From the New York Times…

When he was running for office, Donald J. Trump promised to rid America of the scourge of drugs, vowing to crack down on dealers and invest heavily in programs to get heroin and other opioids off the streets.

But on Friday, President Trump’s administration revealed plans to gut the 2018 budget of his Office of National Drug Control Policy. According to an Office of Management and Budget document obtained by The New York Times, the White House is proposing to slash the drug policy office budget by about 95 percent, to just $24 million from $388 million.

I’m going to be entirely honest… I’m kinda split on this.

Why?

Simple…

I think the War on Drugs is one of the bigger mistakes made by the US. It’s origins are racist, and that hasn’t changed over the many decades its been fault. It’s also been a massive failure over all, throwing people in prison who do not deserve to be there, and wasting trillions of dollars that could be better used for many more important things, including funding for addiction treatment programs.

I also think we need to entirely rethink the way we handle drugs. It’s one thing if we’re talking about stuff like crystal meth and bath salts, which even I would agree should be illegal (while still not condemning addicts as criminals). But I am a very vocal advocate for the complete legalization of marijuana, and would also add natural drugs like ayahuasca, ‘shrooms, and so on to that list. I would also argue for the legalization of drugs like LSD for medical use/study as well. I think even heroine and cocaine, while being strictly controlled, could, at the very least, be available to researchers (if nothing else).

This would mean entirely dismantling the current institutions that deal with drugs, including the Drug Control Office. I am in full support of moves that lead to such outcomes.

On the other hand, we already know that Agent Orange does not share these views, being yet another advocate of the War on Drugs. And as is always said, even when he does something that looks good on a superficial level, it simply can’t be trusted.

This, ultimately, is yet more proof that Tan Man doesn’t really know what he’s doing, which continues to be terrifying.