Your mistake is in thinking that the government actually wants to win the war. That type of thinking is for the commoners and is the product of propaganda. The real goal of war is of course money. If you win the war there is nothing left to fund. Government doesn't want to win the war on drugs, they want to make a profit. To understand this you need to realize that the government doesn't actually spend money fighting wars, they take your money and fund themselves and call this action "fighting a war" , usually against something that they have demonized via propaganda campaigns (as in drugs) or greatly blown out of proportion (for example terrorism). It is quite the sophisticated conspiracy, and some of them certainly drink their own kool aid. But when there is evidence supporting something, when a rational mind can see something, you just must come to the conclusion that people who pretend otherwise are either mentally defective or willing participants in the conspiracy. I pity some of them because much like religious people exposed to a religion since birth, it makes them extremely uncomfortable to question obvious fallacies even when there is enormous evidence that discredits their beliefs. People have a much easier time accepting previously believed lies than adopting new truths. The sociology of the war on drugs[etc] and government control is really quite amazing.