The Drug War - Where has it taken us?

In my hunt for interesting news articles today, I came across one that really got me outraged. It was a story of a marine who was shot at 71 times by a SWAT team because he was suspected of being involved in the drug trade, even though he wasn't. It can be read here, and the 54 second clip of the incident (don't worry, it's blood free) can be seen here on YouTube.

The story is of a marine (Jose Guerena) who was woken up by his wife in the morning and told that she saw a man with a gun outside through the window. Being a marine, Jose had a gun in the house, and he grabbed it in order to protect his family. His wife and son hid in the closet, and as the SWAT team busted the door in and saw him holding a gun (which was on safety by the way), they shot at him 71 times, and hit him 22 times. Jose's wife and four year old son saw him get killed through the closet with their very own eyes.

Now I know that legalizing drugs is a big no-no politically in today's society, but I don't understand how people can be so blind to the amount of damage it's caused for America and Mexico. Tens of thousands of people have been murdered by the drug cartels in Mexico, and as if that weren't bad enough, our civil liberties here have been at great threat. Now, busting into people's homes like this is common, and people are just expected to shut up about it and do whatever the police says. Unfortunately, Jose didn't even know it was the police at the door, and he was killed for trying to defend his family.

People might think I'm endorsing the use of drugs. This couldn't be further from the truth. I think drug use is a serious medical problem, and the consequences are absolutely abhorrent. However, wasn't this country build on the principles of freedom and liberty? Wasn't it intended for the people to make their own decisions, whether or not they are the right ones? The truth is, the drug war has been catastrophic to the cause of freedom, and the fact that a marine, who served his country honorably, was shot 22 times should raise questions in everyone's minds.

What do you think? Has the drug war been worth it? Does the prospect of making drugs go away make this incident OK?