If you haven't seen the movie Traffic (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181865/), I highly recommend it. There's a scene where Michael Douglas' character, who plays the role of US Drug Czar, is in a room full of politicians and lobbyists. He is told by one of them that basically this is a war that will never be won nor end. The only success would be vaguely getting usage down. There will always be a demand that creates the supply.

edit: this scene from The Wire also has a great perspective on the war on drugs -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA5za4VsskM