>I think that one of the most important tasks for the US Left is to stop
>the 'war on drugs' here and abroad.
>
>
>Yoshie
>
Does this topic make it into many discussions among the Left?
I see that, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, since 1970 the percentage of incarcerated drug offenders has gone from 16.3% to 59.1%. Also, a Sentencing Project report finds that one in seven African American men are currently disenfranchised due to felony conviction (about 4.2 million of all Americans are similarly disenfranchised).
"The War on Drugs" is a miserable and horrifying failure, as the example of Southcentral LA and the war between the LAPD and the gangs proves. And what about the saturation of prisons with narcotics: how is the reproduction of the "drug problem" by the carceral network, by the very law that outlaws it, necesary for the maintenance of the dominant power? The question is intended to draw out evidence and implications and discussion from anyone with any angles.
Also, does anyone know of any recent studies or reports or "street"-level info on US complicity, direct or indirect, in the drug trade. Like US alliances in the Golden Triangle during the 50's, or "Air America" during the Vietnam War?
Thanks
-Alec, an addict
>********************
>
>
>From 'Pushed by U.S., Columbia Plans New Chemical Attack on Coca'
>(_NYT_ 20 June 1998):
>
>
><paraindent><param>right,right,left,left</param>Bowing to demands from
>Washington, the Government has agreed to test a chemical to kill coca
>crops, even though the manufacturer [Dow AgroScineces, a subsidary of
>Dow Chemical Company, the maker of Agent Orange] has publicly warned
>against its use in Columbia.
>
>
>In the United States, the herbicide, tebuthiuron, is used mostly to
>control weeds on railroad beds and under high-voltage lines far from
>food crops and people.
>
>
>The Environmental Protection Agency requires a warning label on the
>chemical that says it can contaminate ground water, something Columbian
>environmental officials fear could prevent peasants from growing food
>where coca once grew.
>
>
>United States anti-drug officials have decided to concentrate more
>heavily on treating illegal drug crops with chemicals, particularly in
>parts of southern Columbia under the control of leftist guerrillas....
>
></paraindent>
>
>
>
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