Reagan Warrior Reveals Drug War Dirty Tricks

Eric Sterling, a senior drug policy official for President Reagan in the 80s, revealed that US authorities deliberately lie about the dangers of drugs, in a speech he made last week at top US University the College of William and Mary.

"Drugs serve an extremely useful role in the theatre of politics," Mr Stirling told the elite students, recalling his involvement in shaping US drugs policy in the 80s.

"The government is utterly committed to lying about the harmfulness of drugs" (Flat Hat).

The respected politician's explanation for America's relentless emphasis on prohibition came weeks after top UK drug policy expert Mike Trace opened up about his own experiences trying to introduce harm reduction strategies into UN drugs policy.

Speaking to the Independent, the former Deputy Drugs Tsar for Tony Blair highlighted the billions of dollars already spent on enforcement, education and prevention and the 'overwhelming evidence' that such policies have failed.

"You can't end drug use and you can't educate it away, if either of those tactics had a proven track record I would be a convert, but they don't work," he said.

"What you can do, though, is reduce the harm that drugs do. The best use for our limited resources is targeted interventions on the most problematic use."

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp-story=506403
Tags