1 in very 100 adults is in jail

[David Jamieson]

CIDA or the Canadian International Development Association tried to stem heroin production in afghanistan some timne ago by offering alternative crops such as food stuffs.

the people were swayed away at the time. This was during soviet occupation.

the reason being that the russian mobs controlled a lot of the heroin there due to the convenient occupation by the soviet military, and between them and the brits, they supplied the world.

who here thinks that there aren't soldiers who have direct relations to gang activities? Raise your hand? OK? Fail! This basic principle applies to all fighting forces in the region. there are corrupted ones who right now are making arrangments to move drugs or booty back into the west. Now, this amount is fairly insignificant and amounts to only a few kilos. But when it's a general moving stash? You know he's got a hercules filled with it! lol

Just hypothesizing, but has anyone thought about how exactly is ith atht such huge volumes of drugs can just come and go out of countries when billions and billions of dollars are being spent on surveillance and policing of these very activities. is it possible that criminals are smarter tahn all law enforcement or does the element of corruption have a bigger part to play in it all.

In my opinion, corruption is one of the pillars of power. It's almost as if it cannot be avoided in an institutionalized society where the mechanisms become so large, abstract and complicated, that it is not difficult to find a quite place within them to carry out operations that are contrary to what those institutions stand for.

just sayin...

[Drake]

CIDA or the Canadian International Development Association tried to stem heroin production in afghanistan some timne ago by offering alternative crops such as food stuffs.

the people were swayed away at the time. This was during soviet occupation.

the reason being that the russian mobs controlled a lot of the heroin there due to the convenient occupation by the soviet military, and between them and the brits, they supplied the world.

who here thinks that there aren't soldiers who have direct relations to gang activities? Raise your hand? OK? Fail! This basic principle applies to all fighting forces in the region. there are corrupted ones who right now are making arrangments to move drugs or booty back into the west. Now, this amount is fairly insignificant and amounts to only a few kilos. But when it's a general moving stash? You know he's got a hercules filled with it! lol

Just hypothesizing, but has anyone thought about how exactly is ith atht such huge volumes of drugs can just come and go out of countries when billions and billions of dollars are being spent on surveillance and policing of these very activities. is it possible that criminals are smarter tahn all law enforcement or does the element of corruption have a bigger part to play in it all.

In my opinion, corruption is one of the pillars of power. It's almost as if it cannot be avoided in an institutionalized society where the mechanisms become so large, abstract and complicated, that it is not difficult to find a quite place within them to carry out operations that are contrary to what those institutions stand for.

just sayin...

The highest ranking person involved in gang activities I've seen here in USAREUR has been a Staff Sergeant, who is now a Private, last I checked.

Nobody is loading drugs in planes in Afghanistan. That stuff is checked by a number of people. There is gang activity in the military, and we're doing everything we can to get rid of it.

And generals dealing heroin? Really... c'mon. They really really really don't need the money.

[David Jamieson]

The highest ranking person involved in gang activities I've seen here in USAREUR has been a Staff Sergeant, who is now a Private, last I checked.

Nobody is loading drugs in planes in Afghanistan. That stuff is checked by a number of people. There is gang activity in the military, and we're doing everything we can to get rid of it.

And generals dealing heroin? Really... c'mon. They really really really don't need the money.

It cannot be excluded as a distinct possibility. Soldiers, like anyone else are not above corruption.

here's another thing. Did you know that in Canada the national police force has surmised that the greatest amount of investment money for drugs being brought into the country is coming from cartels of doctors and lawyers.

they came to this conclusion after realizing that it was this demography alone that could provide the monies and resources to make the deals happen.

I would guess, it is the same in the USA. barring large organized crime organizations and their operations, there are many independent groups from all walks of like that are holding up the business of drug trafficking.

But, conflict is always a gateway to further vice and graft, you better believe it and there are plenty of soldiers of all ranks that are opportunists.

[Drake]

It cannot be excluded as a distinct possibility. Soldiers, like anyone else are not above corruption.

here's another thing. Did you know that in Canada the national police force has surmised that the greatest amount of investment money for drugs being brought into the country is coming from cartels of doctors and lawyers.

they came to this conclusion after realizing that it was this demography alone that could provide the monies and resources to make the deals happen.

I would guess, it is the same in the USA. barring large organized crime organizations and their operations, there are many independent groups from all walks of like that are holding up the business of drug trafficking.

But, conflict is always a gateway to further vice and graft, you better believe it and there are plenty of soldiers of all ranks that are opportunists.

Sounds more like the national police force assumed. Based on what you just told me, this is a logical fallacy.

Problem with corruption in the military is that we police ourselves. For instance, we had a major involved in a contracting fraud issue. He's in jail now. There's too much oversight here for anyone with real power to get away with much.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Sounds more like the national police force assumed. Based on what you just told me, this is a logical fallacy.

Problem with corruption in the military is that we police ourselves. For instance, we had a major involved in a contracting fraud issue. He's in jail now. There's too much oversight here for anyone with real power to get away with much.

..to get away with much for very long, you mean.

[Drake]

..to get away with much for very long, you mean.

Well...basically. We're so paranoid about corruption here, sometimes people even get busted under the presumption of corruption.

[bakxierboxer]

... assessment of Afghanistan is entirely off track. It is an always has been the worlds largest provider of opium. This is both for legal and illegal use. IE: all morphine, valium, and opiate based drugs in general are derived from opium which is first manufactured into heroin, then morphine then all the other things which are then processed by big pharma and sold to hospitals and governments all over the world.

Sorry, Valium (aka "diazepam") is NOT an opiate.
It's a member of the family of compounds called benzodiazepines.......

[greendragon]

The highest ranking person involved in gang activities I've seen here in USAREUR has been a Staff Sergeant, who is now a Private, last I checked.

