A Conversation With Barack Obama : Rolling Stone
ROLLING STONE: The War on Drugs has cost taxpayers $500 billion since 1973. Nearly 500,000 people are behind bars on drug charges today, yet drugs are as available as ever. Do you plan to continue the War on Drugs, or will you make some significant change in course?OBAMA: Anybody who sees the devastating impact of the drug trade in the inner cities, or the methamphetamine trade in rural communities, knows that this is a huge problem. I believe in shifting the paradigm, shifting the model, so that we focus more on a public-health approach. I can say this as an ex-smoker: We’ve made enormous progress in making smoking socially unacceptable. You think about auto safety and the huge success we’ve had in getting people to fasten their seat belts.
The point is that if we’re putting more money into education, into treatment, into prevention and reducing the demand side, then the ways that we operate on the criminal side can shift. I would start with nonviolent, first-time drug offenders. The notion that we are imposing felonies on them or sending them to prison, where they are getting advanced degrees in criminality, instead of thinking about ways like drug courts that can get them back on track in their lives — it’s expensive, it’s counterproductive, and it doesn’t make sense.
Same old wine in a different bottle. Maybe a clean bottle, and not a filthy one this time.
I am afraid that Obama is “Hillary light”. He appears to be run by big money like all politicians even with the internet money bomb in his pocket. Remember Clinton’s drug policy? He won’t change it. He can’t as long as Washington stays with the military industrial complex and lobbyists as their real bosses. Too much machinery moving too fast to pull it to a screeching halt.
Where is campaign financing reform? What happened to Kucinich? I thought he was going to change things when he was put in charge of money for the drug warrior’s budget.
Do not count on the end of any wars just yet. The peeps have not gotten mad enough yet to vote sanity in. At least we still have some freedom left to vote. So go vote dammit and stop these stupid wars for oil, money, racism & keeping drug war/prison jobs!
Get up to Minn. for the Ron Paul Freedom Rally on Sept 1. Show some support. He has the real answers to regaining sanity with drug regulation not war. Next election, watch out!
Obama will be sympathetic though and I am sure we will see some positive changes with an all-democratic legislature. Some changes, just not a lot of changes. Ones like, stopping DEA raids in Medical MJ states are on my wish list.
I do expect more states to allow medical MJ, just not my backwards state of Florida. At least not until most of the old folks (anyone older than me)& weirdo’s like Chain Gang Charlie die off or are brow-beaten until sense comes to them. This state is FULL of them (full, like the prisons)! Stoners beware! I may move to the West coast soon.
well i don’t agree with either of you.
i for one have faith in Obama and think he will help with the war on drugs. i don’t necessarily think that he’ll end it completely, no one person can do that, but i believe he will make a huge impact on it, and on society as we know it.
give him a chance.
I agree with dizil. Demoncrats have the same ugly record as Republicants. There may be hope but I can’t hold my breath that long.
Obama will not change the Drug war, he will do more of the same. Ron Paul is the only one who would end the drug war, but that time is gone.