A ghoulish shade from the past has come forth to haunt us once again. Yes, it’s John P. Walters! [cue: cheesy scary music]
Former ‘drug czar’ warns against marijuana use
Walters, the former Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy from 2001 to 2009, gave a presentation titled “Pot: Hot or Not? The Young, American Democracy, and the Drug Problem,†addressing the effects of marijuana and illicit drugs and their potential legalization.
As usual, he has this wonderful way of taking one of the destructive elements of prohibition and pretending it’s a feature:
“The use of court-mandated treatment has helped get people the care they need,†Walters said.
Walters presented statistics that showed the the criminal justice system is the largest reason people enter treatment.
“It would be nice if people could be educated by family members or friends, but ultimately the single greatest source of intervention and treatment begins with the criminal justice system,†Walters said.
You see, the criminal justice system is simply helping people. They should be grateful when they’re arrested and put in jail.
Yes, the criminal justice system is the largest reason people enter treatment, but that’s because it sweeps up a whole lot of people who don’t need treatment.
From the Hudson Institute, eh? If this was a Notre Dame event Walters was speaking at, maybe we’ll get some questions about why the college is paying these Monsanto toadies to fart in public. Or why Scooter Libby wasn’t there to illustrate the perils of criminal behavior.
Yup,,it’s Ol Waters again,,it is his periodical rant on marijuana use and now he wants people to be grateful that the justice system is the largest source of rehab patients getting those poor sick druggos the treatment they need,,,the only slight problem is that the only people getting rehab are the ones that can pay for an attorney,pay for the court costs,pay any rehab fees,pay probation fees,,,which means the poor go to prison.
must have hit kev between the eyes with that one
A living, walking, talking fossil like John Walters should be embedded in plastic to preserve the image and texture of a soon-to-be extinct species: fatuus prohibitio spirent.
Perhaps one day, maybe in the Cincinnati Zoo, near the Passenger Pigeon pavilion housing the remains of the last living member of that doomed species, Martha, there will stand the wax statue of the bloated charlatan, John P. Walters. A Bible in one hand, his dick in another, Walters is posed marching forth to vanquish the evils of pleasure.
While the Passenger Pigeon may grace our blue skies once again thanks to the modern miracles of genetics, a stern warning will greet the visitor to the dark sanctum of the John P. Walters Museum: Danger: Extinct, Do Not Revive.
The criminal justice system provides punishment for breaking a law. Forced treatment in lieu of incarceration is not help. It is indoctrination by force. So is brainwashing and water boarding. There is no treatment science at the other end. Its not even needed when the addiction figures for pot are in the single digits even by conservative prohibitionist estimates. That makes John Walters an evil man in my book.
Here is some sense from a NY Times writer that I can get behind: http://huff.lv/1qiLdvF
Those forced into treatment for cannabis consumption are taking up a place which might otherwise be used to help people who genuinely want to address REAL addiction problems, like heroin or alcohol. I once worked with a court ordered “cannabis addict.” He had been arrested for possession of a gram of cannabis but was clearly not dependent. The court required him to find a sponsor (me) and do written step work. We both had to jump through hoops to keep the probation officer happy in this absurd farce. I found this collusion of NA with the courts to be damaging to real addicts, including myself, but drug warriors like Walters continue on, leaving a trail of destruction (collateral damage) in their wake.
I just watched a video on Big Think about narcissism and politics. The verdict? Most in politics are narcissists to a very marked degree. When they listed the characteristics of this personality disorder, it sounded like the entry exam for prohibitionists. Johnny Pee is a total narcissist by their definition, and therefore oblivious to the damages he causes.
.
.
Not just a narcissist, a malignant narcissist. Not all narcissists are evil.
Yes, Virginia, there really are zombies. (Pointing to shambling, incoherent former ONDCP head.) Now, remember, aim your fact rifle sight picture right between his lyin’ eyes, and squeeze the trigger slowly.
And it’s fun to watch his head go splat! when hit squarely with facts. Just don’t let him get too close or some of what’s inside him might get on you; that kind of manure is especially hard to get out of one’s clothing. Cleanup’s a pain.
What a shooter game for stoners,,all admins from the DEA,ONDCP and every AG that has kept this policy in place as targets,,sit around and sniper them the way they would us if they had the chance.
Surreal. “We can’t stop using coercion to force people into treatment. Look at how many people we’re coercively forcing into treatment!” That’s some Homer Simpson-grade logic right there.
Homer: Well, there’s not a bear in sight. The Bear Patrol is sure doing its job.
Lisa: That’s specious reasoning, Dad.
Homer: Thank you, sweetie.
Lisa: Dad, what if I were to tell you that this rock keeps away tigers.
Homer: Uh-huh, and how does it work?
Lisa: It doesn’t work. It’s just a stupid rock.
Homer: I see.
Lisa: But you don’t see any tigers around, do you?
Homer: Lisa, I’d like to buy your rock.
And Waters and his kind forget how damaging a court experience can be. A record keeps you from so many sources of help, out of many jobs, and public housing and education. When you live on the margin, those things are the difference often between survival or at least a respectable life and not.
This doesn’t even get into the costs of simply being in the system-lawyer’s fees, time off from work, lost jobs, cost of rehab (of course rehab is free-yeah, right) and lost wages, health and everything else if you do become a “guest of the county, state, or feds”.
Waters is the last of the Crusaders: determined to make us holy despite the human cost-a cost he doesn’t pay.
I know I was certainly grateful when they put me in jail for drug possession and caused me to lose my decent paying job. It took me 8 years to get back to that pay level. It was great. Those possession charges on my record also help finding new jobs, it’s a great attribute on an application. Thanks John Walters!
“It would be nice if heretics could be persuaded to confess their crimes by simple questioning, but ultimately the single greatest source of confessions and repentance begins with thumb-screws or the rack,†the Grand Inquisitor said.
The comments pretty well BBQ him.
A whole bunch of us couch-dwellers sure would like to see Mr. Walters receive some “help” from the criminal justice system he eagerly promotes.
Sorry about your dog, Mr. Walters. Now, off to a prison cell with you. But first, how about a nice wood shampoo?
Protect and serve (themselves!)
Send him to Deming, NM. With a stanky little bud tucked in the back of his shorts. “cause after all, where there’s one…”
Babs Johnson: Oh my God Almighty! Someone has sent me a bowel movement!
Oh WALTERS!…never mind