Why have we wasted 115 years on a failed War on Drugs.

Why have we wasted 115 years on an unsuccessful, “War on Drugs. “

Recreational use and abuse of mind altering substances did not suddenly spring up a few years ago, but has been with us since man first appeared on our planet. Archeological evidence of medicinal plants containing psychoactive substances date back to the Palaeolithic Age, which started
over three million years ago. In early Egypt, the Ebers Papyrus ( 1,500 b.c.e ) documents over 700 drugs for medical applications, many of those contain, psychoactive substances, which would have certainly been used recreationally. In South America Coca leaves were utilized nearly 7,000 years ago. ( Coca leaves are the main ingredients in Cocaine ) Chewing Coca leaves is a practice that persists to this day, it acts as a stimulant and also helps relieve some medicinal conditions. In Mesopotamia there is evidence that Opium Poppies were being cultivated by 5,000 b.c.e. and, there are written records concerning of its use from 3,400 b.c.e onwards, after writing was introduced in Mesopotamia. ( Mesopotamia led the World, being the first area to develop a written language. ) Homer’s Odyssey, written in 900 b.c.e mentions Pharmakon, a potion made up of Opium that was used to, “bring forgetfulness of every sorrow”.
There is abundant evidence that recreational use of narcotics has been prevalent throughout the World since time immemorial. Until the early part of the last century, Laudanum was in common use across Western Countries, it was cheap and readily obtained. It was used to treat pain, insomnia, depression, agitation, in fact almost all known medical problems, even teething and crying in babies, it was made of a mixture of alcohol and opium, often with spices added.
In Canada in 1908 Opium was criminalized, Cocaine and Morphine followed in 1911, and Cannabis in 1923. The two most dangerous drugs however were never criminalized, they are tobacco and alcohol. The average smoker has a life expectancy of 10 years less than a non smoker. In 2024 tobacco in Canada killed 46,000 people, compare that to Fentanyl which killed 5,200. Fentanyl is cheaper than Heroin, and many addicts prefer the intense rapid rush it produces, it is also often cut or mixed with other drugs, even a small amount of which can be lethal. ( Another drug which is spreading amongst addicts is Nitazene which is produced in the lab, and is 40 times the strength of Fentanyl. ) The chemists who produce the synthetic drugs will always be one step ahead of legislation, it’s a game of whack a mole. ( note, Canada contains approximately 10% of the population of the U.S ) Due to Canada’s high taxes cigarette smuggling is considered to be more prevalent than drug smuggling, there is a larger market, and it carries much lesser penalties if caught. Nicotine is extremely addictive and is often rated as addictive as Heroin. Smoking rates in Canada since the 70’s have been reduced by 90% through education, and having cigarette packages prominently displaying the risks associated with smoking.
Alcohol is involved in 60-70% of all incidents of violence, murders, child neglect and abuse, and spousal assaults, in fact almost every known crime, it also can cause loss of jobs, homelessness, drunken driving, drowning, and even hunting accidents. When riots occur many of the participants are intoxicated, there are no cocaine riots, heroin or fentanyl riots, or even ecstasy riots. Alcohol also contributes to mental health issues, depression, suicides, and even social anxiety. It is linked to over 200 diseases including seven types of cancer. As a retired policeman, in my experience almost all the calls for service after midnight are related to alcohol. Research that evaluates the combined harm to the user and society consistently rate alcohol as the most dangerous drug, even rapid alcohol withdrawal for an alcoholic can be fatal.
When the average person thinks about drug trafficking, they visualize individuals standing on street corners mainly in the skid roads, ( an area with a large homeless population and higher crime rates ) selling their products to the locals, while awaiting their suppliers to come by, usually in Cadillacs or other expensive cars. Well think again, dealers are in almost all schools, when I mentioned this to my daughter in-law who is a principal in an elementary school, I was thinking that there would one trafficker per school, she corrected me and told me that there are probably two or three dealers per school. In the Universities there are multiple dealers. In the University of British Columbia in Canada, first year students have a lecture on how to safely use drugs.
The obvious question is why don’t students and others report all these dealers to the police? The answer is complex, some of course are users and rely on the dealers to supply them, some fear personal violence or violence to their families, vandalism to their property or their families property, ( many dealers have connections to violent criminal gangs ), some don’t want to be known as a snitch or rat, many believe that there will be no meaningful action by staff or police if they report them. In some cases the student may know the dealer personally, and view the person as a good person despite their drug dealing, in other cases particularly in universities, they deal because they cannot afford to pay for their courses and sky high rents.
