Why is there a war on drugs?

Why is there a War on Drugs?

Resources and news

Win at All Costs, a fine investigative reporting series on prosecutorial misconduct in federal cases around the country, much of which is a result of the war on drugs. (November - December 1998)
Snitch: Frontline: Rat on your friend and reduce your prison sentence. That's what many convicts are opting for. (1999)
A Society of Suspects: The War on Drugs and Civil Liberties, a classic article (October 1992) by Steven Wisotsky, from the Drug Policy Foundation in Washington, D.C.
The Voluntary Committee of Lawyers, lawyers and judges who share strong misgivings about the wisdom, methods, and consequences of America's perpetual drug war. A venerable pedigree and (one hopes) some continuing clout.
MarijuanaNews.Com, with Richard Cowan, former director of NORML.
Cannabis.net, about cannabis, marijuana, and hemp. Counter-counter-culture fer sure.
The November Coalition, a growing body of citizens whose lives have been gravely affected by our government's present drug policy. Meet the people behind the statistics: pages with the Children of War and other casualties of War in America.
Families Agsint Mandatory Minimums, a national organization of citizens working to reform federal and state mandatory sentencing laws that remove judicial discretion. With resources, case histories, and what you can do to make a difference.
The Drug Reform Coordination Network, with links to the Drug Library, the world's largest online collection of documents about drugs and drug policy.
The Drug Policy Alliance, formerly the Lindesmith Center - Drug Policy Foundation, the leading organization working to broaden the public debate on drug policy and to promote realistic alternatives to the war on drugs based on science, compassion, public health and human rights. The guiding principle of the Alliance is harm reduction, an alternative approach to drug policy and treatment that focuses on minimizing the adverse effects of both drug use and drug prohibition. Particular attention is focused on analyzing the experiences of foreign countries in reducing drug-related harms.
The Media Awareness Project, a worldwide network dedicated to drug policy reform, primary resources for In the News at the Drug Policy Alliance.
The Drug Reporter, news and views on the drug war at Alter.Net.
Drug War Facts -- monographs, essays, and research, including Top Drug Warrior Distortions and Common Sense for Drug Policy, with the best list of drug war resources on the 'net.
He Just Said No -- to the Drug War, an article in the NYT Magazine about Gary Johnson, the iconoclastic governor of New Mexico, the highest-ranking official ever to call for partial legalization. How did a Republican trip over this issue? (August 2000)
Robert Downey, Jr., example of the system's hypocrisy, or a cautionary tale? (February 2001)
Criminal Law Links that I've collected.

Possession of 650 grams of cocaine powder can get you mandatory life in prison without parole in Michigan, and even a petty thief gets life in prison.

Marijuana gives rise to insanity -- not in its users but in the policies directed against it. A nation that sentences the possessor of a single joint to life imprisonment without parole but sets a murderer free after perhaps six years is "in the grip of a deep psychosis." (By Eric Schlosser, April 1997) An excellent article in The Atlantic Monthly, which has a lot more excellent writing on crime in America, including Eric Schlosser's original "Reefer Madness" article from August 1994.

The Fourth Amendment, which historically protects people and their effects against warrantless searches and seizures by the government, is being eroded in recent years by the Supreme Court. For instance in April 1999, the Court held that police officers with probable cause to search a car, may also search every passenger's belongings found in the car that are capable of concealing the object of the search.