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Comment by Crito | Hacker News Reader

Prohibition feeds the cartels and gangs. If you want the criminal underworld to stop wreaking havoc on the lower classes, you need to take away their most profitable business, not cement their monopoly. It is just common sense that has been repeated ad nauseam throughout this thread, try reading what other people are saying.

The War on Drugs has been massively unsuccessful. The history of it gives us absolutely no reason to think that throwing even more money at it will improve anything at all.

Seriously, get real: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/29/t...

(And you are delusional if you think I support wars. What the hell are you even driving at there?)

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Those numbers are bullshit. The american view of drug industry, is more than bullshit.

I see the streets. Go to 6th and Market now, or 16th and Mission, both streets have tents that sell hard drugs. Every night, there are a lot of things going on there.

Who does even attempt to stop them? I lived in multiple countries, and the toleration I see here is just incredible. I saw those who sell and use heroins, and we (me and bunch of coworkers) just passed them.

Just a regular day. I don't believe your numbers. Plus; I believe, this entire business is a way to keep the poor classes as poor. Go read about Hasan Sabbah.

I think there's an unstated idea with the person you're debating here that drug addiction is a medical/psychological issue that drug cartels profit from by taking advantage of people with a disposition towards substance abuse, not social or commercial problem.

Do you now understand why you're getting nowhere in this debate? It's like trying to convince somebody that the solution to cancer is bringing in the army to defeat viruses.

If you disagree with the fundamental assumption, you would do well to state that.

"This entire business" only keeps people poor through the dual prongs of criminalisation keeping prices up and allowing people to be thrown in jail and thus making them far less employable.

The drug on war is a combination of christian moralism and class warfare, pure and simple, just like prohibition was. Just like then, the moralists managed to convince a lot of people that it was to protect or save them, and just like then it proved to do far more damage than good.

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