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Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed: A Judicial Indictment Of War On Drugs

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Judge James Gray has served in several capacities, including prosecutor, defense attorney, and judge as well as his recent career move as an author and possible political candidate. Through his work in the legal system, he has witnessed the corruption, the injustice, and the overall insanity of the War on Drugs. He wrote this book as an educational piece and as a call to political action.

Gray presents dozens of quotes from individuals in government, in law, and in other walks of life who have observed the failures of the drug war and know that the laws against drug use are actually more harmful than the drugs themselves. Gray shows how the drug laws have been used to justify expansion of government power and erosion of civil liberties. He shows how drug laws corrupt law enforcement officials and often lead to early paroling of violent criminals in order to make room in prison cells for non- violent drug offenders. Most politicians refuse to touch this issue (with a few exceptions, like former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson) out of fear. They worry how the ignorant, misinformed public will respond so they just push the issue under the table and hope it doesn't resurface during election time.

One of the most indicting facts about the pro- drug war radicals is the fact that they usually refuse to debate anti- drug war advocates in a public forum. Death- loving extremists, like the evil former drug czar Barry McCaffrey, refuse to debate these issues. This intimidation of taking on an anti- drug war individual speaks volumes. If the pro- drug war forces really felt their message was srong, they would have no problem having a debate and, in fact, would likely welcome one. But Gray points out that he is usually shunned when he approaches one of these drug war supporters with an invitation for an open debate.

Gray presents many angles of the drug issue in this book, and then he follows his words with a defined plan of action. He doesn't necessarily push his own views as the only ones that are valid. Rather, he presents the facts and lets the reader decide, confident in the fact that most anyone who knows the facts will likely take the side against continuing the insane war on drugs.

Gray wrote this book as a wake up call. The crazy war on drugs has caused endless amounts of human tragedy while making many people (drug kingpins, law enforcement, lawyers, etc.) very rich. It's no wonder that these people want to keep the war going. It has nothing to do with morals or justice. They don't want to see an end to the flow of funds into their already oversized wallets. But something has to be done. If the failed war on drugs is not ended soon, Gray fears that more and more civil liberties and privacy rights will be lost and the United Stated will continue to send a larger and larger portion of its population to serve time in jail, which will do absolutely nothing to curtail drug use and will result in more and more expansions of government power and control. His book is outspoken and gets right to the heart of the matter, and I highly recommend reading this book to anyone who has even the slightest interest in law, politics, and justice

The war on drugs is a difficult and emotional topic. As a "law and order" type conservative, it goes against my grain to side in opposition to the law enforcement and government communities. But as I am also a closet Libertarian, I have been increasingly alarmed by the destruction of our constitutional rights and civil society that has become the legacy of the War on Drugs.

Judge Gray thoroughly sums up the views of many Americans such as myself. We are not in any way part of the drug culture (Usually one of the first accusations leveled against opponents of the war on drugs), it's just that we've come to see the insanity of our policies on this topic. Pulling every aspect of the War on Drugs together, he paints a comprehensive picture of self destructive insanity that I had never imagined- even though I was already familiar with many of the subjects he raises. Then he spells out the entire variety of other options available to us to handle this problem. They range from quite mild to very radical, and he's very frank about the advantages and pitfalls of each, as well as how "doable" they are.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid he's preaching to the choir. Only those of like mind ar liable to read this book. If I could, I'd send a copy of this book, or at least a pamphlet of the hightlights, to every adult in the United States.

The book is peppered with anecdotes and quotes from a variety of sources. One that stays with me seems to sum up the entire point of the book.

"We should save prisons for people we are afraid of, rather than those we are simply mad at."

I am a social conservative and previously supported the War on Drugs because, well, drugs are bad.

But I read this book and became convinced that the U.S. couldn't have devised a better strategy than the War on Drugs to ENRICH drug dealers and INCREASE harms affiliated with drug abuse. If Americans had ANY IDEA how reckless and counterproductive our current drug policy is, there would be HUGE political pressure for change.

That's where "Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed" comes in. Conservative judge James P. Gray -- who presides over the Superior Court in Orange County, CA -- is certainly "in the know" about drug abuse issues. With over 20 years' experience as a judge, Gray is on the front lines of the War on Drugs. A former prosecutor and self-proclaimed "drug warrior," Gray's own efforts only persuaded him that the War on Drugs is causing much more harm than good.

(I took off one star because Gray is a decent writer, but much of his sentence construction is a little clunky.)

