“[T]ake the war on drugs. The average American says, "The war on drugs has been beneficial." The rest of us see reality. This war has destroyed thousands of Americans. It is also a pretext for government agents to rob innocent people in airports and on the highways - they seize and confiscate large amounts of cash and say to their victims: "Sue us if you don't like it." And more and more judges, politicians, intelligence agents, and law-enforcement officers are on the take - as dependent on the drug-war largess as the drug lords themselves.” PeopleIfsHas BeensWarRealityGovernmentLawLordJudgingAmountPoliticianDrugVictimAverageInnocentDestroyedAgentsDependentOfficersCashLaw EnforcementEnforcementHighwaysAirportsBeneficialWar On DrugsPretext Author:Jacob G. Hornberger
“No-knock police raids destroy Americans' right to privacy and safety. People's lives are being ruined or ended as a result of unsubstantiated assertions by anonymous government informants. ... Unfortunately, no-knock raids are becoming more common as federal, state, and local politicians and law enforcement agencies decide that the war on drugs justified nullifying the Fourth Amendment. ... No-knock raids in response to alleged narcotics violations presume that the government should have practically unlimited power to endanger some people's lives in order to control what others ingest.” PeopleShouldWarStatesGovernmentLawOrderResultsCommonBecomingPoliticianDrugShould HavePoliceSafetyResponseLocalsAgencyPrivacyAmendmentsFourthUnlimitedLaw EnforcementRuinedEnforcementJustifiedViolationAssertionBecoming MoreWar On DrugsNarcoticsUnlimited PowerRight To PrivacyFourth AmendmentInformants Author:James Bovard
“Have you ever noticed that the only metaphor we have in our public discourse for solving problems is to declare war on it? We have the war on crime, the war on cancer, the war on drugs. But did you ever notice that we have no war on homelessness? You know why? Because there's no money in that problem. No money to be made off of the homeless. If you can find a solution to homelessness where the corporations and politicians can make a few million dollars each, you will see the streets of America begin to clear up pretty damn quick!” IfsKnowsMadeWarProblemAmericaMillionsClearStreetsCrimePoliticianDrugSolutionsDollarsMetaphorCancerCorporationsDamnProblem SolvingHomelessDiscourseHomelessnessMillion DollarsNo MoneyWar On DrugsNo WarPublic Discourse Author:George Carlin
“Power is a drug on which the politicians are hooked. They buy it from the voters, using the voters' own money.” PoliticianDrugVotersHooked Author:Richard J. Needham
“I'm not guilty. You're the one that's guilty. The lawmakers, the politicians, the Colombian drug lords, all you who lobby against making drugs legal. Just like you did with alcohol during Prohibition. You're the one who's guilty. I mean, c'mon, let's kick the ballistics here: ain't no Uzi's made in Harlem. Not one of us in here owns a poppy field. This thing is bigger than Nino Brown. This is big business. This is the American way.” WayMeanMadeBigsLordFieldsLike YouPoliticianDrugBiggerAlcoholGuiltyKicksBrownProhibitionBig BusinessHarlemPoppiesNot GuiltyLawmakersBallistics Author:Wesley Snipes
“You think the politicians that run my country and your country don't have guns in the schools their kids go to? They do. And we should be allowed the same rights. Banning guns is like banning forks in an attempt to stop making people fat. Taking away guns, taking away drugs, the booze, it won't rid the world of criminality.” PeopleThinkingWorldShouldCountryRunningKidsSchoolRightsPoliticianDrugGunFatsForksBoozeCriminality Author:Vince Vaughn
“Politicians will promise some pretty ridiculous things. They will promise a chicken in every pot. They'll promise that they'll keep Social Security solvent. They'll promise drugs for old people. They'll promise lots of stuff. But it doesn't come near the kind of promises that religion makes. The Mormons promise that if you're good while you're on Earth, you get to rule over your own planet in the afterlife. Now, there's an entitlement that goes a little bit beyond prescription drugs for old people.” PeopleIfsKindLittlesEarthSocialStuffBitsSecurityPlanetsPoliticianPromiseDrugLittle BitRidiculousOver YouChickensPotAfterlifeOld PeopleSocial SecurityEntitlementPrescriptionsPrescription DrugsRidiculous Things Author:Bill Maher
“Psychedelic drugs cause paranoia, confusion, and total loss of reality in politicians that have never taken them.” RealityCausesLossTakenPoliticianDrugConfusionPsychedelicParanoiaPsychedelic Drugs Author:Timothy Leary
“My measure of success is to walk into a restaurant and hear a table debating drug policy. Once the public start the conversation, the politicians will join - that is when we can create real change.” RealWalksPolicyPoliticianDrugConversationTablesRestaurantsMeasure Of SuccessReal ChangeDrug Policy Author:Sam Branson
“I think crime is a huge issue for people. If you were living in the poorest state, and you've got drug dealers at the end of the street, and your life's in misery, and you're afraid of your kids going out the door. I mean, the job of progressive politicians is to do something about that.” PeopleIfsThinkingMeanEndsStatesKidsJobsIssuesDoorsStreetsCrimeHugePoliticianDrugMiseryProgressiveGoing OutPoorestDealerDrug Dealers Author:Tony Blair
“Colombia is a different country today. The state is now present in every single corner, the drug lords are in jail or dead. So we have the means to guarantee the security of FARC politicians.” MeanDifferentCountryStatesTodayLordSecurityPoliticianDrugCornersGuaranteesJailColombiaDifferent Countries Author:Juan Manuel Santos
“Corporations that are turning over these huge profits can own everything: the media, the universities, the mines, the weapons industry, insurance hospitals, drug companies, non-governmental organisations. They can buy judges, journalists, politicians, publishing houses, television stations, bookshops and even activists. This kind of monopoly, this cross-ownership of businesses, has to stop.” KindHouseCompanyMediaTelevisionMinesJudgingHugeIndustryPoliticianDrugWeaponsCrossesUniversityProfitJournalistCorporationsStationsHospitalsActivistPublishingOwnershipMonopolyOrganisationBookshopsDrug CompaniesPublishing House Author:Arundhati Roy
“It's going to have to come to a point where politicians in their own political self-interest think it's safe and advantageous to come out on the side of drug law reform. Right now, they don't care about drug safety. They just care about their standing with the electorate.” ThinkingSelfCareLawPoliticalSidesInterestPoliticianRight NowDrugSafeStandingSafetyDon't CareReformSelf InterestElectorateDrug Laws Author:Rick Steves
“Three strikes' laws make no sense as policy. They are more about the politicians responding to the people's desire to see their fury at social dysfunction reflected in the law. Our sentences are way too long. We need to look at the war on drugs, which is to say we need to look and this is easier said than done. Once again, politically, not an easy lift at all. Nevertheless, our policy is self-defeating. We're not keeping people from using the substances. We're creating a huge black market, just like we did under prohibition, which attracts all kinds of criminal enterprise.” PeopleKindLongWarDoneDesireEasyBlackPolicyPoliticianDrugAll KindsEnterpriseFuryProhibitionWar On Drugs Author:Glenn Loury