The War On Drugs And Its Effects On America - 1065 Words

Over 45 years ago, U.S. President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse public enemy number one, initiating an unprecedented global campaign, the War on Drugs. Today, the War on Drugs is a huge failure, with devastating unintended consequences. It led to corruption, violence, and mass incarceration. It negatively affected the lives of millions of people. All of this while we waste billions of dollars every year only to create and fuel powerful drug cartels. This global conflict has to end. The core strategy of the War on Drugs is to eradicate drugs and prevent all causes of drug use. So almost all of the efforts in the last few decades have been focused on eliminating the supply of drugs and incarcerating drug traffickers. But this disobeys†¦show more content†¦Violence/homicide by drug prohibition is also similar to alcohol prohibition. In the internet article, The Economics Behind the U.S. Government s Unwinnable War on Drugs, the author Benjamin Powell stated, When alcohol wa s prohibited in the early twentieth century, violent criminal gangs catered to the nation s thirst for alcohol. To summarize, the violence associated with drugs, both by users to support their addiction and by gangs supplying the drugs, is a product of prohibition rather than a rationale for prohibition. Another reason why the War on Drugs has failed is due to its mass incarceration of non-violent drug offenders. Even Republican Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie agrees as he said at the Prisoner Reentry Press Conference, I don t believe that the only weapon we use against the drug problem is incarceration...for nonviolent offenders (The War on Drugs Isn t Working). According to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), From 1980 to 2008, the number of people incarcerated in America quadrupled-from roughly 500,000 to 2.3 million. (Criminal Justice Fact Sheet). Most of these arrests were dealt with punishments that didn t fit the crime. A big time d rug trafficker with no violent criminal history will serve more years than a sex offender or violent burglar. As a factual illustration, African Americans serve virtually as much time in prison for a drug offense (58.7Show MoreRelated America And The War On Drugs Essay1216 Words   |  5 Pagescountries with problems. Why does America care about what is happening in other countries like Columbia, when they have their own problems with drugs? The Untied States of America has a rather large drug trafficking problem but compared to Columbia it is fairly small. To help Columbia solve their problem the U.S. senate has decided to send troops over there and take control. This new involvement will have many consequences in and what can you make for instance the cost of a war, the loss and gain of jobsRead MoreUnited States War On Drugs Essay1575 Words   |  7 PagesStates’ â€Å"War on Drugs† been successful in reducing illicit drug abuse in the country? The â€Å"War on Drugs† is a term generally referred in America to the campaign aiming to reduce drug abuse in the country. The term first appeared in July 18 1971, when former U.S. President Richard Nixon started the campaign. However, on April 9, 2015, President Obama publicly announced that the policy has been counterproductive, and needs to be overhauled. Based on my research, I have concluded that the â€Å"War on Drugs†Read MoreThe War On Drugs And The United States1555 Words   |  7 PagesThe War on Drugs has been an ongoing effect ever since the Civil War introduced the drug morphine to the world. In the years since people have been coming up with drugs more lethal than morphine such as cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and so on and so forth. The War on Drugs is dangerous and leads to many deaths throughout the years. America has set up agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and other drug task force teams throughout the United States. Even thou gh we may not be ableRead MoreThe Drug War Of America1407 Words   |  6 PagesThe drug war in America has shaped our society into what we know it as today, the war has so far been a failure where hundreds of millions of dollars, workforce, and policies have only served to maintain the same rates of usage as those in the 1970’s. When the drugs hit America, they hit hard. Overwhelmed by drugs showing up in almost every town, America decided to declare war. Drugs first surfaced in the late 1880’s with Opium. Opium at the time was the most in demand drug choice. Opium comes fromRead MoreThe New Jim Crow Essay1052 Words   |  5 Pagespeople would be surprised to find out that there is still a racial caste system in America. After witnessing the election of a black president, people have started believing that America has entered a post-racial society. This is both a patently false and dangerous mindset. The segregation and stigma of race is still very much alive in our society. Instead of a formalized institution such as slavery or Jim Crow, America has found a new way to continue the marginalization of blacks by using the criminalRead MoreThe War on Drugs1350 Words   |  6 Pagesof America has been struggling with the problem of drug addiction of its citizens. This has led the federal government to take measures to restrain the problem of addiction in the United States. However, after observing these measures, such as the â €˜War on Drugs’ and its consequences, scholars now question the effectiveness of the drug policy implemented. Some scholars even argue that the War on Drugs has been more harmful to American citizens than helpful. Also, scholars claim that the drug policyRead MoreMexican Drug War Outline816 Words   |  4 PagesCarpenter, Ted. Undermining Mexico’s Dangerous Drug Cartels. Cato Institute. N.p.. Web. 23 Jul 2013. lt;http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/undermining-mexicos-dangerous-drug-cartelsgt;. Al-Eryani, Ausan. Mexico’s drug war effects US as well. Collegiate Times. Virginia Tech. Web. 23 Jul 2013. lt;http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/18328/mexicos-drug-war-effects-us-as-well/p2gt;. Grillo, Ioan. US troops aid Mexico in drug war. Global Post. N.p.. Web. 23 Jul 2013. lt;http://wwwRead MoreHow Congress Has Influenced Our Current Ineffective Drug Policy1521 Words   |  7 Pagesnation s general drug history and look critically at how Congress has influenced our current ineffective drug policy. Through this analysis I hope to show that drug prohibition policies in the United States, for the most part, have failed. Additionally, I will highlight and evaluate the influences acting on individual legislators decisions to continue support for these ineffective policies as a more general demonstration of Congress role in the formation of our nation s drug policy strategy.Read MoreThe War On Drugs And Its Effects On Society1276 Words   |  6 PagesJust a little over a year and a half after being in office President Reagan declared a â€Å"war on drugs†, creating a zero tolerance policy. The â€Å"war on drugs† claimed that it would reduce drug use if the y were made illegal. The common misconception of the idea of this solution if that by restricting the supply of illicit drugs for the demand the price would increase making it harder for users to afford the habit and further discourage users from using. When in reality this shifted individuals into diggingRead More U.S. Drug Policy Versus Drug Reality Essay1334 Words   |  6 Pagesserious about winning the war on drugs, it will have to face some hard facts about the failure of its drug policy to date. Since Reagan introduced the war on drugs in the early 1980s, the focus of anti-drug legislation has been on incarceration and eradication, not on drug education and treatment. Drug use is viewed as a crimethe same way that burglary and murder are viewed as crimeswithout examining the social and economic causes behind drug use. This categorization of drug use as criminal misrepresents