The War on Drugs Has Failed Us All

The USA finds itself in the midst of another crisis of drug addiction and consumption. Despite the best efforts of the DEA and Federal Government, and despite billions of dollars of investment, the situation shows no signs of abating, and is worse than ever. The sensible option would be to start addressing drug use as a social problem, and not a criminal one, but this is met with stiff opposition from the establishment. But why?

Under the Reagan administration a wholesale war on drugs was declared and what was the end product? Increased use of crack cocaine and firearms in the inner cities, and the USA leading the world as the largest prison population on the planet. This would seem like a bad thing, until you understand that the prison system is a private enterprise, not a federal one and that having large numbers of working age men in prison is actually profitable.

And this is the reason for the continued hard-line on drug use. Where almost anyone that chooses to relieve the stresses of daily life in a competitive system through any means other than taxable narcotics (tobacco and alcohol) is a criminal, there is a massive opportunity for cheap labour whereby the minimum wage law doesn't apply. Prisoners don't have rights, remember.

Prisoners can learn trades in prison which they are told will be useful for life beyond the walls. As most prisoners are bored and feel useless, they take up these trades and are rewarded with a low income they can spend on essentials in prison. Not a bad deal for the prisoners, and an even better deal for the prison corporation. These prisons negotiate contracts worth millions of dollars with manufacturing companies who then use the prison labour to assemble their goods at a fraction of the cost, multiplying their profits and negating the need to outsource abroad. The next time you see a 'Made in America' stamp, think about this.

So basically the war on drugs is a huge source of revenue and cheap labour for corporate America. With such an obvious conflict of interests, why would subjects like addiction and social issues that drive people to consumption be addressed? Far easier and more profitable to lock them up and ignore the root causes.

The current administration in the USA is faced with another crisis and instead of following the lead of European countries such as Portugal, they have decided to 'get tough' which unfortunately will just lead to more arrests, little or no treatment and a sick society with a large percentage of its adult population literally being kept as slaves in prisons. Why no one sees the similarities between this and concentration camps in Nazi Germany is beyond me. Perhaps because the slaves are of a different colour and ethnicity, and it's easier for white America to label them as the 'bad guy'. The Jews were the 'bad guys' to the Germans too.

The interview below takes place between the physicist Gabor Mate and his son Aaron for The Real News Network. I urge you to follow them on YouTube if you are sick of the corporate news agenda and social conditioning. This interview covers the causes of addiction and the ignorance of the US government in tackling the current crisis.