Telegraph.co.uk
Published: 9:15AM BST 01 Apr 2010
"We are spending billions, filling up our prisons with non-violent offenders and sacrificing our liberties" says Sting Photo: GETTY IMAGES
The musician, 58, has argued that marijuana should be legalised in a blog published on the Huffington Post website and claimed that the money should be spent instead on poverty and fighting global warming.
He wrote: "The War on Drugs has failed - but it's worse than that. It is actively harming our society. Violent crime is thriving in the shadows to which the drug trade has been consigned. People who genuinely need help can't get it. Neither can people who need medical marijuana to treat terrible diseases. We are spending billions, filling up our prisons with non-violent offenders and sacrificing our liberties."
The singer, whose real name is Gordon Sumner, urged Americans to support the Drug Policy Alliance, an activist group, that calls for non-violent drug offenders to be released from prison.
He added: "Civil liberties have been trampled. Law enforcement has been militarized. Literally hundreds of billions of dollars - dollars denied to urgent problems ranging from poverty to pollution - have been spent. People who do need help with drugs have been treated as criminals instead. Meanwhile, resources to fight genuine crime - violent crime - have been significantly diminished."
The US Drugs Enforcement Administration refused to comment.
Its booklet, Speaking out Against Drug Legalisation, points out that overall drug use in America has fallen by more than a third in 20 years while cocaine use has fallen by 70 per cent. It says: "This is success by any standards."
"We are spending billions, filling up our prisons with non-violent offenders and sacrificing our liberties" says Sting Photo: GETTY IMAGES
The musician, 58, has argued that marijuana should be legalised in a blog published on the Huffington Post website and claimed that the money should be spent instead on poverty and fighting global warming.
He wrote: "The War on Drugs has failed - but it's worse than that. It is actively harming our society. Violent crime is thriving in the shadows to which the drug trade has been consigned. People who genuinely need help can't get it. Neither can people who need medical marijuana to treat terrible diseases. We are spending billions, filling up our prisons with non-violent offenders and sacrificing our liberties."
The singer, whose real name is Gordon Sumner, urged Americans to support the Drug Policy Alliance, an activist group, that calls for non-violent drug offenders to be released from prison.
He added: "Civil liberties have been trampled. Law enforcement has been militarized. Literally hundreds of billions of dollars - dollars denied to urgent problems ranging from poverty to pollution - have been spent. People who do need help with drugs have been treated as criminals instead. Meanwhile, resources to fight genuine crime - violent crime - have been significantly diminished."
The US Drugs Enforcement Administration refused to comment.
Its booklet, Speaking out Against Drug Legalisation, points out that overall drug use in America has fallen by more than a third in 20 years while cocaine use has fallen by 70 per cent. It says: "This is success by any standards."
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