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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Is It Time to Cease Fire in the War on Drugs?

    As a US Senator, Barack Obama said, "The war on drugs is an utter failure." Many narcotics agents, prosecutors and judges agree. New York may repeal tough anti-drug laws.  The federal government may stop raids in states that have legalized medical marijuana.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    As a US Senator, Barack Obama said, "The war on drugs is an utter failure." Many narcotics agents, prosecutors and judges agree. New York may repeal tough anti-drug laws. The federal government may stop raids in states that have legalized medical marijuana. That's now California's top crop, and there's a proposal to regulate and tax marijuana for state revenue during hard times. Three former South American presidents are among those who've asked the US for a "paradigm shift" in the so-called war. Would ending it take the profit out of crime, violence and increased addiction, or would it be like fighting a fire with napalm? We hear a debate that's coming out of the shadows.

    The full episode

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    Is It Time to Cease Fire in the War on Drugs?
    1. 1:48Government Tries to Keep AIG Afloat
    2. 7:46Is It Time to Cease Fire in the War on Drugs?You’re reading this
    3. 43:29Chinese Bidder Refuses to Pay for Looted Art
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Frances Anderton

      architecture critic and author

    • Sonya Geis with wavy brown hair wearing a black dress with red accents and decorative earrings against a white background.

      Sonya Geis

      Senior Managing Editor

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      Karen Radziner

      Managing Producer, To the Point & Which Way LA?

    • KCRW placeholder

      Jack A. Cole

      Executive Director, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

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      Edmund Hartnett

      Commissioner, Yonkers Police Department

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      Tom Ammiano

      longtime LGBTQ rights activist and former San Francisco Supervisor

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Is It Time to Cease Fire in the War on Drugs?
    1. 1:48Government Tries to Keep AIG Afloat
    2. 7:46Is It Time to Cease Fire in the War on Drugs?You’re reading this
    3. 43:29Chinese Bidder Refuses to Pay for Looted Art
    Back to To the Point