Opinions - Can governments be considered mass murderers due to the harm caused by the Drug War?

[eternalBliss]

The government. There are millions of deaths a year from drugs, however they are caused by the government making the drugs illegal.
For example I'm sure many of you have seen programs based on african tribes ect. in all of these tribes drugs are used alot. However there are no deaths from drugs in these tribes. Why is this? It's becasue the drugs arn't cut with crap. This leads me back to the government issue, becasue drugs are illegal they are not regulated hence they are cut with whatever the dealer wants to cut them with. There are no standard controls.
Another point is that part of the addiction of drugs is becasue you are against the government, you are being rebellious(obviously this doesn't apply to all people).

A real life example of allowing drugs is tobacco. Lots of people die from tobacco, however when new smoking laws came in people abided by them. People did not run rampant in the streets and consequently the deaths have fallen.

Alot of crime is commited because the drugs are expensive. Commercialisation of drugs would lower the prices. Also many diseases are transmitted via needles, this is becasue the drugs are not openly available.



Something needs to be done! obviously the answer isn't simple or it would have been thought of allready...anyone else have any input??

Reputation Comments on this post:

totally agree..

[El Calico Loco]

It's true that authorities (both "legitimate" and otherwise) have murdered more people than common criminals throughout history, particularly in the last century, and not just by way of the War on Drugs. The greatest scam ever pulled was a bunch of violent bandits convincing the common people that they needed them.

I think one way to lessen the risk of drugs, should sanity ever prevail, would be to provide them in diluted liquid form more often than not. People do die of alcohol poisoning, but most just get sick and vomit when they've had too much. This is much safer than snorting, smoking, or injecting.

But it depends on the substance in question.

I don't think the smoking laws have saved anyone. I think tobacco education has saved many. Used to be that 50% of the people in America smoked; nowadays the percentage is much lower. For health and safety, education > law.


ECL

[Lobsang]

I'm sure many of you have seen programs based on african tribes ect. in all of these tribes drugs are used alot. However there are no deaths from drugs in these tribes. Why is this? It's becasue the drugs arn't cut with crap.

I am curious what drugs African Tribes are using. Do you mean like narural herbs and stuff? I mean I am pretty sure that they are not using heroin and coke and stuff like that. So what kin of drugs do they use?

[Panthers007]

When the CIA* had it's private army take over Sierra Leone in 1989-90 to seize the diamond fields and titanium mines, they brought in a flood of cocaine with them. And many other drugs as well. They doped the child-soldiers they pressed into serve in the army - after killing their parents. So the African continent has had all the stuff you normally associate with industrialized nations.

*- masquerading as the army of Charles Taylor out of Liberia.

[mitchellca]

Originally Posted by eternalBliss

There are millions of deaths a year from drugs, however they are caused by the government making the drugs illegal.

Hmm, Millions of deaths?
Is this just where drugs were listed on the death certificate, because that seems a 'little' high to me.

[AquafinaOrbit]

Africans do not die because no one is there to report their deaths then it happens, not to mention they are not using chemical drugs mostly.

[sylenth]

it's a general misconception that our african deaths don't get reported. yet i've got a friend who's business is transporting these so called 'non reported' dead africans. and they are reported. they are not using alot of chemical dugs, if any actually as lobsang said. alot of our non black africans use alot of drugs but there is fortunetly minimal deaths.

[Coconut]

Governments are absolutely mass murderers. Serial killers have nothing on the state in terms of ruthlessness, violence and brutality. They have a general disregard for the lives of their own, and other, people. Power corrupts and turns the most benevolent into the most malevolent. There is no exception in my opinion. The wars on drugs, terror and so on are, in reality, wars on liberty and the people.