tommylicious
OBS Chief
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2013
- Messages
- 599
Well done to law enforcement. Keep this OFF our trains! http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/crime/214091169-story
Wait, did I read that correctly? Amtrak employees were stealing drugs from their own trains in order to funnel them along their own distribution path? What a mess. Maybe it's time we admitted Nancy Regan's hopelessly simplistic war on practical solutions isn't working and reconsider legalizing recreational drugs instead. We could potentially save billions on criminal drug enforcement, collect billions more in additional tax revenue, and cut off the primary funding method and motivation for gang violence and collateral damage.45-year-old Roy J. Griffin of Calumet City is an Amtrak employee who stole a package of cocaine when it arrived at Union Station on July 31, 2014, prosecutors said. He and his 43-year-old acquaintance, Daniel Douglas of Blue Island, were charged with theft of goods from a railroad car and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.
Oh come on now! That would make sense.Maybe it's time we admitted Nancy Regan's hopelessly simplistic war on practical solutions isn't working and reconsider legalizing recreational drugs instead. We could potentially save billions on criminal drug enforcement, collect billions more in additional tax revenue, and cut off the primary funding method and motivation for gang violence and collateral damage.
???transported from Los Angeles to Union Station aboard Amtrak Express trains,
Nixon's Controlled Substances Act started the ball rolling and the Regans helped start the move toward ever more invasive enforcement, routine prosecutions, and severe punishments. In some cases drug infractions are treated with higher priority and/or harsher punishment than physical violence, manslaughter, and even murder.Nixon's Phoney War on Drugs: Trillions!!!
Effect on the Illegal and Legal Drug Trade: Zero!!!
Just say Hell No!!!!
Amtrak Express is a shipping service:???transported from Los Angeles to Union Station aboard Amtrak Express trains,
Just 1 - "employee".Wait, did I read that correctly? Amtrak employees were stealing drugs from their own trains in order to funnel them along their own distribution path? What a mess. Maybe it's time we admitted Nancy Regan's hopelessly simplistic war on practical solutions isn't working and reconsider legalizing recreational drugs instead. We could potentially save billions on criminal drug enforcement, collect billions more in additional tax revenue, and cut off the primary funding method and motivation for gang violence and collateral damage.45-year-old Roy J. Griffin of Calumet City is an Amtrak employee who stole a package of cocaine when it arrived at Union Station on July 31, 2014, prosecutors said. He and his 43-year-old acquaintance, Daniel Douglas of Blue Island, were charged with theft of goods from a railroad car and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.
I tend to think that our strategy of stopping drugs at the source is not being effective. And leads to side effects of "random" searches on Amtrak in places like Reno. And rich drug lords, violence to protect markets, criminalization of inner city youth, etc, etc, etc. Then there is the issue of varying quality of drugs, I spent a good hour as a firefighter/emt trying to save a young man who had od'd on tar heroin that was stronger than he was used to. He died. And was a friend of the family.Sorry for being a curmudgeon, but I disagree with the premise that started this thread. The crime reported was stealing cocaine. There is no doubt the war on drugs has not been as effective as we would like. But I was amazed by the support of the comment to 'reconsider legalizing recreational drugs instead'. Marajuana is one thing. But cocaine, really? I am involved with our church, homeless shelter, and drug rehab center. Everyday we see serious drug addicts trying to get help. I can think of no reason to legalize it unless we want more of the same. My local law enforcement guys, who do a great job, spend much of their time involved with assault and battery among the crack heads.
I don't pretend to know the answer but legalizing cocaine and other addictive drugs isn't it. And good for Amtrak and other law enforcement people for trying to go after illegal activities. Last I checked, we are a nation of laws. We may not like them, but until they are overturned or modified, we'd better enforce them if we want some semblance of safety on our trains and our society in general. No doubt there are abuses of enforcement procedures, but let's not assume it's all bad because of a few misguided cops. Sorry for the rant.
