Drugs

Government should exercise restraint when regulating its citizens' private lives. Basically, we should question a government's right to tell citizens what they may consume.

The "war on drugs" is actually a war on urban ghettos, supplier nations and civil liberties. That war has failed. Outlawing drugs has turned drug users into criminals and crowded our jails with them. Interdiction, foreign and domestic, has been ineffective in stemming the flow of drugs. The U.S. Government has used the drug war to justify foreign military intervention, while the CIA has been involved in the drug trade to finance its illegal activities. The ones who profit from the drug war are the sellers, organized crime, chemical corporations and banks that launder money.
 
The Green Party calls for a basic change in our drug policies:
 
Shift our focus from interdiction and incarceration to addressing the social causes of drug use. Redirect the funds presently spent on the drug war to education, prevention and treatment.
 
Recognize that drugs are not just a problem affecting minorities and the poor, but also white, upper class communities.
 
End the subversion of due process of law under the guise of the "war on drugs."
 
End all corporate tax deductions for cigarette and alcohol advertising.
 
Give states a greater autonomy in choosing to criminalize, de-criminalize or legalize drugs without having to fear federal reprisals (such as taking highway funds from states like Oregon that wanted to legalize marijuana).
 
Open a public dialogue to determine the most feasible plan to de-criminalize drugs.