This book should be required reading for EVERY American voter! Judge Gray will convince you that America is only shooting itself in the foot and dragging down other countries with it. (Indeed, Gray promises in his introduction: "No one who reads this book and thinks objectively about the issues it raises will favor a continuation of our present drug policy.") This is not just rhetoric -- even with all the sweat, blood, and money we pump into the drug war, there are more drugs on our streets than ever before! We couldn't have devised a bigger failure if we tried.

Thankfully, the author does detail numerous common-sense alternatives to the two extremes of drug prohibition and drug legalization.

"Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed" demonstrates that our War on Drugs is needlessly and recklessly tearing apart lives and families. That should be enough to give liberals AND conservatives pause.

Someone wrote that this book preaches to the choir. This is not the case. Anne Coulter, Michael Moore- these people preach to the choir. In this book, Gray makes an argument, and a very well-constructed one at that. It convinced the hell out of me, anyway, and beforehand I didn't really have a strong opinion either way about the drug war.
A reviewer of this book below wrote that it leaves a lot of questions unanswered. This may be true, but I don't think he has to apologize for not providing all the answers to our drug problems in the same omnipotent tone that has been used on us by drug warriors for decades...remember, he's against this kind of inflexible approach.
I was impressed by the book's objectivity, focus, and even-keeled nature. He doesn't let emotions get in the way of his book's lucidity, even though its obvious he has passion for the issue.

Every American should read this.

This book attracted my attention because I was looking for a solution to our current drug problems as well as over crowded prison population. I was one of those people that would have never even considered drugs as being in the same category as alcohol prohibition. After reading his book I felt I became educated about the realities of drug use and abuse. He opened my mind and helped me see something I never would have seen had I not read this book. He knows what he is talking about because he's experienced it first hand. He also explains why things don't change. I hope more people that think they understand the current drug laws will take the time to read "Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It"!

"Judge James P. Gray, a California trial court judge since 1983, has come to believe that the war on drugs is an abject failure both on its own terms (stopping illegal drug use) and with regard to its impact on society. As an experienced trial judge and former federal prosecutor who briefly held a record for the largest drug prosecution in the Central District of California, Judge Gray is in a position to speak with authority about what is wrong with the war on drugs. He does so in compelling language. For example, he opens the book by promising readers that drug policy with someday change, and when it does, "we will look back n astonishment that we allowed our former policy to persist for so long, much as we look back now at slavery, or Jim Crow laws, or the days when women were prohibited from voting" (p. 5)."

"In sum, Judge Gray's book is an interesting, well-written, and lively account of the costs of drug prohibition. It should not be the only book someone reads on the subject, however, although it is a reasonable introduction to the general subject. Those deeply interested in the subject with want to read it mainly for the marvelous quotes from judges and for Judge Gray's own comments on the evolution of his understanding."

-From "The Independent Review," Summer 2002

If you are absolutely convinced that we are winning the war on drugs, don't bother to read this book. But if you have even the slightest doubts about what we are doing on this battlefield, then this extraordinary book will be an eye-opener. Judge Gray, along with such conservatives as George Schultz and William Buckley, Jr. are certainly not radicals. They are simply realists who realize that the drug war is an unwinnable war. If you want to know why, then Judge Gray's thoroughly documented work will show you why--in detail!

The title of the book clearly indicates its thesis. But this book is more than just a judicial indictment of the war on drugs. It is clearly written and well organized, providing detailed information and sources while being easy to read.

I have bought six copies so far. Three copies I've given as gifts, and the others I use to lend out. I have found this book an excellent resource for those who are just now beginning to realize that there might be problems with current drug war policies.

The arguments in this book are hardly new. They've been made many times before by many different people.

What's important about this book is that it comes from a man with impeccable conservative credentials: Military service, former prosecutor, and appointed to the bench by a Republican. He used to be a strong supporter of the drug war until he saw how it fails so miserably.

As long as drug legalization is seen as a cause for pot-smoking hippies a lot of people will dismiss it (meaning no disrespect to pot-smoking hippies). But as more conservatives like Gray step up and argue against drug prohibition, Middle America will be more likely to listen.

I wont repeat what others have said about how this book highlights the waste of money and the erosion of liberties of the current drug prohibition. What is equally great in this book is the examples of how Switzerland (and previously parts of the UK and even New Orleans back in the 1910s) uses maintenance programs to keep addicts healthy but not high as they wean them off drugs AND lowered crime, reduced drug use, and saved taxpayers money. Yet we are not allowed to sensibly debate or even to know about this in the USA because it sends a "bad message to our children". Gray's best line is "Do we really believe that Swiss parents love their kids less than we love ours?" The evidence suggest that they may care about them more....