Cocaine As A Psychoactive Drug

Through my research I have found our involvement in the drug world follows the same theme that seems to recur with our government and their policies. We talk a good game that formulates a structure and a well-worded policy that appears to be in the best interest of American citizens and foreigners alike. However we also aid these countries. The problem doesn’t lie within our policies or the simple compassion from our government that drugs hurt our society. The problems occur with those that implement and enforce these policies. Cocaine and its market cannot be eradicated. The efforts of many of our political leaders have been futile because of the supply and demand of the product. In 1989, President Bush had a plan that he called, “The cheapest and safest way to eradicate narcotics” (Menzel pg.43). The result was the following,

In 1971, President Richard Nixon initiated the national War on Drugs, which focused on the passage of policies geared toward fighting illegal substances (Amundson, Zajicek, and Hunt, 2014). During this time, Nixon allocated two-thirds of federal dollars for treatment of drug addiction and prevention of new users and one-third of federal dollars for interdiction and enforcement (Amundson et al., 2014). After Nixon’s initial War on Drugs program, policies and programs began to shift. Under the Regan Administration, the War on Drugs became more punitive and there was a reversal of federal dollars. Under the new and subsequent regimes, two-thirds of money was spent on interdiction and enforcement and one-third was spent on treatment and prevention (Amundson et al., 2014). Under this new Administration came tougher sentencing, an increase in prison spending, and mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenses (Amundson et al.,

Since the late 19th century, the federal and states governments of the United States have enacted laws and policies to deter the use and distribution of illegal drugs. These laws and policies have not only deemed what drugs are legal and illegal, but have also established penalties for the possession and distribution of these substances and established federal agencies to control drug use and administer drug law enforcement. This essay will not only examine the landmark drug laws and policies established by the federal and state governments, but also the enforcement of drug laws.

More than 45 years ago President Richard Nixon announced and declared the nation is at war, that war was the "War on Drugs". Nancy Reagan campaigned heavily in the fight against drug use as well; her fight was that of teaching young children the slogan of “Just Say No”. The goals of the criminal justice system in the war on drugs have been a never ending fight against the sale of illicit drugs and that of combating drug abuse. We will discuss the increased resources spent on law enforcement and rehabilitation while making an attempt in understanding

One of the greatest problems we face in America today is the use and abuse of drugs in our country. It is important to find a solution that works within our country to combat the growing populations of our nation’s prisons, keep the supply of drugs under control, and have adequate prevention programs in place to help people who need treatment. Throughout reading the material for this course and the research conducted on the topics described in this paper, it is clear that the methods used in earlier years were not able to achieve the results we would like to see. Advocating for reform and the support of the American people can help with the desperate need for change.

In 1968, President Richard Nixon declared a “war on drugs”. This was in response to the health and law enforcement concerns that emerged in society from the exploitation of drugs. Nixon opted to cease the war on drugs, by developing policies that would slow both the supply and demand of drugs. In the 1980’s, Columbia became the United States prime focus due to their emergence of cocaine across the United States border which later leads to affect other Latin American countries. Today, the war continues despite the political advancements that both the U.S and Columbia have made.

The United States have declared that it is doing its best to combat the war on drugs. The drug problem has not stopped and the people continue to buy drugs no matter what circumstances they are obtained. With drugs prices rising, people are willing do anything to get drugs even if it leads them to become involved in criminal activities such as robbery. The money and military activity have not been enough, and the “urban problem,” has not been resolved. The United States has the largest demand of drugs in the world. While other countries also face the drug problem, the United States has spent the most money and law enforcement; however, its effectiveness is questionable. Consequently, now there is a great amount of drugs coming from Mexico’s borderline into the United States. The drug cartels have become more violent, killing Mexican officers and innocent people in order to smuggle their drugs. The United States needs more security control and better coordination between agencies to fight the violent Mexican drug war spilling across the southern border. There is not enough organization between the D.E.A and other groups such as the Department of Homeland Security. The United States has little hope of winning the war unless enough protection on the border and Border States are developed. The agencies need better coordination between the federal, state and locals agencies in order to prevent more drugs to cross

