Drug Decriminalization In The United States. The Unitedstates

Drug policy is a crucial topic in the country today. Substance abuse, as well as drug-related crime rates, are a huge problem. This is a fact. The way to fix the problem of substance abuse, however, is widely disagreed upon. Some think that stricter laws regarding drug possession and use would solve the problem, while others believe that loosening the restrictions would be a better option. The issue of legalizing drugs, especially marijuana, is one that is debated all the time. In fact, in 1995, a survey was conducted on the most important policy issues and eighty five percent of the country placed drugs at the top of the list (Falco 1996). Many states are actually beginning to decriminalize, and even

“Chicago’s pot dilemma: Should marijuana users just be ticketed?” by staff reporter Frank Main, focuses on the burgeoning marijuana criminality issues being widely debated across American legislatures. The article examines the idea of allowing marijuana to be a ticked offense, like speeding, in both New York and Chicago, and the potential overall effects of this legislation on the potential overall legalization of Marijuana. Woods also brings up the potential issue of nearly all marijuana leading back to cartels. On the subject, Woods states, “The top marijuana guys — Mexico’s murderous drug cartels — are responsible for most of the pot sold on Chicago street corners. They’ve even started growing it in Wisconsin’s North Woods.”

Drugs have been a problem in the country for a long time. Issues with drugs even existed in ancient times. However, through the War on Drugs, the media created a panic about the issue, making citizens believe drug abuse was an exponentially growing new epidemic in the United States. Although the War on Drugs was declared in 1982 and was intended to reduce the rates of drug abuse in the US, America’s drug problem increased dramatically over the next years (Bagley, 1988).

Throughout the United States, the use and abuse of legal and illegal drugs is very common. As Rosenberg states in “In Drugs We Trust: Why Do Americans Make War on Some Drugs and Build Fortunes on Others?” if something is called a drug, people will “nod their heads, understanding what you mean: You’re deeply attached to it and you can’t live without it, even though you suspect that there’s something wrong with it” (pg.2). The legality of various drugs has changed over time. The definition of a drug, is any substance that has the ability to influence one’s behavior. This could be done by altering one’s mood, feelings, and/or mental state. Although many people believe the use of illegal drugs is more common, the use of legal drugs is actually more common. Legal drugs include drugs such as alcohol and tobacco. As Rosenberg states in the 17th and 18th century, coffee was considered a big drug problem, however now caffeine and coffee is legal. For, legal drugs can cause both social and economic problems just as much as illegal drugs, such as with alcohol and drunk driving. As a result of increased drug use, the United States has created a “War on Drugs,” where it spends billions of dollars to try to “stop” the use and abuse of illegal drugs. However, this “war” is not getting at the root of the problem, for the war does not deal with the root cause of the issue. Instead, this war focuses on dealing with the surface problems, such as the distribution and possession. It does not

In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs. This war was commenced to repel the wave of drugs rushing throughout the world. The U.S. has taken plenty of measures to fight back against drugs; whether it’s criminalizing the use of these drugs, hunting those who sell them, or making anti-drug propaganda to sway citizens and users away from them, not all of it has been beneficial to the world. Some of the tactics used have wasted money, imprisoned innocent people, and has gotten people killed. The war on drugs has been taken too far and needs to end before more lives in the world are ruined.

After so many years, America still finds itself fighting a well-known and highly demonized "enemy". The enemy is not terrorism. It's an "enemy" that many Americans have dealt with face to face. This enemy is illegal drugs, marijuana in particular. Marijuana is the most widely used and criminalized drug in the United States. This highly sought after resource yields a black market price tag that creates a street economy all its' own. This is Marijuana by itself, it and all the other illegal drugs together combine to form the third largest economy in the world. This is because the demand for illegal drugs is so high. There can be benefits to a legalized drug trade that is certain. The following paper will defend that some uses of

Cannabis has been illegal since the Marijuana Tax act of 1934. Yet out of a population of 284 million American citizens, 70 million Americans claim to have smoked cannabis at some point in their lives. Prohibition of cannabis is therefore apparently ineffective at changing the habits of a population, just as prohibition of alcohol was ineffective in 1919-1933. Making otherwise law-abiding citizens fugitives does nothing more than fill the prisons and alienate the populace from their government. In fact the total cost to taxpayers of solely marijuana-related incarceration (in local, state, and federal prisons and jails) of 15,400 people exceeds $1.2 million per year.

