DEA managed to bust some San Diego State students who were allegedly selling drugs. Since when does the SDSU party scene warrant federal intervention? The investigation started when SDSU lost a student to an overdose. The DEA loves piggybacking on tragedy to try and legitimize their existence.
From the DEA-
“Our children are our biggest asset and absent a safe, drug free learning environment, their chances of succeeding are greatly diminished. The San Diego State University Police and SDSU administration are to be commended for their swift actions in confronting the drug use problem on campus,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Ralph W. Partridge. “This investigation spotlights two tragedies. The tragic drug overdose deaths of two college students and secondly, the shattered futures of those students who choose to continue to engage in the illicit sale and usage of a myriad of controlled substances. A drug free learning environment for our children should be the norm, not the exception.”
Notice the instant invocation of “the children.” Drug warriors love to talk about children. One of the easiest way to influence an argument is to use fear. It’s a cheap motivator, yet highly effective.
Pathos aside, college students are not children. College is the time when young adults learn to operate in the real world- a world that is not drug free. The last thing college students need is to be arrested by the same DEA flunkies whose propaganda they have rejected.
DEA agent Patridge talks about the “two tragedies” of this investigation. Self awareness is in critical supply at the DEA. Prohibition causes overdose deaths and the DEA chose to shatter these futures.
Barack Obama and George W Bush were fortunate that the DEA did not decide to shatter their future. Obama and Bush both experimented with drugs as young adults and went on to live productive lives. Why do these students deserve any less?
A great quote to finish on.
“Cocaine was banned in 1914, and marijuana in 1937,” said David Borden, executive director of StoptheDrugWar.org, “and yet these drugs are so widely available almost a century later that college students can be hauled away 75 at a time for them. That is the very definition of policy failure.. Instead of throwing away money and law enforcement time on a policy that doesn’t work, ruining lives in the process, Congress should repeal drug prohibition and allow states to create sensible regulations to govern drugs’ lawful distribution and use. At a minimum, the focus should be taken off enforcement,” said Borden.