"As it becomes clearer and clearer that this war cannot be won, they are left in a compromising position — in complete acquiescence to those preaching law, order and punishment, yet morally obligated to mitigate some of the suffering caused by their own failed policies."

I'd like to cite a couple of further passages from Cadore's essay because, well, I couldn't have said it better myself:

"They must acknowledge that we will never have a 'drug-free' America. There has never been and will never be a drug-free society. The only realistic expectation is for those who use drugs do so responsibly. Unless our drug policy reflects this expectation, we will continue to waste both money and human potential. ...

"Close to $1 trillion has been allocated to fight the drug war that could have gone toward repairing our tattered social safety net. ...

"In order to realize a truly just society, we will need to re-frame the debate. We will need to call out the War on Drugs for what it really is — a war on families and communities."

Amen! People, let's stop the War on Drugs — and start paying reparations to the victims.

A last word: The anti-cannabis attack by the Dutch government is outweighed in ignorance and backwardness by two other current government initiatives: banning the ritual slaughter of animals as practiced for centuries by Jews and Muslims under the rubrics kosher and halal (passed 116-30 in the lower house of the Dutch parliament), and banning the wearing of the burka by observant Muslims as "against Dutch norms and manners," according to home affairs minister Piet Hein Donner.

What sort of toxic substance are these people smoking?

—London

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