OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

War on Drugs

Floor Speech

Date: April 20, 2016
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Death Penalty Drugs

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Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I just returned from the United Nations where there is a special session on the drug problems. This is a serious and complex issue, but the war on drugs, where we have spent over $1 trillion, has been an abject failure.

Drugs are still readily plentiful in the United States, the cost is down, and we have caught hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Latin American countries in the crossfire. Yet, the United States is on the sidelines here. There are countries that are stepping forward for reform, for harm reduction, trying to deal with the death penalty. Yet, the United States is trying to balance out the reformers of seeking a middle ground between them and Iran and China and Russia.

That is not what the United States should be doing. We should be involved in reform. We should minimize the danger that is a result of misguided practice. We can deescalate this and make a difference for people around the world and, in fact, do a better job of dealing with the drug problem in America.

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