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America losing the war on drugs on the home front

Forty years ago this week, President Richard Nixon defined his country's new drug policy with a military metaphor that stuck.

Major Neill Franklin, retired police officer and executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), began speaking out against the country's drug laws when a former police colleague was killed on a drug bust; Ian Bezman, a former drug user who is suspected of taking his own life rather than return to prison; and Terry Nelson, a former customs official who is critical of US anti-trafficking policies
Major Neill Franklin, retired police officer and executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), began speaking out against the country's drug laws when a former police colleague was killed on a drug bust; Ian Bezman, a former drug user who is suspected of taking his own life rather than return to prison; and Terry Nelson, a former customs official who is critical of US anti-trafficking policies
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Since President Nixon began the battle, a trillion dollars and 40 years have been spent trying to end it. So why is the government losing so badly? By Andrew Purcell in New York

“Public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse,” he declared. “In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive.” A trillion dollars and seven presidents later, the war is still being fought, and lost, with catastrophic results.