Among highly developed nations, the United States is known for its stringent illegal drug use policy and the high percentages of its population that have consumed illegal substances. The United States has issued a drug war against millions of Americans who use and sell illegal substances. This war has cost taxpayers billions annually and continues to contribute to an incarceration rate that surpasses any other country (Walmsley 2009). Although, stringent policies have lowered the decline in U.S drug consumption since the 1970’s, the war on drugs in the United States has not succeeded in changing America from being the world leaders in use rates for illegal drugs.

Throughout time, United States drug policy has shifted dramatically. From all drugs being legal to Prohibition and the War on Drugs, the US has had conflicting ideas about what is best for society and American citizens when it comes to drugs. The current War on Drugs has resulted in countless arrests and years served in prison, and has disproportionately hurt minority communities, only to result in largely unchanged use and death rates for illicit substances. Marijuana, Heroin, and Cocaine have all become cheaper and more pure

America has been fighting an uphill battle on the war on drugs since the days of Nixon. America’s incarceration rates grew during the late 1980s and early 1990s as state and local governments passed “tough-on-crime” legislations. The effort the country has made has not solved the problems they have been trying to cure. If anything the war on drugs fueled the market for drugs and fails to help the victims of drug abuse. The over criminalization of drug users has led to overcrowded prisons which are paid for by the citizens of the United States. Drug enforcement policies should be more lenient in the United States in order to better allocate tax dollars, decrease overcrowded prisons, and regulate drug use leading to a practical plan to

War on Drugs Since the 1980s, America has used over $1 trillion in fighting illegal drugs, but this has not changed the demand and supply of the illegal substances (UNODC, 2011). The war on illicit drugs has mostly been racial mainly to the Hispanic and the African-Americans. According to research, the whites engage in substance abuse more than the African-Americans, but incarcerations for drug offenses have been ten times higher in the blacks as compared to the whites (Bobo & Thomson, 2010). All the efforts to fight drugs in the US have yielded almost nothing to prove to the taxpayer that the cost is worth; it is crucial that the criminal justice system implements other means to reduce the use of drugs, in particular

The usage of Weed is the most common illicit substance used in the United States. Pot is one of the cheapest illegal drugs on the market and is more accessible to buy it. Marijuana is mainly imported illegally to the United States and cropping this plant or producing it, is not as hard as other illicit substances. Illegal Marijuana plantations have also been found inside houses where they have been produced thousands of pounds without being detected. It is estimated that Marijuana users are between the ages of 18 and 30 years old. It is not common to see people over 35 smoking Weed. Unfortunately, most of these consumers are adolescents that because of the dazed feeling that it produces, creates long-lasting consequences for the body and mind. The use of Weed has been linked to car accidents, health complications, psychiatric symptoms and poor educational outcome (Feeney and Kampman, 2016). Socially speaking, smoking Weed is not well seen, although many people have accepted doing it, especially celebrities. Cannabis is linked to illegal drugs like cocaine and crack. Illicit substances major distributors are drug lords who have made millions and millions of dollars trafficking in the United States and Europe where most of the consumers are. This activity has also brought crime to the cities since it has been a very lucrative business. Many people have died or go to jail for selling, distributing and producing illegal drugs. Making this drug, legal, will increase the number of people addicted to illegal substances and will increase crime too. To differentiate a legal drug from an illegal one would be very difficult so it will be available everywhere. Drugs are an epidemic that is killing our society, especially our young ones. A solution to one problem cannot be a destruction of another one. For decades, the world has been battling against drugs and making it

America is at war. We have been battling drug mishandle for very nearly a century. Four Presidents have by and by battled against medications. Sadly, it is a war that we are losing. Tranquilize abusers keep on filling our courts, healing centers, and detainment facilities. The medication exchange causes rough wrongdoing that assaults our neighborhoods. Offspring of medication abusers are ignored, manhandled, and even surrendered. The main recipients of this war are sorted out wrongdoing individuals and street pharmacists.

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,

The War on Drugs is a current conflict that has been going on for many decades. It is a movement organized by the United States Government in attempts to reduce the amount of illegal drug trafficking in the country. The War on Drugs enforced strict drug policies that are intended to reduce both the production, distribution, and consumption of illegal drugs. The term was first used by President Richard Nixon, during a press conference concerning the nationwide drug abuse issue, in which Nixon announces to the Congress that drug abuse was, “public enemy number one”. Illegal drugs are certainly dangerous; addiction and death are two but many factors as a result of drugs. However, even though the War on Drugs might sounds justifiable, in truth, it is actually making the drug issue worst in the country.