The Waste of Waging a War on Drugs

Earlier this month the Cobleskill Times Journel ran a story about pot raids in Schoharie County that compelled at least this reader to wonder given our current economic state how can we still afford to continue this waste of time, manpower and taxpayer money on a war with a history that is kept secret from the public discourse.


The war on drugs costs American taxpayers 40 billion dollars each year. What did it cost for the three helicopter flights conducted by the Army National Guard and the NYS Power Authority including the salaries of all involved from ground control to Major Tom, as well as the fuel?

What is the total cost of prosecution and incarceration for the six people charged with “unlawfully growing marijuana” including all related expenses e.g. meals, corrections officer’s salaries, the courts etc.?

Sheriff Desmond claims there were about 500 pounds of marijuana and he didn’t know what the drugs seized were worth but the sheriff didn’t mention and the reporter didn’t ask how much of the 500 pounds was actually the marijuana that one could smoke.

Simple math indicates that if an ounce of local marijuana could be sold for say an extremely liberal estimate of $300.00 per ounce would be $4800.00 per pound and 500 pounds would be two and a half million dollars. That this substantial figure wasn’t mentioned is a good indication the 500 pounds seized was substantially less than 500 pounds that could have been smoked.

The sheriff said they collected 15 large garbage bags which would be destroyed and he stated such searches would continue but never said why, the reporter is conditioned to spread the message: “another battle in the war on drugs” was won without mentioning the war on drugs has now been waged for 80 years and most of this articles readers lacked the intellectual curiosity to ask why are we spending all that money on a plant only to destroy it.

In response to Sheriff Desmond’s request to the public to provide any information about drugs he seized I offer the following information: that he visit the aptly named NORML wed site (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) or peruse any one of several good books including the Bible which more or less wraps it up in Gensis 1:12 and 3:18 as well as Psalm 104:14.

Meanwhile our nation’s war on drugs drags on for another year at the cost of 40 billion dollars that could be better used for the common good and our constitutionally protect freedoms are further eroded by those who are supposed to “protect and serve”.