War On Drugs Marks 40-Year Anniversary; Lake Elsinore And Wildomar Continue To Fight

As Lake Elsinore, Wildomar and all other County of Riverside cities – except Palm Springs – continue to ban medical marijuana operations, the country is marking the 40th anniversary today of the War On Drugs.

On June 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon declared, "if we cannot destroy the drug menace in America, then it will surely destroy us."

That day, the War On Drugs slogan and its policy were born.

Earlier this month, a report from the Global Commission on Drug Policy blasted the four-decades-long War. The commission is a think-tank of global leaders whose goals include, “ … to bring to the international level an informed, science-based discussion about humane and effective ways to reduce the harm caused by drugs to people and societies.”

The June 2011 commission report opened with these words: “The global war on drugs has failed …”

From 1998 to 2008, the report finds that annual consumption worldwide of Opiates, cocaine and cannabis have risen sharply.

In its report, the commission outlines alternatives to incarcerating drug addicts, and calls for greater research into the legal regulation of now banned substances, particularly marijuana.

The commission also highlights the need for drug addiction to be treated as a health problem, rather than a crime.

Locally, however, the War On Drugs continues.

In reflecting back on local news stories published by Lake Elsinore-Wildomar Patch, here are just some of the dozens of “quotable” quotes regarding drug policy and thinking here at home; medical marijuana dominated the discussion (click on the quote to get the full article context):

Amy Roderick of the Drug Enforcement Administration, regarding a Spring 2011 raid on a medical marijuana operation in Wildomar.

Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) regarding SB 129. 

William Sump, president of Wildomar Patients Compassionate Group, said of the March 1 court ruling that allowed his operation to reopen in Wildomar.  

John Hall, spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, regarding a Wildomar couple convicted on marijuana charges. 

Eric Stahl, co-owner of a now-closed medical marijuana facility in Lake Elsinore.