[SittinYonder]

We can never as a nation be drug-free. No nation can, so we must accept that. So the message has to be more sophisticated than 'just say no' because that simple message doesn't work.

And Scottish Conservative justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell said: "I accept Wood's sincerity, but this is a very dangerous message to go out. I would never say that we have lost the war on drugs. Things are dire, but we should never throw up the white flag."

[SittinYonder]

I spent much of my police career fighting the drugs war and there was no one keener than me to fight it. But latterly I have become more and more convinced that it was never a war we could win.

FWIW ... Drug Tsar in Scotland says WOD there is lost.

[SittinYonder]

Ping.

[proxy_user]

Fortunately, in the US, we have a drug czar, not a drugs tsar.

[Joe Bfstplk]

Why didn't Singapore lose its war on drugs?

[postaldave]

wrong war and the wrong time?

end the war on pot and ramp up the war on real drugs. then you might have a real war worth fighting.

[KoRn]

We've lost it here too, just the big government crowd, and most conservatives can't let it go.

[headsonpikes]

Things are dire, but we should never throw up the white flag."

Absolutely! Protect the money interest in the drug trade at all costs!

[William Terrell]

"I strongly disagree when he says that the war on drugs in Scotland is lost. The Scottish Executive Drug Action Plan acknowledged that tackling drug misuse is a complex problem, demanding many responses. It is explicit within the strategy that to effectively tackle drug misuse, the various pillars of the plan cannot operate in isolation."

To properly evaluate Mr. Pearson's statement, we must ask if Mr. Pearson would have a problem making his house payment, car payment, buying groceries and paying bills if the Scottish war on drugs vanished.

[taxed2death]

I think everyone above the age of 18 (who wants to do drugs) should be supplied with any / all free drugs that they can shove down their gullet.

The "drug problem" would be over in about 6 months. It's the easiest cheapest solution.

[Ken H]

Tsar admits: we've lost the war on drugs,

Sheriff Joe Arpaio wouldn't put up with such a defeatist, nonsensical statement! Right?

______________________________________

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., knows the frustration in that sentiment. "I don't know how to stop the drug traffic, and I've been in it for 38 years," the sheriff, widely touted as the toughest cop in the nation, told Harper's in 2001. "I think if I knew, I'd be the president. I can give you what's been said 50 years ago. ... It's the same thing we're saying today – tough law enforcement, prevention, rehabilitation ... Nothing's changed.

The stuff coming across the border that we catch? Ten percent. Fifty years ago, 10 percent. Today, 10 percent. Nothing's changed ... I don't know how to solve the problem. Don't ask me."

-- http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1156176/posts

[Caipirabob]

Fine, we lost that one, now dismantle the program and give us a friggin' tax cut, losers!

[Irish Rose]

I've always found, "We've the lost drug war" a silly argument. Why is the fact that drugs are still used a reason for no longer trying to eliminate them? Since the founding of this nation, the government has lost the war on murder, and rape, and theft. We're not throwing in the towel on fighting those crimes. We need a more compelling reason to stop fighting the drug war.

[Zon]

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition -- LEAP. Their membership is strictly persons that are or have had careers in the justice system and fought the war on drugs. Judges, prosecutors, LEOS, DEA, etc.

[LibertarianInExile]

This is a VERY qualified sentence. I don't think it goes as far as the headline makes it out:

"For young people who have already said 'yes', who live in families and communities where everybody says 'yes', we have to recognise that the battle is long lost."

[Energy Alley]

I give the last word to IBM

http://www-1.ibm.com/services/uk/bcs/html/other/media/mpg/ibm_catapult_combo_rev_60_low.mpg

[mysterio]

Looks like Scotland is years ahead of America in the ability to see that the drug "war" can't be won. It can be lost though, year after year. Time to stop beating our head against the wall and find a different strategy.

[logician2u]

At least half a million Scots are believed to have smoked cannabis and 200,000 are believed to have taken cocaine.

Not to mention the several million who regularly consume demon Scotch . . .

[MEGoody]

Well, good. Now all the libertarians and druggies who want to decriminalize drug use can move to Scotland.

[IamConservative]

Taxation and regulation seem to be effective in stifling entrepreneurial activity. No profiteering, no drug problem.