Pixelated Semantics

A schizotypical inventory

Beyond sterile dichotomies and demented legacies

The "demented legacy" of the War on Drugs is finally seeping into the mainstream media:

"Do you know anyone who really believes in the 'war on drugs' as it is supposedly waged in the United States? It is widely understood to be the main index of pointless and costly and unjust incarceration, a huge source of corruption in police departments, and a cause of crime in its own right as well as a source of tainted and 'cut' narcotics. And that is before you even consider absurdities and cruelties like the denial of medical marijuana, or the diversion of personnel and resources from the war against more threatening gangsters. Our entire state policy, at home and abroad, is devoted not to stopping a trade that actually grows every year, but rather to ensuring that all its profitable means of production, distribution, and exchange remain the fiefdom of criminal elements."

The part that really needs to be understood here are the 6 words highlighed at the end: the "war on drugs" is designed and executed in a manner that ensures that most powerful criminal elements maintain control of supply. It has nothing to do with minimising harm: surely the fact that governments act and legislate to support criminality in very particular ways should be of concern and interest? Next time you see a media item on the newest generation of designer drugs, or intercepted shipments, ask yourself whether the coverage is informational, or advertorial. The distinction is important.

Item posted by AutoEditor at 11:07 am ::