Speaker by Various Artists

But it wasn’t until a man named William Bennett became the first ever ‘Drug Czar’, that the conflict took off. Bennett, with his policies driven by fear and moral conservatism, turned America’s law enforcement apparatus into a machine for chewing up human — mainly Black and Latin — lives.

Where there's smoke there's fire. William Bennett also happens to think gangsta rap (not that I'm a diehard fan of it) and video games are right down there with weed.

Brilliant. Love to help.

I'm hanging out to celebrate the Drug Peace :)

I'm hanging out to celebrate the Drug Peace

That was something else that Nadelman was talking about. What happens next. Well there are all sorts of other things to keep us busy on the human rights front, because it's not just about drugs, it's about racism and inequality too.

because it’s not just about drugs, it’s about racism and inequality too.

I have a Matters of Substance story coming up based on interviews with Maori MPs about drug law. There is a quite a range of positions, but a broad recognition of the way the justice system hurts Maori.

But man, I think we need everyone to have a clear understanding of words like "decriminalisation", because that's not the case right now.

I’m hanging out to celebrate the Drug Peace :)

I thought that about the Cod Wars…

Joking aside, we have to realise a vast industry has grown up around the demonisation of drugs, the “Meth House Cleaners” for a start.
It cost as much to “clean” a house as it does to refurbish the entire property, around $30,000 and how is it even necessary to have to “clean” a house after the consumption of 2 or 3 “pipes”?.
It is as bad as the Asbestos over reaction.

There's stuff from political folk in the US that said the whole point of the drug laws in the 80's was a new way to criminalise and ostracise black people by the Republican party. It's not that the harshest laws hit the minorities hardest, it's that attacking minorities was the whole point of the thing.

When they talked about "inner city drug problems" it was just dog-whistle politics. It got votes because it really only hurt black people and everyone knew that. Ferguson running the city budget on crazy fines for black people and the associated riots and brutal enforcement aren't new there.

Or here, really. "Māori privilege", "Māori violence in the home", "Māori underachievement", and all that. How we help by having the state steal more land and sell it to keep taxes lower. Still.

These days it's the "war on terror", which is obviously there to harass people of the currently demonised ethnicity who have something we want, which is exactly why people vote for it.

The "Meth House Cleaning Industry" reminds me of Breaking Bad's Vamonos Pest, where they use a house fumigation company as cover for their meth lab. Taking this one stage further, a miscreant could use a meth lab cleanup firm as cover to run their own meth lab for a few days before they finish their "cleanup".

Now there's an idea…