Now (as of Dec. 6th) available on Youtube in high definition, courtesy of the producers, the 2011 documentary that looks at the history and failure of the “War on Drugs”:

If only our current administration would tackle this problem with enlightenment. Perhaps someday the US will have a political atmosphere where the President will have the room to admit publicly the terrible costs of this war.

So far today, the Earth hasn’t reversed its direction of spin, the magnetic poles haven’t changed places, and cats and dogs haven’t started living together, but Pat Robertson did come out in favor of legalizing marijuana.

The 3 Monkeys Guide to Health blog has an excellent post about the enormous fines levied against the drug company Pfizer, and the distorted claims being made about the situation: Pfizer Pleads Guilty, Pays $2.3 Billion For Off-Label Use of Bextra, Zyvox, Geodon and Lyrica.

In this case it was overzealous sales reps without sufficient oversight who caused the problem, and you can be certain Pfizer will implement better controls to keep it from happening again.

All too many people have this notion that big pharmaceutical companies are evil and working against the interests of the common man. The settlement will do nothing to deter that view, but it is far from the truth. Those misconceptions derive from a lack of understanding of the drug discovery process and the high costs associated with it.

Read the whole thing…

The war has been going on for about 40 years, with no victory in sight; now the Obama administration is preparing to call it quits.

Or at least, preparing to quit calling it a “war:” White House Czar Calls for End to ‘War on Drugs’.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting “a war on drugs,” a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use.

In his first interview since being confirmed to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske said Wednesday the bellicose analogy was a barrier to dealing with the nation’s drug issues.

“Regardless of how you try to explain to people it’s a ‘war on drugs’ or a ‘war on a product,’ people see a war as a war on them,” he said. “We’re not at war with people in this country.”

Mr. Kerlikowske’s comments are a signal that the Obama administration is set to follow a more moderate — and likely more controversial — stance on the nation’s drug problems. Prior administrations talked about pushing treatment and reducing demand while continuing to focus primarily on a tough criminal-justice approach.

So let’s try a non-controversial subject for a change.

Like legalizing marijuana.

Carlos Santana is in favor of it. Doesn’t that count? (I’m kidding, of course.)

The US is currently spending more than $10 billion every year trying to stop people from consuming marijuana, and getting absolutely nowhere. Is it time to make it legal—prohibit kids from buying it, but tax it for adults? Some people estimate that California alone could rake in more than $15 billion annually if that happened.

UPDATE at 4/5/09 8:40:48 pm:

Here’s Penn Jillette’s take:

British tabloid The Mirror has a curious report that says the Mumbai terrorists were hopped up on cocaine and LSD.

The Mumbai terrorists may have pumped themselves full of drugs to keep going during their murderous three-day rampage.

Indian police sources say tests on the bodies of dead Islamic fanatics revealed traces of stimulant drugs.

One said: “We found injections containing traces of cocaine and LSD left behind by the terrorists and later found drugs in their blood. There was also evidence of steroids, which isn’t uncommon in terrorists. These men were all toned, suggesting they had been doing some heavy training for the attacks. This explains why they managed to battle the commandos for over 50 hours with no food or sleep.”

The source said one gunman is thought to have injected himself with large doses of stimulant so he could keep on fighting after he was seriously wounded.

I’m skeptical about this. Cocaine, not out of the question. Steroids, sure. But LSD? A powerful hallucinogen seems like a poor drug choice to fuel a terrorist massacre spree. Somebody in the Indian police is pulling The Mirror’s leg.

Should we expect a surge of outrage from the Islamic world over this? Holy books used for smuggling narcotics.

My guess is no.

RAWALPINDI: The Customs Collectorate, Rawalpindi, has recovered huge quantity of heroin and hashish, concealed in the Holy Quran and religious books being parcelled to United Kingdom (UK) through International Mail office, Customs sources told The News.

Collector Customs Muhammad Ashraf Khan and Additional Collector Dr Arsalaan, received information that a drug mafia active in Pakistan, was sending huge consignments through mail for a long time, the sources said adding, the authorities constituted a raiding party comprising deputy collector, Naveed Iqbal, superintendent Wasim Ahmad and inspectors Afaan Younas, Muhammad Ismail and Imtiaz Bhatti to conduct raids at International Mail offices in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The team during checking of parcels booked for England, found four parcels suspicious, the sources said and added the Holy Quran and religious books (Tafheem-ul-Quran) as well as garments were packed in the parcels.

During the search, the raiding party recovered 5.5 kilograms of hashish and 710 grams of heroin concealed in the cavities of the Holy Quran and Tafheem-ul-Quran, the sources said.