Repubs, Democs and Cocaine

[mvanwink5]

Obama thought it was a good thing to do, now the Repubs are joining the President…
"Fla. congressman charged with cocaine possession"
http://news.yahoo.com/fla-congressman-c ... itics.html
WASHINGTON (AP) — Florida Rep. Henry "Trey" Radel has been charged with cocaine possession after what a federal law enforcement official described Tuesday as a "buy and bust" operation.

NSA likely knew way before now. Payback for voting against the Pres's Syria military adventure? Everyone lives in a glass house, or someone in their family does...

[MSimon]

First they captured his dealer. Then turned him.

And before 1914 what he did wasn't a Federal crime.

[Stubby]

The funny thing is that he voted FOR drug testing for food stamp recipients.

[Diogenes]

First they captured his dealer. Then turned him.

And before 1914 what he did wasn't a Federal crime.

Neither was passing Nuclear Secrets, but the world keeps moving doncha know?

[paperburn1]

what I find funny is that the Democrats/ liberal party started all this mess almost 30 years ago. but nobody seem to remember.
How did it come about that mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses were passed in 1986?
In 1986, the Democrats in Congress saw a political opportunity to outflank Republicans by "getting tough on drugs" after basketball star Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose. In the 1984 election the Republicans had successfully accused Democrats of being soft on crime. The most important Democratic political leader, House Speaker "Tip" O'Neill, was from Boston, MA. The Boston Celtics had signed Bias. During the July 4 congressional recess, O'Neill's constituents were so consumed with anger and dismay about Bias' death, O'Neill realized how powerful an anti-drug campaign would be.

O'Neill knew that for Democrats to take credit for an anti-drug program in November elections, the bill had to get out of both Houses of Congress by early October. That required action on the House floor by early September, which meant that committees had to finish their work before the August recess. Since the idea was born in early July, the law-writing committees had less than a month to develop the ideas, to write the bills to carry out those ideas, and to get comments from the relevant government agencies and the public at large.

One idea was considered for the first time by the House Judiciary Committee four days before the recess began. It had tremendous political appeal as "tough on drugs." This was the creation of mandatory minimum sentences in drug cases. It was a type of penalty that had been removed from federal law in 1970 after extensive and careful consideration. But in 1986, no hearings were held on this idea. No experts on the relevant issues, no judges, no one from the Bureau of Prisons, or from any other office in the government, provided advice on the idea before it was rushed through the committee and into law. Only a few comments were received on an informal basis. After bouncing back and forth between the Democratic controlled House and the Republican controlled Senate as each party jockeyed for poitical advantage, The Anti Drug Abuse Act of 1986 finally passed both houses a few weeks before the November elections.

[TDPerk]

Neither was passing Nuclear Secrets, but the world keeps moving doncha know?

It's the same cocaine though. We didn't have a Drug Problem until we had a War on Drugs.

[mvanwink5]

It is tails on both sides of a gov't coin, but you get to call heads, after all it is a democracy and you get to make a choice. Pick tails and win or heads and lose. Gov't protected freedom, guaranteed by the power of choice through democracy.

[Diogenes]

Neither was passing Nuclear Secrets, but the world keeps moving doncha know?

It's the same cocaine though.

My point was that actions were only taken against it once it was recognized how dangerous it was.

People were dying. A law became necessary.

We didn't have a Drug Problem until we had a War on Drugs.

We *HAD* a drug problem, we just didn't realize it until it got big enough to notice.

[MSimon]

We *HAD* a drug problem, we just didn't realize it until it got big enough to notice.

And now we have a bigger drug problem because it is very profitable to push.

Crack was in fact invented because buying grams of cocaine at $100 a gram was expensive. So crack was invented/discovered and you could sell rocks for $10.

Coke is now out of favor and meth - once more or less freely available under prescription - took its place.

Dexidrine was widely prescribed. I wonder why it took so long to figure out it was dangerous.

And of course we have stimulants for children now. Ritalin

Standard treatments for ADHD in children include medications, education, training and counseling. These treatments can relieve many of the symptoms of ADHD, but they don't cure it. It may take some time to determine what works best for your child.

Stimulant medications
Currently, stimulant drugs (psychostimulants) are the most commonly prescribed medications for ADHD. Stimulants appear to boost and balance levels of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. These medications help improve the signs and symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity — sometimes dramatically.

Examples include methylphenidate (Concerta, Metadate, Ritalin, others), dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine), dextroamphetamine-amphetamine (Adderall XR) and lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse).

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adhd/D ... -and-drugs

Stimulants are so dangerous we prescribe them to children.

And of course the USAF uses Dexedrine to keep people awake on long missions.

So yeah. The drugs are very dangerous and any one who uses them without government permission needs to be severely punished. For the children.

BTW Portugal, by legalizing personal possession has cut drug use rates for all drugs in half.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/20 ... -portugal/

That tends to say that Prohibition is a vector for the spread of Drugs. You might conclude that Prohibitionists were in cahoots with the dealers.

==================

When the laws were passed the chief danger touted was

Cocaine was outlawed because of fears that superhuman "Negro Cocaine Fiends" or "Cocainized Niggers" (actual terms used by newspapers in the early 1900's) take large amounts of cocaine which would make them go on a violent sexual rampage and rape white women. There is little evidence that any black men actually did this, if only because it would have been certain death. The United States set a record in 1905 with 105 recorded lynchings of black men. At the same time, police nationwide switched from .32 caliber pistols to .38 caliber pistols because it was believed that the superhuman "Negro Cocaine Fiend" could not be killed with the smaller gun.

http://usslave.blogspot.com/2012/02/coc ... ggers.html

There may be some truth to that:

Who could have anticipated that the former owner of sexguideonline.com might get into trouble as a congressman? On Tuesday, Politico broke the news that freshman congressman Henry "Trey" Radel (R-Fla.) was arrested on cocaine possession charges in DC last month and is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday. (DC Superior Court records on the charges can be found here.)

Radel, a tea party favorite and a Fox News radio host, came to office with an unusual background, having run a business that bought somewhat pornographic sex-themed domain names in both English and Spanish, as Mother Jones reported last year. Radel's business snagged all sorts of un-family-friendly domain names, including www.casadelasputas.com ("whorehouse") and www.mamadita.com ("little blow job").

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/11 ... x-websites

Of course they don't like the TEAs. so who knows? Maybe this guy:

Court Documents Reveal Bernie Madoff's Cocaine-Fueled Sex Parties