Nobody is loading drugs in planes in Afghanistan. That stuff is checked by a number of people. There is gang activity in the military, and we're doing everything we can to get rid of it.

And generals dealing heroin? Really... c'mon. They really really really don't need the money.

YES, they are. How do you think it gets here ? The CIA can go unchecked, Reagan and Olly North dealt drugs to raise funds for the contra deal, Nixon's advisor BB Rebozo was endicted for drug smuggling ties, the generals were smuggling heroin in the coffins of dead soldiers. How soon we forget. They don't need the money ? but the greed never ends, they always want more money. Afghan opium is now funding the taliban. fact. what happened to the war on terrorism ? We sprayed paraquat on colombian pot fields in the 70s and we could napalm opium fields now in afghanistan. We occupy the freakin country.
I am not condoning drug use, but legalizing it would be more effective than this political "war on drugs" that makes the corrupt rich. This was also the opinion of the national association of police chiefs. C'mon, jailing 1% of the population for dope use ? Go after the big guys. Follow the money.

[zapruder_bjj]

YES, they are. How do you think it gets here ? The CIA can go unchecked, Reagan and Olly North dealt drugs to raise funds for the contra deal, Nixon's advisor BB Rebozo was endicted for drug smuggling ties, the generals were smuggling heroin in the coffins of dead soldiers. How soon we forget. They don't need the money ? but the greed never ends, they always want more money. Afghan opium is now funding the taliban. fact. what happened to the war on terrorism ? We sprayed paraquat on colombian pot fields in the 70s and we could napalm opium fields now in afghanistan. We occupy the freakin country.
I am not condoning drug use, but legalizing it would be more effective than this political "war on drugs" that makes the corrupt rich. This was also the opinion of the national association of police chiefs. C'mon, jailing 1% of the population for dope use ? Go after the big guys. Follow the money.

Hmm treat the disease and not the symptoms? That just sounds ludicrous!

[Drake]

YES, they are. How do you think it gets here ? The CIA can go unchecked, Reagan and Olly North dealt drugs to raise funds for the contra deal, Nixon's advisor BB Rebozo was endicted for drug smuggling ties, the generals were smuggling heroin in the coffins of dead soldiers. How soon we forget. They don't need the money ? but the greed never ends, they always want more money. Afghan opium is now funding the taliban. fact. what happened to the war on terrorism ? We sprayed paraquat on colombian pot fields in the 70s and we could napalm opium fields now in afghanistan. We occupy the freakin country.
I am not condoning drug use, but legalizing it would be more effective than this political "war on drugs" that makes the corrupt rich. This was also the opinion of the national association of police chiefs. C'mon, jailing 1% of the population for dope use ? Go after the big guys. Follow the money.

Ok, can we use an unverified reference that isn't over 25 years old?

[bakxierboxer]

Ok, can we use an unverified reference that isn't over 25 years old?

Sure, why not?
Everything they spout is unrelieved lunacy in any case.

[Drake]

YES, they are. How do you think it gets here ? The CIA can go unchecked, Reagan and Olly North dealt drugs to raise funds for the contra deal, Nixon's advisor BB Rebozo was endicted for drug smuggling ties, the generals were smuggling heroin in the coffins of dead soldiers. How soon we forget. They don't need the money ? but the greed never ends, they always want more money. Afghan opium is now funding the taliban. fact. what happened to the war on terrorism ? We sprayed paraquat on colombian pot fields in the 70s and we could napalm opium fields now in afghanistan. We occupy the freakin country.
I am not condoning drug use, but legalizing it would be more effective than this political "war on drugs" that makes the corrupt rich. This was also the opinion of the national association of police chiefs. C'mon, jailing 1% of the population for dope use ? Go after the big guys. Follow the money.

Please PLEASE tell me you aren't getting the coffin myth story from having watched American Gangster. PLEASE.

It didn't happen, you know.

[David Jamieson]

Sorry, Valium (aka "diazepam") is NOT an opiate.
It's a member of the family of compounds called benzodiazepines.......

sorry, it is a synthetic yes. I probably meant to say Codiene and other analgesics but for some reason went with valium....anyway, there are many drugs that are derived from opiates and used in everyday medicine.

Big Pharma buys opium is the point.

[bakxierboxer]

sorry, it is a synthetic yes.

A synthetic non-opiate compound to be a bit more specific.
It may not be "germane", but there is also a class of "synthetic opiates".

I probably meant to say Codiene and other analgesics....

Codiene is a "narcotic analgesic"/"opioid", as distinct from the general class of "analgesics".... sic, "Aspirin", "Acetominophin", "NSAIDS", etc.

but for some reason went with valium....anyway, there are many drugs that are derived from opiates and used in everyday medicine.

"Everyday" prescription "remediations".
It also might be "more accurate" to say that they are "opium related" as opposed to "opium derived".
Most of them are a class unto themselves and are chemical compounds with "similar actions".

Big Pharma buys opium is the point.

Possible, although why they'd engage in that is a good question, since they can manufacture "related" drugs such as oxycodone, hydromorphone, etc.

I'm not horribly familiar with any actual opiate-containing meds.... the only one that comes immediately to mind is the old-time nostrum "Paregoric" and some prescription cough medicines.

[BoulderDawg]

The concept of prison is a fairly recent thing....I would say no more than 3-4 hundred years. Before that there really wasn't any law to speak of and communities policed themselves.

If not surprising to hear that the US has more people in prison than other countries. I would guess the reason for that is because Americans are willing to pay for it. Now they're even talking about putting this NY gov in jail for years for sleeping with a prostitute.......What good would that do?

People in other countries have learned to solve their own problems. Here is the US we have gotten to the point of calling 911 for jaywalking.