Who then use illegal drugs: accommodation and food service workers lead the list with 19%, construction workers come next at 12%, management at 11%, retail workers at 10%, lawyers at 20%, doctors at 5% ( much of this is due to the readily availability of narcotics by doctors ) and even policemen at 3%, however, if we were to include misuse of alcohol in these percentages they would be many times higher.
Many people ask, wouldn’t it be good if there were no drugs? A good question, but I must remind them we are also worried about kids sniffing glue to experience an altered state of mind, and kids, and even some adults practice cutting the blood to the brain by partial strangulation, which squeeze the carotid arteries which carry blood to the brain, inducing an euphoric state. People will always attempt to experience altered states of mind through whatever is available.
Another group of drugs which are controlled substances, and can only be obtained legally with a doctor’s prescription in Canada, are Anabolic Steroids. ( I cannot remember any charges ever be prosecuted for possession or trafficking of steroids in Canada ) One study of gyms found that 15-30% of their clients used steroids, while another study found amazingly that 53% of the males at the gym were using steroids, along with 42% of females. Gym users who use steroids take 10-100 times greater amounts than are used for therapeutic purposes. Usage can lead amongst other things, to early heart attacks, strokes, liver damage, hepatitis, shrinkage of testicles, infertility and aggressive behaviour. Steroids work by increasing the levels of the male hormone testosterone, which in turn reduces its normal production. There have been cases where there this has resulted in no testosterone being produced by the body, meaning that the users can never quit the use of steroids or face loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, increased body fat, bone loss, fatigue depression and even breast tissue growth. Some users who work in physically demanding jobs, use steroids to improve their endurance and strength. One study, conducted over 7.4 years, has shown that the mortality rate of steroid users was three times higher than non users. Studies also show that that body builders using steroids have a mean average time of death at between 45-48 years.
There is no doubt that schools should be teaching students of the risks of taking steroids, gyms should be required to prominently display posters regarding the downsides of steroids, and dealers should be prosecuted. There should be the same sort of campaign against steroids as there was against smoking. Steroids used in gyms come from underground laboratories, or legitimate pharmaceutical companies in countries operating with lesser enforcement of regulations. They can be purchased from illegal on-line websites or from dealers who frequent the gyms. A vial of injectable steroids which will last for 10-20 weeks sells from 16$-$25, 300 oral steroids sell for about $300. Even without exercising an individual using steroids can gain 6.5 pounds of muscle in 10 weeks, and if combined with exercise 13 pounds. It is also not uncommon for cocaine, amphetamines and ecstasy to be readily available in gyms, often from the same dealers. People who use steroids use them for much the same reasons as people who are addicted to other legal and illegal drugs, they use them to look impressive, to feel good about themselves, to impress their friends and girlfriends. Steroids though prohibited, are widely used in sports to increase speed, strength and, endurance. We all know seriously competitive athletes are frequently tested for steroid use, but it is widely believe that some are still able to beat the tests. All gang members who frequent gyms, use steroids to increase their strength, and to enhance their threatening appearances.
As an elderly male I have observed that many males 40 or more years ago simply did not look like they do today, they did not have the bulging biceps, thick necks and triangular physiques. This was an era when many men worked in physically demanding jobs, ditches were dug by hand, even canals were dug by hand, only hand saws were used for cutting lumber, farm labour was really labour, not driving million dollar harvesters. Yes people were strong because they had to be, I’m sure that not many muscle bound men of today would be able to keep up with the physical work performed by their forebears.
People use drugs for a variety of reasons. They use them to feel good, they can produce intense feelings of warmth pleasure and excitement. Opioids flood the brain with the bodies natural reward system, Dopamine, they detach the user from physical and emotional pain, the individual can feel free of stress and worry. In our skid roads most people endure their hardships of sleeping on the sidewalks, or living in small unsanitary rooms in derelict hotels, by using drugs, to escape from the reality of their situation. It should also be noted that a considerable number of individuals have also become addicted to drugs from their over use of opioid medications, overprescribed by their doctors for pain relief. Many of the homeless people on the streets of our skid roads are fleeing from sexual, physical or emotional abuse in their homes and communities, which unfortunately is all to common in remote communities in Canada, though abuse does of course occur in all levels of our society.
Although we tend to think of drug usage, we think it is all in the skid roads as where we find the obviously addicted individuals, the truth is that it is only a tiny part of the huge market for the gangs who supply the supply the drugs. Although Opioids are the drugs most commonly used in the Skids, Cocaine especially Crack Cocaine is also used, though to a lesser extent. Cocaine is often looked upon on as the drug of choice by employed middle class and high income individuals. It produces a sense of extreme happiness and even invincibility, colours, sounds and physical touch, may seem more intense, and it also increases the libido.
