Sometimes, we forget how bad things have become. This graph shows the number of Americans in jail. This year, about 1,600,000 of our neighbors have been put in cages. Many are serving LWOP, which stands for Life Without Parole. Maybe, a third are in because they are vicious criminals. Most are jailed as the result of petty thefts and mistakes caused by the desperation with which addicts seek drugs. Now, their lives and families are effectively ruined.
While all these people, and their families, have been destroyed, those responsible for the ruin and wreckage say: “We are helping make America a better place.”
One of the biggest “growth businesses” in the United States has been increasing the number of people in jail. It explodes the number of jails that have had to be built, and the number of people hired to guard them. Maybe, a third of them, half a million, are hardened criminals. Most are Prisoners of War resulting from The War on Drugs.
Satisfying addictions to drugs and pain-killers was turned into a crime in 1971. Making such drugs cheaply available in drug stores would make “pushers” disappear. If people were allowed to buy such chemicals at the Rite-Aid for a dollar or so, we’d all be happier and more prosperous. N9 one would be “pushing”, causing more addiction to pay for their own habits. Some do not want the problem to be solved quickly and easily. So, we pay more for insurance, incarceration, and injury from those desperate to satisfy their cravings.
The War on Drugs is a war on us.
