors more money, Paul less, but still more of the same,
arrest conviction, release. What Kentucky and the Nation needs are
legislators who are willing to admit that our current drug policies
are a failure.

Legislators who accept the scientific facts regarding our drug problem
and are willing to propose workable solutions.

It is said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and
expecting a different result.

Based on this it's obvious our current policies do not work, never
will, and it is insane to keep thinking that if we pursue these failed
policies with more money, more cops, and more arrests that they will
somehow work. To think this way is to rely on faith, not science.

Drug prohibition is not religion, although some prohibitionists act
like it is, and in order for us to be successful in confronting drug
abuse we must at long last discard faith and rely on science to show
us the way.