Lakewood: It's Time For The Talk About The War On Drugs

Don't shoot! I'm just a poppy.

Although I don't garner much news or information from corporate controlled mainstream media sources, I am still acutely aware of the burgeoning heroin epidemic in Cuyahoga County, Northeast Ohio and elsewhere. It appears that heroin use, once relegated primarily to impoverished hapless dregs of inner city slums, has gotten a facelift, thanks in part to its cultural appeal and glamorization as being trendy and hip. Our favorite musicians, entertainers, celebrities and fashion models (Heroin chic) are using or have used smack, so it must somehow be cool and fashionable. Fanning the flames is a decrease in price, increase in purity and availability and apparent steady demand. Over 90% of non-pharmaceutical grade opiates originate from Afghanistan, where Afghan farmers cultivate and harvest poppies, from which opium is extracted and further refined into heroin. Under the watchful eyes and protection of U.S. military troops, opium production in Afghanistan has been on the rise since the U.S. occupation began in 2001. As a consequence, cultivation of poppies across the war-torn region has spiked 36% in 2013, and total opium production has ballooned to a staggering 5,500 tons, up by almost half since 2012. The U.S. military in Afghanistan, presumably under orders from our Supreme Commander Barry Soetoro, a.k.a. Barack Obama, has evidently allowed poppy cultivation to continue in efforts to assuage farmers and government officials involved in the illicit drug trade who might otherwise renounce the Karzai puppet regime in Kabul. Fueling both sides, the opium and heroin industry is both a product of the war and an essential source for ongoing conflict. Photographs, which are in the public domain, depict armed American and U.S.-trained Afghan soldiers patrolling poppy fields in Afghanistan.

Ever since president Richard Nixon declared a “war on drugs" in 1971, which prompted the creation of the DEA, the United States has been relatively ineffective in establishing and maintaining a unified and cohesive drug policy that would both curtail the flow of drugs across our borders and effectively manage drug abuse prevention and control initiatives. We can't even keep drugs out of controlled and secure environments, like prisons and public housing projects. Billions have been spent/wasted over the last 40+ years on this so called war, with no end in sight. The deliberate and covert use of drug money (narco-dollars) to fight proxy wars, manage Geo-political affairs and promote U.S. foreign policy illustrates the hypocrisy and moral turpitude of the Powers that be. During the early to mid 1980's, copious amounts of cocaine was smuggled into, among other U.S. destinations, a small clandestine airport in Mena, Arkansas. The shipments from Central America came compliments of the CIA in partnership with the Venezuelan National Guard. In a CIA orchestrated guns-for-drugs exchange with Contra rebels in Nicarauga, weapons and munitions were delivered to Contra rebels in exchange for drugs, all with an apparent wink and a nod from then Arkansas Governor, Bill "I didn't inhale" Clinton. Maybe Slick-Willy didn't inhale but his half brother, convicted cocaine trafficker Roger Clinton Jr. in a 1984 police surveillance videotape, remarked, "Got to get some for my brother. He's got a nose like a vacuum cleaner." Vast right-wing conspiracy?  Wouldn't bet my bottom narco-dollar.

United States Federal Judge Robert Bonner, former head of the DEA during the Bush 1 administration openly admitted in a 1993 Sixty Minutes interview, that the CIA, with cooperation of the DEA, allowed a ton of pure cocaine, worth hundreds of millions to enter the U.S. Some believe 10 to 15 tons is a more accurate figure. Banks like Wachovia/Wells Fargo et al, feasted on the lucrative drug trade, laundering billions for the cartels, reaping vast profits. For a fascinating overview of narco dollars and how the money works in the illicit drug trade, I recommend  Narcodollars for Beginners: by Catherine Austin Fitts, a former housing commisioner in the H.W. Bush administration.