Some drugs such as Amphetamines are used by students to increase to focus on school studies, to increase productivity at school or work. Methamphetamines a more potent form of Amphetamine were widely used during World War two to increase endurance, eliminate fatigue and heighten the endurance, particularly of the ground troops. They were used by both American and British soldiers, and of course the Germans, enabling them to stay awake for up to three days. During the War in Vietnam, the U.S military supplied their troops with vast quantities of methamphetamine. Pilots especially use them to help stay alert and focused during long missions. It is still suspected they are still used today in all regions of conflict. In Vietnam Heroin was readily available and inexpensive, and to a conscripted military of young soldiers who had no idea why they were there, Heroin came into common usage. The soldiers were involved in enormously stressful conditions when they went out on missions, especially those into the jungles, where they never knew when they would come under fire. When they were returned to the U.S away from the stresses of war, almost all of them never touched Heroin again.
While the decision to use drugs may be voluntary, it can lead on to addiction. Addiction affects the brains reward and decision making capabilities, even when the user knows the drug is causing harm, it is almost impossible to resist.
Although drugs are a blight on North America, the damage caused is minuscule to the damage caused in Central and South America by the Cartels, who control whole countries with the huge profits they make in selling their drugs into the U.S and Canada. ( There are many other Cartels in Asia, and Africa, but I will focus on the Americas. ) Cartels in Mexico, Columbia, Belize, Honduras, Bolivia and Ecuador, use their wealth to bribe high ranking government officials, members of the judiciary, police, and others in positions of power. Anyone they wish to control is given one choice, “ the bullet or the bribe. “ In Mexico they are so heavily armed, they almost outgun the army and police. Many of their weapons are smuggled in from the U.S, and some are even stolen from military arsenals. Their informants at all levels give them details of any operations planned against them long in advance. Things are actually more peaceful in Mexico when a strong Cartel is in control. On the few occasions when a Cartel is weakened by the arrest of their kingpin, all hell breaks lose as other Cartels fight to assume the territory of the diminished cartel, no one is safe, and murders soar into the thousands. Honest journalists who report on the Cartels in Mexico are all in danger, Mexico has the highest murder rate for journalists anywhere in the World outside of active war zones. Poverty is a huge driver for recruitment into the cartels. The Cartels will sometimes provide food packages, sanitizing supplies and cash to poor communities, portraying themselves as beneficial to the community, and thus cultivating their support. Many of the recruits into the Cartels are children, aged between 13-15 years. They are attracted by the money power, and prestige. They are looked upon by the cartels as disposable, at that age the frontal cortex of the brain which controls reasoning and judgment is not fully developed, they make ideal assassins, not questioning what they are doing, and even if caught they receive much lesser prison sentences than older members. Amazingly 20% of all employees in Mexico are Cartel member. Drugs are smuggled into the U.S by land, sea, air and even underground through tunnels. The Department of Homeland Security in 2021 estimated that only 3% of the total volume of drugs coming into the U.S is intercepted. The costs of growing and processing one ounce of cocaine can be estimated to be $35-50, it sells on the streets in North America for $1,000-$2,000. The cartels are also heavily involved in the production and smuggling of Fentanyl, which has even larger profit margins, than the more traditional drugs. ( a small percentage of is also manufactured within the U.S ) The cartels are not only involved in the drug trade, they are also heavily involved in extortions, kidnapping for ransoms, human trafficking and every other form of criminal activity. Often police are wary of investigating crimes committed by the Cartels for the fear they could also become victims.
In the 1980’s the U. S was heavily involved in, “ the Cold War. “ fearing a take over of the World by communism. They did not recognize the difference between Socialism and Communism. In Central America they were working subversively to support rebel groups attempting to overthrow Socialist Governments, or supporting right wing oppressive governments. In Nicaragua a rebel group, the Contras were fighting to depose the Socialist Sandinista Government led by Daniel Ortega. The Americans sought to depose him because of his alignment with Russia and China. They actively assisted the Contra’s, suppling them with cash and weapons, and at the very least turned a blind eye to the Contras transporting Cocaine into the U.S. This activity formed the basis for movies such as, America Made, Kill the Messenger and Double Crossed.
