I followed a link to this documentary on Reddit the other day. There has been a great deal of press about medical marijuana lately, with Obama ordering the DEA to stop raids on California medical marijuana clinics this past week. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s statement that “his boss has told him that ending marijuana raids is now American policy” is a bold statement about the state of the drug war.
Suddenly, pursuing a war against our own people when over 20% admit using marijuana regularly, does not seem to be a popular way to spend people’s money during these tough economic times. The drug war has fed the prison industry, the law enforcement industry, and wasted trillions of dollars, thanks in large part to Richard Nixon’s paranoia about blacks, Jews, and hippies. And we the taxpayer, are paying for it.
The DEA budget for 2009 is $2 billion, and the Federal prison system? Oh, that’s another $5.5 billion. On a side note ladies – The Justice Department slashed the Office of Justice Programs, COPS, Office on Violence Against Women budget by 65%, or 1.5 BILLION in 2009).
80% of the DEA’s budget is spent prosecuting the war on marijuana, quite possibly the most useful plant in the history of, well, the world. All for hemp, a plant that can supply fuel, clothing, food, fabric, as well as cures for countless ailments, including lung cancer.
Prohibition didn’t work for alcohol. It isn’t working now.
I know that it’s a bit long, but watch the video. Even if you don’t smoke pot, and according to statistics, most of us don’t, watch just to see how your hard earned tax dollars are being spent, while everything else seems going to hell in a hand basket.