“Narcotic addiction is a major contributor to crime (...) Therefore, I propose the establishment of a central authority with overall responsibility for all major Federal drug abuse prevention, education, treatment, rehabilitation, training, and research programs in all Federal agencies”. (Nixon Par. 6, 16)

In 1971 Nixon declared his “War on Drugs”, stating that drugs are “America’s public enemy number one.” Although drugs were illegal long before Nixon, his war on drugs was the beginning of the Unites State’s drug policy as it exists today. In 1973, Nixon went on to create the Drug Enforcement Agency, otherwise known as the DEA, in order to rage “an all-out global war on the drug menace” (Suddath, “Brief History: The War on Drugs.”). This set the stage for what is now nearly 45 years of this “war” in an attempt to stop both the use of drugs and the harms they cause to the country. As such, the aim of this policy, as with most political policies, was to improve the United States, and create a

Policy should not be focused on trying to combat the drug cartels but rather at fixing drug dependency. Since the 1971 War on Drugs declaration, the U.S. government has thrown money in attempt to combat the supply side of the drug issue. President Reagan increased funding for drug interdiction from $437 million to $1.4 billion but decreased drug awareness and treatment programs from $386million to $362 million. President Clinton allocated $7.8 billion to combat supply and only $5.4 billion for the demand side. Money needs to be allocated in the right place which means investing in the demand side through “education, prevention, and rehabilitation.” Funds need to be allocated to restructure educational programs, such as DARE, in order to deeply impact the minds of America’s youth. Like alcoholism, drug dependency needs to be viewed as a disease which requires a rehabilitation process. The focus needs to be shifted from imprisoning drug users that are in desperate need of help to keeping society healthy. This can be achieved by decriminalizing (not legalizing) drug use. A great example is Holland’s decriminalization of drugs which has led to a significant decline in hard drugs. Additionally, by building up rehabilitation programs, past drug users will be able to enter the workforce and become productive members of society as well as capable and attentive parents. The National Institute on Drug Abuse

This is a health crisis as well as a financial burden on the health-care system. Crystal feels that “ there is no therapy other than psychological therapies [for cocaine]. If we could develop vaccines that were effective then, in fact, it would be very important and you could use the term game

I agree that people found with personal use amounts of cocaine or methamphetamines should be prosecuted and if they have a good behavior in prison, the sentence should be less than or suspended if they agree to undergo drug rehabilitation. This may be a way to reduce the worldwide epidemic of cocaine and methamphetamines among addicts. If there are no strict laws against drug abuse, individuals will continue using drugs and the number of violence and crime will increase. Furthermore, Cocaine is very harmful to the body, since it is made of toxic chemicals, which adversely affects the brain. If the government does nothing about drug possession, individuals will continue hurting their bodies, as well as those around them.

Cocaine is a drug that can’t be stop in the United States. The war on cocaine is always going on. So much money and lives are lost on trying to put an end to this. Cartels are always finding ways to export their cocaine to other countries. Cartels do it at any cost just so they distribute their cocaine across the United States. The United States uses so much money just to try to put an end to the cocaine war. The lives they’ve lost and the innocent people who get caught in between the war. By legalizing cocaine in the United States, it

The drug problem in the U.S. and around the world is an important issue and seems to be a difficult problem to tackle across the board. The inflow of drugs has become one of the largest growths in transnational crime operations; illicit drug use in the United States makes it very difficult for nation states police and customs forces to get a handle on the issues. War on drugs, drug trafficking has long been an issue for the United States. There has been a proclamation of “war on drugs” for the past 44 years.

The “War on Drugs” is the name given to the battle of prohibition that the United States has been fighting for over forty years. And it has been America’s longest war. The “war” was officially declared by President Richard Nixon in the 1970’s due to the abuse of illegitimate drugs. Nixon claimed it as “public enemy number one” and enacted laws to fight the importation of narcotics. The United States’ War on Drugs began in response to cocaine trafficking in the late 1980’s. As the war continues to go on, winning it hardly seems feasible. As stated by NewsHour, the National Office of Drug Control Policy spends approximately nineteen billion dollars a year trying to stop the drug trade. The expenses shoot up, indirectly, through crime,