More on this story: http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/feds-24-charged-with-bringing-drugs-from-la-to-chicago-on-amtrak/
If prohibition didn't rid the country of widespread alcoholism or prevent mobsters from killing and maiming innocent bystanders then how can we expect it to work with something like heroine or cocaine? All my life we've resorted to the same failed solutions from the 1930's while expecting a different result. Year after year, decade after decade, billion after billion. Well I'm tired of inertia based policies and I'm ready to try something new.
As you said yourself people are already being chewed up and spit out today under our current solution. Millions of them. If someone wants cocaine or meth or heroine they're going to be able to get it. Nothing we've done so far has managed to seriously interrupt the drug trade. So what are we gaining by treating one addiction differently from another? It's not that I think these drugs are no more harmful that pot. I simply fail to see the benefit of keeping them illegal. It costs us a lot of money to catch, prosecute, and punish these people and we lose a lot more money in untaxed commerce. If we made it legal and taxed it then some would continue to waste away and die while others would be able to attend free drug treatment programs paid for by the money we saved from reducing our enforcement costs and the money we collected from addiction taxes. Seems like a reasonable compromise and a win-win situation to me.I lost more friends to cocaine than I can count. It just sucked them in, chewed them up and spit out the wasted remains. I have friends in the mid-West now, and they tell me that crystal meth is doing the same out there. I don't think cocaine and meth should be legal. I think marijuana should. Different drugs deserve different laws.
As you said yourself people are already being chewed up and spit out today under our current solution. Millions of them. If someone wants cocaine or meth or heroine they're going to be able to get it. Nothing we've done so far has managed to seriously interrupt the drug trade. So what are we gaining by treating one addiction differently from another? It's not that I think these drugs are no more harmful that pot. I simply fail to see the benefit of keeping them illegal. It costs us a lot of money to catch, prosecute, and punish these people and we lose a lot more money in untaxed commerce. If we made it legal and taxed it then some would continue to waste away and die while others would be able to attend free drug treatment programs paid for by the money we saved from reducing our enforcement costs and the money we collected from addiction taxes. Seems like a reasonable compromise and a win-win situation to me.I lost more friends to cocaine than I can count. It just sucked them in, chewed them up and spit out the wasted remains. I have friends in the mid-West now, and they tell me that crystal meth is doing the same out there. I don't think cocaine and meth should be legal. I think marijuana should. Different drugs deserve different laws.
Nope.If we legalize the harder drugs like meth and cocaine, more people will end up using it and more will be destroyed. The drug war is no huge success but that doesn't mean that it hasn't had any positive impact. The illegality of hard drugs has made it harder to get them, and dissuaded many to not try them at all. The "legalize all drugs" crowd doesn't recognize the fact that there would be many more people destroyed by drugs if we legalize them.
https://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1241267371736&WT.z_va_evt=redirect&WT.z_va_topic=Make%20a%20Reservation%20and%20Fares&WT.z_va_unit=Amtrak%20Express&WT.z_va_group=Misc%20Reservation%20and%20Fare%20Information"The drugs were sometimes concealed in automobile parts and pool filters"
And this was on Amtrak trains?
Actually, the "war on drugs" and prohibition have created very powerful and rich crime lords... who wouldn't have existed if the drugs were legal.Nixon's Phoney War on Drugs: Trillions!!!
Effect on the Illegal and Legal Drug Trade: Zero!!!
Yeah, legalize it. Coca's been used safely in South America for thousands of years. Cocaine, being highly concentrated, does make people behave really stupidly and recklessly, but we don't seem to be able to stop Wall Streeters from using cocaine regardless of whether it's legal or not (and Wall Street cocaine users are the ones who cause the most damage to society), so we might as well legalize it.Sorry for being a curmudgeon, but I disagree with the premise that started this thread. The crime reported was stealing cocaine. There is no doubt the war on drugs has not been as effective as we would like. But I was amazed by the support of the comment to 'reconsider legalizing recreational drugs instead'. Marajuana is one thing. But cocaine, really?
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