FaceBook Colloquy: A "War On Prohibitionist Memes"?

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Police made 853,838 arrests in 2010 for marijuana-related offenses, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual Uniform Crime Report, released today. The arrest total is among the highest ever reported by the agency and is nearly identical to the total number of cannabis-related arrests reported in 2009. According to the report, marijuana arrests now comprise more than one-half (52 percent) of all drug arrests in the United States. An estimated 46 percent of all drug arrests are for ... marijuana possession.
“Today, as in past years, the so-called ‘drug war’ remains fueled by the arrests of minor marijuana possession offenders, a disproportionate percentage of whom are ethnic minorities,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said... “It makes no sense to continue to waste law enforcements’ time and taxpayers’ dollars to arrest and prosecute Americans for their use of a substance that poses far fewer health risks than alcohol or tobacco.”
Of those charged with marijuana law violations, 750,591 (88 percent) were arrested for marijuana offenses involving possession only.... Overall, law enforcement agents nationwide arrested 1,638,846 people last year for drug abuse violations, surpassing arrests for all other crimes. Since 2000, law enforcement have reported making an estimated 7.9 million arrests for marijuana violations.
Marijuana Arrests Driving America’s So-Called ‘Drug War,’ Latest FBI Data Shows" September 19th, 2011. By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
A friend said: "I read a Huffington Post article recently saying that local law authorities are given monetary incentives to "fight the war on drugs" . Profits are made through Federal Government grants and property seizures. No incentives are awarded for the prosecution of assault, battery, robbery, etc etc. Which begs the question, can we create viruses that attack memes? That is, the "war on drugs" meme is a non physical entity which causes physical harm through human activities. Can we write memes to counter the effect. War on Memes anybody?"
John Thrasher: I'm doing just that, on quite a few levels, my friend. It feels like C1/E1 leftover dharma engineering that still rankles those of us still plugging ever onwards. Specifically with regard to your query. Neuro-Linguistic Programming provides a theoretical framework for vetting the viability of your assertion, and a blueprint for how, possibly such virii might be engineered and implemented. The 'phages' would probably have to be 'soundbytes', catchy slogans and or short phrases designed to slide past the filters of preconceptions and embed themselves in the subconscious without triggering any culturally conditioned defenses. One I used recently was: "50,000 people a year die of alcohol poisoning (overdoses)! No one has ever died from a marijuana overdose." The cost/benefit analysis is useful, too: "Cut the Deficit in half: Stop arresting/jailing folk for having/smoking a joint." The backlash will be from the entrenched "Drug Enforcement Industry". The number of jobs on the line is enormous. Whole City Police Depts. are funded on the income from just their Drug Enforcement Depts.
A friend: "My point being that this will never end as long as there is somebody in power who is making a monetary profit or an ego reward. (The guy who gets paid to wear a flack jacket, carry a sidearm and assault rifle, and fly at tax payer expense in a helicopter over Mendicino County looking for suspicious flora)."
John Thrasher: The beauty of having been trained as a "Man Who Stares At Goats" is that, without ever breaking any laws or coming under any suspicion as a 'threat' on the Physical Plane, I can use the Psychic Skills I was taught during my 10 year stint with MKUltra to 'persuade' DEA Officials that their best interests lie in finding employment elsewhere. This would be pure 'poetic justice'. Maybe we can have public rituals against Prohibitionists, kinda' like Marion Zimmer Bradley and her Feminist Wiccan Covens used to curse rapists on a regular basis at their meetings. Watch for a Magically induced rash of hemorrhoids to plague top DEA officials over the next 6 months. What are they going to charge me with? "Casting an illegal curse or spell"? The publicity alone from that would pay for the rest of my retirement in 'high' style! ROFL !!!