During the 19th. Century the British East India Company was heavily involved in a three way trade which involved transporting Opium from India for sale in China, they used the money from the sale of Opium to the Chinese to buy Chinese tea, which they then sold in England. The Chinese attempted unsuccessfully to stop the trade and executed some of the people involved in the trade. In 1842 and 1879 the British fought two wars against the Chinese to keep the trade open. They easily defeated the Chinese with their steam driven ships and advanced artillery, consequently Opium was not fully outlawed in China until after the rise of, the People’s Republic of China in 1952.
After my retirement in 2001, I joined Law Enforcement Against Prohibition ( LEAP ) as a speaker. I often worked together with retired West Vancouver Judge Jerry Paradis, unfortunately he was taken from us much too soon by his addiction to cigarettes. Leap members included a Governor General, six former Police Chiefs including one from the U.K, the Mayor of Vancouver, the former Attorney General of B.C, the Detective Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard who was the operational head of Narcotics for all of the U.K, amongst many others. LEAP has since grown to participate into all areas of the criminal justice system. The organization was founded by Jack Cole. Jack was a retired Detective Lieutenant with the New Jersey State Police, where he served for 26 years, 14 of them undercover. He has a degree in Criminology and a Masters and Phd in Public Policy. He joined the New Jersey State Police in 1964, and then the drug squad in 1970. During his first few years, as he put it, “they did not have much of a problem with drugs”, the drugs they were dealing with were mainly soft drugs Marijuana and Hashish. During this time the U.S was involved in the Vietnam War, a war they subsequently lost. There were massive demonstrations against the war, particularly by student groups. In 1970 the Ohio National Guard actually opened fire on students demonstrating at the Kent State University, killing four students and injuring nine. Associated with the anti war demonstrations, and ofter by the same participants was the use of soft drugs. The slogan often associated with their movement was, “ make love not war”. President Nixon who was running for a second term in office made a key part of his re-election campaign, “ the War on Drugs. “ which in 1973 was ratified by congress. Significent funding was made to police departments to increase their enforcement of drug laws. The squad where Jack was working went overnight from 7 members to 76. With this increase, of course more arrests were expected. Jack’s role was to fraternize with what he called small friendship groups, high school students, college students and other groups of young people. On Fridays someone would ask, “ hey do you want to get high tonight ? “ or Jack would even ask the question himself. Whoever had a car or had access to their parents car would then drive into town, and pick up small amounts of drugs for the students, maybe a couple of joints for someone, a single dot of L.S.D for another, or a couple of grams of psilocybin, ( magic mushrooms ) for another. Their gas money was not even covered. This was repeated week after week until almost everyone had made the drive into town. Simultaneously he was also working in the same way with other groups. Eventually early one morning all those who had gone into town, maybe a hundred individuals were arrested, and bought down to the station and charged with trafficking, the press had been tipped off and were waiting, and the next day their names and faces were all over the news as “dangerous drug dealers arrested.” Generally they would be sentenced to seven years in jail, and with good behaviour they would get out in about two and a half years. They had been unable to complete their education, and had a police record which almost certainly denied them employment, and so many became drug dealers themselves, proliferating the problem. Because Marijuana was so easily identified by smell, and by its bulk, hard drugs which were more easily concealed began to proliferate, Heroin, Cocaine, Methamphetamines etc. They were much easier to conceal, however the users had no idea of their strength which depended on how much cutting agent the dealer had used, consequently overdose deaths began to proliferate, along with blood borne diseases such as Aids and Hep C. Jack spent the last two years of his career posing as a fugitive drug dealer wanted for murder, while tracking members of a terrorist organization that robbed banks, planted bombs in corporate headquarters, police stations and airplanes and, ultimately murdered a New Jersey State Trooper.
Jack came to regret his early days and went on to found LEAP. Its principal element is the legalization of all drugs. Drugs would be made available from government agencies thus guaranteeing their purity and uniform strength. They would be available at distribution centres, facilities similar to liquor stores in Canada. Jobless addicts in the skid roads would be supplied drugs at no cost. Others would buy their drugs at a very reasonable price, but much below the street price. Addicts in the skid roads get their money to buy drugs in one of three ways, they steal, they commit B and Es, or they prostitute themselves.
