Sting regains his sting

I hereby retract the bad review I gave Sting's first solo album in The Moruya Examiner in 1985, headlined 'Sting loses his Sting while Dreaming of Blue Turtles'. Sting has redeemed himself by coming out in support of drug law reform, writing a lucid piece in the Huffington Post that had the drug warriors unable to respond except with formulaic babble.

Sting:

The War on Drugs has failed -- but it's worse than that. It is actively harming our society. Violent crime is thriving in the shadows to which the drug trade has been consigned. People who genuinely need help can't get it. Neither can people who need medical marijuana to treat terrible diseases. We are spending billions, filling up our prisons with non-violent offenders and sacrificing our liberties.

All of which is factually correct. Note Sting does not condone or encourage drug use -- he just criticises the War on Drugs. Then comes this response from DARE, an anti-drug outfit that for some reason is allowed to teach stuff in American schools:

Sting should stick to singing and not meddle in matters he doesn't understand. We do not need pop stars coming out and making irresponsible statements like that

Note there is no rebuttal of any of Sting's points, no revelation of how his position is irresponsible. They assert that a rock superstar who most likely has seen the drug world from inside out doesn't understand what these self-appointed preachers think they do.

More from Sting, former lead singer of The Police, describing succinctly the ugly world drug warriors are happily creating in their delusional and self-righteous pursuits:

Civil liberties have been trampled. Law enforcement has been militarized. Literally hundreds of billions of dollars -- dollars denied to urgent problems ranging from poverty to pollution -- have been spent. People who do need help with drugs have been treated as criminals instead. Meanwhile, resources to fight genuine crime -- violent crime -- have been significantly diminished. And in exchange for all this, the War on Drugs has not stopped people from using drugs or kept drugs from crossing the borders or being sold on the streets.