The beast that will not die: trying to stop America's seemingly unstoppable "war on drugs".

• Author: Bagge, P.
• Position: Culture and Reviews Comic

SEATTLE, 12/3/05: THE KING COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION'S "EXIT STRATEGY FOR THE WAR ON DRUGS" CONFERENCE IS IN FULL SWING ...

PROHIBITIONISTS SAY THAT LEGALIZING DRUGS WOULD BE AN UNWORKABLE PROSPECT, BUT WE ALREADY HAVE A WORKING MODEL THAT PROVES THEM WRONG: NAMELY OUR CURRENT LIQUOR LAWS!

AN IMPRESSIVE LINEUP OF GUEST SPEAKERS ARE ALL MAKING WELL-REASONED ARGUMENTS AGAINST DRUG PROHIBITION FROM THEIR VARIOUS LEGAL, MEDICAL, ECONOMIC AND MORAL POINTS OF VIEW ...

IN FACT, EVERYONE HERE IS IN SUCH FULL AGREEMENT THAT THE DRUG WAR IS FUCKED THAT THE PLACE IS STARTING TO SOUND LIKE AN ECHO CHAMBER ...

ONE NOTE OF DISCORD COMES FROM THE TWO BLACK SPEAKERS, CURIOUSLY, BOTH OF WHOM EXPRESS DISDAIN FOR THE MANY "LIBERTARIAN" SOLUTIONS BEING PROPOSED ...

ONE OF THEM, CLIFF THORNTON OF EFFICACY, MAKES THIS STARTLING STATEMENTS, FOLLOWED BY AN EQUALLY STARTLING SOLUTION ...

THE ECONOMY OF MANY INNER CITIES IS LARGELY BASED ON THE ILLEGAL DRUG TRADE ...

SO WE'D BETTER BE READY TO OFFER MASSIVE ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE IF WE EVER LEGALIZE DRUGS!

NOT SURPRISINGLY, NO ONE REPRESENTING THE FEDS ARE TAKE-ING PART IN THIS EVENT (THEY NEVER DO), OTHER THAN A PARTISAN FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, WHO WAXED NOSTALGIC FOR "THE GOOD OLD DAYS" WHEN JANET RENO WAS IN CHARGE ...

OUR BEST HOPE IS TO VOTE THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION OUT OF OFFICE ...

ONLY THEN WILL WE EVER SEE REAL CHANGE!

OH, BROTHER ...

JUDGING FROM ALL THE EYE ROLLING HER COMMENTS ELICITS, I DOUBT MANY OF THE PEOPLE PRESENT SHARE HER FAITH IN THE DEMOCRATS ENDING THE DRUG WAR.

KING COUNTY A.D.A. DAN SATTERBERG IS THE ONLY ACTIVE MEMBER OF "THE DARK SIDE" TO SPEAK. HE TALKS UP THE COUNTY'S DRUG DIVERSION PROGRAM, PARTLY TO SHOW THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT ISN'T TOTALLY HEARTLESS ...

WE'VE HAD HUGE SUCCESS IN BOTH KEEPING PEOPLE OUT OF JAIL AND OFF OF DRUGS ...

BUT WE STILL NEED THE THREAT OF JAIL TO GET THEM OFF OF DRUGS!

LATER, SATTERBERG EXPLAINS HOW OUR "DRUG COURT" WORKS:

IT'S MAIN PURPOSE IS TO KEEP NONVIOLENT DRUG OFFENDERS OUT OF PRISON ...

EVEN THIRD--AND FOURTH-TIME OFFENDERS ARE GIVEN THE OPTION OF TAKING PART IN OUR TWO YEAR REHAB PROGRAM ...

YET SOME OF THEM STILL CHOOSE TO DO THE TIME?

IF IT'S A SHORT SENTENCE, YES, AND IF THEY HAVE NO DESIRE TO GET CLEAN ...

PLUS THE PROGRAM ITSELF IS HARDLY A CAKEWALK.

NO KIDDING! WHILE IT MAY BEAT GOING TO JAIL, OPTING FOR THIS PROGRAM BASICALLY MEANS INVITING THE STATE TO CRAWL UP YOUR ASS AND LIVE THERE FOR TWO WHOLE YEARS. IT'S HUMILIATING!

YOU ARE HEREBY ORDERED...