If they had a steady, clean supply of drugs they would not have to be involved in any of these. Occasionally there had been a suggestion that as a first step, possession of small amounts of drugs should be decriminalized, but this would not apply to dealers, who would not exempted from prosecution. This makes absolutely no sense, as users in the skid roads would still have to steal, or whatsoever to get money to buy their drugs, while dealers would still make their enormous profits. Decriminalization was tried in Canada and it was of course a total failure and subsequently reversed. If all drugs were legalized, distribution centres could supply sterile needles along with drugs, and with clean needles, and with addicts no longer prostituting themselves for money to buy drugs, blood born diseases A.I.D.S Venereal Diseases, and Hepatitis would be much reduced. Medical costs would be reduced with addicts no longer visiting emergency departments for overdoses, and multiple other infections relating to the use of use of unregulated drugs. Of course you are all asking but won’t everyone want to use drugs, well ask your kids and grandkids, they are available everywhere today, and who do you want to be controlling the supply, the Hells Angels or the government. With pure supplies of the traditional street drugs available, some addicts may even be weaned off the cheaper more lethal, chemical drugs. With the immense profits to be made from the sale of drugs taken away from the murderous drug gangs, they would be decimated, and in Mexico and Central America, the Cartels would lose their vast North American market and they would also be considerably reduced. Even the flow of illegal immigrants fleeing countries overrun by those cartels would be reduced, as normality returned to the regions.
We have been fighting the war on drugs for at least 100 years now, if it had worked we would have been drug free a long time ago. Education plays an important role in controlling drug abuse, tobacco use which is one of top most addictive substances is legal, yet by education it’s use has been reduced to 10% of what is was 40 years ago.
Between 1920 and 1933 alcohol was criminalized in the U.S because of its deleterious effects. Almost immediately illegal outlets known as Speakeasies opened, and in some instances more alcohol than before was consumed but at increased prices, and more profits to the owners. Viscous gangs supplied the Speakeasies, corruption became endemic, even amongst policemen who themselves, enjoyed alcoholic beverages. Alcohol was produced in, underground distilleries, or imported from Canada. There was uncontrolled warfare amongst the gangs each seeking to control the market, murders became so commonplace that the Government eventually legalized alcohol, and EVERYONE DIDN’T BECOME AN ALCOHOLIC OVERNIGHT.
Every few months police department appear before cameras parading large drug seizures they have made, often after working on the project for months and sometimes years, they invariably make the statement that “the seizure will certainly make a hole into the supply of drugs,” but in reality it never makes any difference. Even when the head of a Cartel is arrested in Mexico and extradited to the U.S, the drug supply remains undiminished.
Cannabis was legalized in Canada in 2018 and you know what happened……NOTHING. The legalization sale and control of narcotics would have many benefits. Property crimes B and E’s, shoplifting, theft from autos etc, are almost all are committed by addicts, they would be much reduced. With quality control of the supply of drugs most overdose deaths would disappear. Counselling and admission to residential treatment centres could be immediately available on request at the distribution centres, all funded by the sale of narcotics, enabling some addicts to escape from the monkey on their backs, and re-enter the workforce. Today when some addicts wish to escape their addiction, counselling and admission to a drug rehabilitation centre can be weeks or even months away. Money from the sale of drugs could be used to fund education programmes to educate students about the dangers from experimenting with drugs. Tobacco is a legal substance yet education has reduced its use tenfold in the last forty years. Money would also be saved with reduced hospital visits by addicts from drug overdoses, and other health problems which chronically affect most homeless addicts in the skid rows. There would be better services provided by police both by the reduction of property crimes, calls for drug offences, and it would also free up police members who are often tied up on lengthy investigations into drug distribution networks, investigations that never reduce the flow of narcotics. The courts would function in a more timely fashion with the workload much reduced by the absence of narcotic charges.
The War on Drugs prevented all research on psychedelics, however since research has opened up, some psychedelics. ( drugs which significantly alter perceptions, and may produce hallucinations, they include L.S.D, Psilocybin, Peyote and Ibogaine ) have been found to have immense value in Psychiatry. It is suspected they can almost immediately open up new connections in the brain ) Psilocybin ( found in magic mushrooms ) particularly has been found to be very successful in relieving chronic depression, relieving the symptoms of P.T.S.D, and enabling patients with life ending diseases to accept their situations, look back on their lives with pleasure, and be released from thoughts of death constantly filling their minds. A surprising result was found in Israel which was reported by Neuro Scientists at the Haifa University, survivors of the viscous Hamas attack at the Nova music festival who were high on M.D.M.A ( Ecstasy ) have experienced lower levels of psychological trauma, and coped better in the months following the attack whencompared than those who were not.
The War on Drugs is a huge strain on policing in so many ways and entirely ineffective. No legalizing drugs won’t be Utopia, but it would be a huge step in the right direction. I’m reminded of the old saying, “ if you’re in a hole quit digging.”

Tony Smith