Drug abuse continues to grow exponentially. The U.S. alone pours billions of dollars into this never-ending war and has a “drug enforcement” agency with more than 10,000 officers and staff. Many other U.S. law enforcement agencies participate in the war, too, adding to the ever-growing burden on taxpayers. Multiply that by the countless government entities worldwide who continue the “war” on drugs that began with U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1971 (54 years ago). He declared drug abuse “public enemy number one.”

However, the war on drugs has no chance of being won. The reality is that the “war on drugs” is a political gimmick to address a serious problem. And this problem circles the globe. This so-called war is likely the most costly war in history in terms of money spent and lives lost.

The media pays little attention to the longest-running war of the modern era, except when something “exciting” happens. Thus, the public is placated by attention to so-called “big hauls” of illicit drugs and the arrest of drug-using celebrities. The local media in Korea was abuzz with the recent arrest of the son of a National Assembly member who was charged with past drug use — not possession with intent to distribute, but hearsay allegation about use (which in many cases can, indeed, be verified through testing). But nothing about........

© The Korea Times