Hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent trying to rid our nation of drugs and to prosecute drug users. Tens of millions of people have been arrested --roughly 1.5 million in 2000 (half of these arrests for marijuana, overwhelmingly for simple possession). Nearly half a million people are now behind bars for non-violent drug law violations --that's more than all of Western Europe, with a larger population, incarcerates for everything!

Yet despite all the time, energy and resources that have been devoted to prosecuting the War on Drugs, three out of every four Americans agree that it's a complete failure. And drugs are more potent, cheaper and easier to obtain than ever before.

How is it that our great nation, the richest and most powerful in the history of the world, could fail so badly when it comes to winning the Drug War?

Well, insanity has often been defined as trying one thing over and over again but expecting a different result each time. But isn't that exactly what our politicians are doing?

And the more they fail, the tougher they want to sound. It now seems that everyone in Washington, from the President and his drug czar, to the Republican and Democratic members of Congress, are locked in a battle to see who can spend more money and imprison more people.

(from letter from the Drug Policy Alliance)