Nixon declared dangerous drugs public enemy number one in the 70's, with subsequent iterations by Reagan and Bush during their administrations. The catchy slogan "just say no" was coined by Nancy Reagan in the war on drugs advertising campaign during her husband's presidency. Succinct and concise, it gave children the ammo to fend off solicitations from the neighborhood dope dealer. Interestingly, another catchy slogan cropped up around the same time... "Just do it." The highly ineffective anti-drug program D.A.R.E was launched in 1983 to educate school children about the evils of illicit drugs and alcohol. Scientific evaluation studies have consistently shown that DARE is ineffective in reducing the use of alcohol and drugs and is sometimes even counterproductive; worse than doing nothing. That's the conclusion of the U.S. General Accounting Office, the U.S. Surgeon General, the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Education, among many others. And you wonder why federal funding has been cut?

Unfortunately, we now also have an epidemic which includes legal prescription drugs. From the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. "Overdose deaths from prescription painkillers have skyrocketed in the past decade. Every year, nearly 15,000 people die from overdoses involving these drugs—more than those who die from heroin and cocaine combined."  And just how many people has "Big Pharma" killed or injured? Hard to find a major pharmaceutical company not embroiled in class action litigation these days. Merck's cash-cow vioxx killed nearly 28,000 alone according to FDA estimates.

This so called War on Drugs is nothing more than a facade, an illusion. It's more like a war on people. Minorities and the poor are disproportionately targeted for criminal prosecution and imprisonment, primarily for low level offenses. This, I believe, is intentional as it fuels the prison industrial complex, which is increasingly run by, for profit, private corporations. Like a motel, 100% occupancy is the ultimate objective. Conversely, insanely wealthy Drug-Lords (shouldn't they be called Drug-Devils?) and their cartels loom in the shadows protected by the amenities that their wealth affords them: high-tech surveillance equipment, weapons, cash for bribes, protection from prosecution, alliances with corrupt politicians and government agencies. When the head of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Grasso met with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) in 1999, it was demonstrably to ensure the continued circulation of cocaine capital through the US financial system. The affable Grasso graciously extended invitations to the leftist guerrillas to visit Wall Street for a first-hand view of how the U.S. financial system worked. The fact that the U.S. State Department declared (FARC) a narco-terrorist organization evidently didn't matter.

Americans continue to be the largest consumers of illegal drugs worldwide and heroin just happens to be the hip choice du jour; like cocaine was in the 80's, LSD in the 60's. At least the criminalization of marijuana use and possession has relaxed over the decades. Fifty years ago, possession of a couple joints got you a couple years in the joint.The historical significance of how and why the illicit drug trade is so powerful and pervasive should never be underestimated or disregarded. As you may have guessed by now, it's all about power, control and money. Greed, corruption, violence and addiction are just the unfortunate negative side effects. Concerning the local impact of heroin in suburbs like Lakewood, community Town Hall forums have been established to elevate awareness, educate and advocate. In my opinion, this is analogous to putting a bandaid on a gushing wound or sticking your finger in the dyke. Furthermore, this approach targets symptoms instead of actual causes. The obvious core problem has been a massive increase in production, refinement and distribution of opium and heroin, which I believe is a consequence of Big Brother geo-political bootstrapping. As long as illegal drugs continue to be a multi-billion dollar industry with tentacles entangling global financial markets, banking institutions and multi-national corporations, there is not likely to be any long term solutions forthcoming. Like the war on terror, the war on drugs will serve as a constant reminder that the enemy is merely an aberration of the machinations of a well-designed illusion.

http://www.projectknow.com/15-famous-heroin-addicts-and-why-they-used/

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/VitalSigns/PainkillerOverdoses/

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/vioxx_estimates.html

http://www.scribd.com/doc/131231070/60-MINUTES-Head-of-DEA-Robert-Bonner-Says-CIA-Smuggled-Drugs

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/03/us-bank-mexico-drug-gangs

http://www.scribd.com/doc/131345354/NYSE-Chief-Richard-Grasso-Meets-Rebels-in-Colombia-to-Encourage-Investment-in-the-USA

http://1984arkansasmotheroftheyear.blogspot.com/2012/02/bill-clinton-was-1980s-cokehead.html

http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/35298

http://nationalreport.net/obama-extends-u-s-occupation-of-afghan-opium-production-to-2018/