The War on Drugs?

As a child I was very impressed with the policeman who came to our school and talked to us about the DARE program.  Do you remember that?  Drug Abuse Resistance Education.  It was all about teaching kids about the dangers of illegal drugs and preparing them to say no if they were ever offered such.  Of course the officer never told us that 60% of all drug overdose deaths involve prescription drugs.  He never told us that 75% of those that died overdosing on prescription drugs (a full 45% of all overdosing deaths) died overdosing on pain killers.  We were never told that the pharmaceutical industry would fill over 120 million OxyContin and Vicodin prescriptions, or that this industry would rake in $300 Billion dollars and provide the drug that kills nearly 40 thousand Americans in a single year.

Of course he never told us.  How were children supposed to understand the difference between good drug dealers and bad drug dealers?  Sure the good drug dealers kill tens of thousands of people, but the bad drug dealers are - gasp - black!  Oh boy, you know how "uppity" they can be.  That's probably why there are something like half a million of them in jails right now for non-violent drug offenses.  They are non-violent uppity blacks.  Trust the policeman, trust the government.  The war on drugs is not a vehicle created for the sole purpose of destroying the minority blacks and their families. Continue on the path you're on and keep filling those prescriptions. 

Update 2/25:
In another example of the failed "War on Drugs," California prisons which are so overfilled with non-violent drug offenders are paroling sex offenders, and not re-jailing them even when they cut off their tracking devices. 

Update 3/4:
The ACLU produced a great infographic detailing the prison industrial complex.

Update 3/18:
What happens when you're a white West Hollywood drug dealer?  You get probation and your medical license is suspended for a mere one year.  Perhaps it's not just because he's white, but because he's a psychiatrist?   These "well respected" criminals routinely get out of paying for their crimes - whether they are rapists, drug dealers, or whatever else.