Got a spoon encrusted with SpaghettiOs sauce? That's a jailing in Florida....

The war on drugs has intended consequences and victims.  Ashley Gabrielle Huff did a month in jail before the crime lab cleared her.

GAINESVILLE, Florida (KRON) — A Florida woman may pursue legal action against police and prosecutors after she spent more than a month in jail for possession of SpaghettiOs.
Police say they arrested 23-year old Ashley Gabrielle Huff after they found a spoon covered with a suspicious residue inside the car she was riding in.

Governor Chris Christie calls for an end to the war on drugs...

Well, it has been an abysmal failure. However you feel about legalizing some currently illegal substances, the current system isn't effective. It's time to try something different.

“We will end the failed war on drugs that believes that incarceration is the cure of every ill caused by drug abuse. We will make drug treatment available to as many of our non-violent offenders as we can and we will partner with our citizens to create a society that understands this simple truth: every life has value and no life is disposable,” Christie said during his inaugural speech this morning.
The governor expressed desire to help those struggling with drug addiction in a bipartisan manner. “And, while government has a role in ensuring the opportunity to accomplish these dreams, we have now learned that we have an even bigger role to play as individual citizens. We have to be willing to play outside the red and blue boxes the media and pundits put us in; we have to be willing to reach out to others who look or speak differently than us; we have to be willing to personally reach out a helping hand to a neighbor suffering from drug addiction, depression or the dignity stripping loss of a job,” said Christie.
Governor Christie’s inaugural remarks are being applauded by drug policy reform advocates.

Chart of the Day: Drug War Fail...

If you think the so called "War on drugs" is working, take a look at this chart...

Global Commission on Drug Policy Recommends End To War On Drugs

The war on drugs, launched 40 years ago, was well intentioned, but it has failed much as prohibition failed early last century. There is no doubt drug and alcohol abuse do serious damage to society and many have a strong desire to punish the individuals involved. The above chart shows the catastrophic rise in incarceration due mainly to the war on drugs. The U.S. imprisons a larger percentage of it's population than any other country, even communist China. This doesn't appear to be a policy that is working and, since Obama and Democrats have pushed us to the brink of bankruptcy, we can no longer afford it. A path toward less incarceration and more treatment for users seems prudent. Let's remember this definition of insanity by Albert Einstein:

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

This message is not one conservatives want to hear, but it's time to face reality. Liberal is the insane political affiliation, not conservative.

Atlanta — In an extraordinary new initiative announced earlier this month, the Global Commission on Drug Policy has made some courageous and profoundly important recommendations in a report on how to bring more effective control over the illicit drug trade. The commission includes the former presidents or prime ministers of five countries, a former secretary general of the United Nations, human rights leaders, and business and government leaders, including Richard Branson, George P. Shultz and Paul A. Volcker.

The report describes the total failure of the present global antidrug effort, and in particular America’s “war on drugs,” which was declared 40 years ago today. It notes that the global consumption of opiates has increased 34.5 percent, cocaine 27 percent and cannabis 8.5 percent from 1998 to 2008. Its primary recommendations are to substitute treatment for imprisonment for people who use drugs but do no harm to others, and to concentrate more coordinated international effort on combating violent criminal organizations rather than nonviolent, low-level offenders.