|
Thomas Ravenel on Drugs
|
|
|
Mexican border problems come from failed War on Drugs
With respect to the current borders crossings by Mexican youth, let me say this: The effects of our disastrous drug policy are now spilling over onto U.S. soil. As Ron Paul has said, this problem is a direct result of our failed 'War on Drugs', which by
one estimate puts $300 billion per year into the hands of the most violent criminals on the face of the earth. On the other side, we give the Mexican government money to wage war with the drug cartels--and now children are being killed in the crossfire.
Many Mexican policemen are given the choice between "plata o plomo," which means "silver or lead." In other words they can either accept hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes--or they can refuse and be killed or
have a member of their family killed. And speaking of killing--who can forget the U.S. Justice Department's botched gun-running operation--"Fast and Furious?"
Source: 2014 S.C. Senate campaign website, RavenelForSenate.com
, Sep 1, 2014
End the war on drugs; it's federal overreach & unsuccessful
As part of his effort to limit federal overreach, Ravenel said he wants to see an end to the war on drugs, which he argues has fueled dangerous cartels in Mexico that profit from running drugs across the border."I don't want to see South Carolina
legalize drugs, but I want the federal government to say, 'We're getting out of this business,'" Ravenel said. "Our war on drugs is far worse than Prohibition" in the 1920s; "then it was just manufacturers; now it's mere users that get locked up."
Source: The Island Packet on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
, Jul 21, 2014
In favor of ending the war on drugs
Ravenel is in favor of ending the war on drugs. [He was elected in 2006 but] his term in office didn't last long. By June 2007 he was indicted on federal charges for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. (He wasn't selling, he tells
Mother Jones, just offering to friends when he was using it a couple of times per month: "I shared it because I didn't want to be a stingy guy who used it but didn't give it back," he says, noting that he "never even bought an eight-ball.")
Then-Gov. Mark Sanford (R) suspended Ravenel immediately, and he resigned from office shortly thereafter. Facing 20 years in jail and a $1 million fine, Ravenel accepted a plea deal to serve 10 months in prison and pay a $250,000 fine (he spent the
last three months of that sentence on house arrest at his mother's retirement home). He again ran afoul of the law when he faced drunk-driving charges in 2013, though that only resulted in a six-month suspension of his driver's license and a small fine.
Source: Mother Jones magazine on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
, May 12, 2014
Page last updated: Sep 06, 2017