America has for years been waging its "War on Drugs," an effort long on rhetoric and cruelty and short on results. I would suggest that this supposed "War on Drugs" should more accurately be called the "War on People."

While the drug trade has continued to thrive worldwide, it's the people who have been this war's victims. In dealing with social problems such as drug usage, the federal and state governments have used extremely punitive measures. As an example, in the state of New York, a woman who had three young children was arrested for possessing approximately four ounces of marijuana. She was convicted of drug possession and sent to prison for 15 years, the mandatory sentence in New York.

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