My question was entirely rhetorical. I thought it important to clarify that the post was factually correct, and one should not take its font color as an indication otherwise, even though that is usually a sensible assumption regarding downvoted posts that are simple statements of fact.
Incidentally, when did HN guidelines start privileging entertainment value? That is certainly at odds with what I consider the spirit of this community to be.
It is my hope that the power of our words will sort things out. I'm here to argue in the original sense of the word, and while I am ultimately interested in the broad consequences of drug laws in the US, I consider it healthy and productive to first focus on an indisputably negative consequence, physical harm -- especially when it has been proposed that these laws have resulted in more of this than any war in recent history. If we can't talk through this point, a fair treatment of broader and less easily chracterized consequences is hopeless.
When cartels can't sell drugs, they sell organs, arms, and women. We have lawlessness in countries hosting organized crime and a troubled, self-destructive underclass
driving demand for their product to blame, not drug laws themselves. Those laws are almost the only good thing about the situation.
It is not my intention to hurt any feelings. I apologize if I have been interpreted as personally hostile. I will take care to avoid any further confusion. Thanks.
As a side note, this is my tenth+ (stopped updating this) attempt to post this comment due to the slowban you've imposed on my account, so I would like if you clarified to readers that my ability to comment further here has been impaired, contrary to the plain subtext of your post.
The OP chose to talk about bloodshed. We are now characterizing how bloody the 'war on drugs' has been. We are not characterizing how bad it might be in any other sense. This is a focused argument intended to examine something precisely. I asked about bloodshed in response to a claim about bloodshed. I don't want to hear about 'trickle down punishment' in response. Do you understand how inadequate that is?
This is a rather lazy analysis. Would you like to consider any more than a single act of terrorism on the other side of your accounting? 'All of the death [or violence] south of the border' is also rather imprecise and self-generous.
You are horribly underinformed if you think any of Afghanistan's issues are rooted in US domestic drug policy. I recommend reading more than one book on the history of the region.
How many people do you wager bled any amount over the half century in this 'war'? It is my understanding that a lot of people (rightfully) faced criminal penalties, and even that number pales in comparison to the victims of actual violence in real wars.