I decided to go to a talk today given by Richard Van Winkler, the superintendant of the Department of Corrections of Cheshire County, NH. No, I did not actually go to New Hampshire. He came to speak locally. Mr. Van Winkler is a member of LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition – drug prohibition, that is. The event was sponsored by SSDP (Students for Sensible Drug Policy) and Van Winkler’s talk was preceded by a member of the New Hampshire State Legislature who recently tried to pass a decriminalization bill in his state (live free or die New Hampshire – if there’s a place for that anywhere it’s there.) The talk was illuminating beyond my initial expectations.
Van Winkler began the talk by sharing his own personal story on how he became involved in LEAP merely one year ago. He was persuaded to watch a short DVD, became intrigued and now he’s speaking at locations all across the country. He must have found his calling in this because he sure is dedicated. Even more amazing is that he is one of the few CURRENT law enforcement officers who speaks out for LEAP on the costs and failures of the “War on Drugs.” A retired officer speaking out is one thing, but one still active is something else.
Van Winkler had good voice contact and voice tone during his talk. He seemed to really build a connection with the audience – a sign of a good public speaker. One of the best qualities of his talk though, was his use of visual aids. A large power point projector flashed jaw-dropping statistics that would make any open-minded person see just how much of a lunacy the drug war is. It goes completely against pure common sense, and Van Winkler only brought up certified government information – no other sources – this all comes from the same government that imposes the puritanical madness of drug prohibition upon America (and the world, through international efforts.)
- · 1.3% was a number that kept popping up over and over again throughout the talk. It is the exact same percentage of Americans addicted to drugs before 1914, when Heroin was first outlawed (you could get it in grocery stores before then), in 1970 when the Drug War was initiated by Nixon and today. It has not changed at all!
- · $68 billon is spent annually on the Drug War. Think about that. The population of the United States is a little over 300 million. That is well over $200 from every taxpayer a year. If we did not have the Drug War, what would you buy right now with $200?
- · 41% to 28%. That is the amount by which American tenth-graders (where pot is illegal) outsmoke Holland tenth-graders (where pot is legal) in smoking good ol’ mary jane. That is the percentage who say they have smoked it.
- · 16,000 profit margin. Marijuana is just a plant. If one could acquire seeds for it than it would be just as worthless as any other. However, since it’s a valuable illegal drug with a vast market, people pay much more (the exact price varies by geographical location.) Remove the profit margin and that leaves thousands of drug dealers unemployed. Read the rest of this entry »
