Drug Policy And Funding Has Not Changed Much Over The Past Two Decades

As the variables above are added up it, quickly becomes apparent that the “war on drugs,” during the mid 1980s-early 2000s had a negative impact on American life. With all the money spent and lives ruined, the United States came no closer to solving drug issues it had faced in the years prior. Citizens took the biggest brunt of this “war” with the fact that not only did they have to forcibly financially support the “war on drugs,” but in some cases, they had their civil liberties encroached upon or even completely violated. It could be argued that retrospectively looking at the “war on drugs” makes criticizing our country and the officials in charge easy, but when you actually look at the statistics and events surrounding this time period criticism

The War on Drugs is seen by many as an enormous factor of mass incarceration. There were more than 1.5 million drug arrests in the U.S. in 2014. More than 80% of them were for possession only (Drug Policy Alliance, 2017). 208,000 people are incarcerated for drug offenses in state prisons and 97,000 are incarcerated in federal prisons for the same reason. 1 in 5 incarcerated people are drug offenders (Peter Wagner, Bernadette Rabuy, 2017). According to Politifact, “The state and federal prison population remained fairly stable through the early 1970s, until the war on drugs began. Since then, it has increased sharply every year, particularly when Reagan expanded the policy effort in the 1980s, until about 2010…. In 1980, about 41,000 people were incarcerated for drug crimes, according to the Sentencing Project. In 2014, that number was about 488,400 — a 1,000 percent increase.” Even other factors, like

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.,

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).

America is the land of the free; it’s ironic that America also by far has more incarcerated citizens than any other country in the world. America is at war. We have been fighting drug abuse for almost a century. In 1972 president Nixon declared a war on drugs. Unfortunately, we are not winning this war. Drug users are still filling up our jails and prisons, now more than ever. The drug war causes violent crime and criminal activity due to prohibition, not the drugs themselves. Children in all of this are left neglected or without parents. The only beneficiaries of this war are organized crime members and drug dealers. The United States has focused its efforts on the criminalization of drug use. The government has spent billions of dollars in efforts to rid the supply of drugs. Even with all this money and effort of law enforcement it has not decreased the demand or supply of illegal drugs. Not only being highly costly, drug law enforcement has been counterproductive. Current drug laws need to be reviewed and changed. The United States needs to shift spending from law enforcement and penalization to education, treatment, and prevention. The war on drugs has caused many problems in the United States, family problems, financial problems and has increased crime, after forty years in this war it’s time for a change.

The fact that the United States treats drug use as a terrible crime instead of treating it as a physical problem or illness, and the drug problem is still not going away, shows that the United States is going about drug abuse all wrong. The United States has over 25% of the world's incarcerated population and over half of those are in prison for drug abuse/distribution. Other countries have decriminalized drugs and have seen an extremely positive difference in the drug abuse problem. Therapeutic drug treatments can be offered as an option to drug abusers so they feel safe and not afraid or angry of what is happening. The United States needs to find a new policy on drug abuse because the current policy has failed.

When I think about current policy, I know how important it is for America to secure borders and not only reduce Mexican meth, but production of meth within the United States borders. Also, the continuance of offering treatment options to offenders, relieving some of the burden on our overcrowded prison system. Finding effective ways for abusers of any substance to overcome their addictions and helping these people find another way to live and integrate back into society. The 2015 Strategy Focuses on seven core areas: stopping drug use in our neighborhoods, pursuing early intervention chances in health care, merging treatment for substance use disorders into health care and aiding recovery, ending the cycle of drugs, use, crime, and incarceration, obstruction of domestic drug trafficking and production, enhancing international partnerships, and revising information systems to better concentrate on drug abuse and its ramifications (Whitehouse.gov, 2015). It is a comprehensive approach that focuses on prevention, treatment, and enforcement. Federal agencies, mainly the DEA, enforce controlled substance laws in all states and territories, but the bulk of drug crimes known to US Law Enforcement remain handled at a state level. It’s estimated that only 10-15% of illicit stores are actually get confiscated by federal agencies each year (Hart, Pg.72). I know someone who does this for a living and says

Drugs have played a part of the United States of America criminal justice fabric for generations. The scare tactics of the 1960s gave way to the contradictory messages of the late ’70s and early ’80s. In the 1970’s drugs became glamorous and recreational to many citizens. Prior to the 1970’s, citizens that abuse drugs was seen by policymakers as suffering from a social disease that could only be helped by treatment. Policymakers posture change drastically in the mid 70’s. In 1973, only twelve percent of the population reported to the Gallup poll that they had tried drugs. By 1977, that number was doubled. Notably, in 1978, 66 percent of Americans said Marijuana was becoming a serious issue in their respective communities (Riley, K.

“The Global Commission on Drug Policy stated that between 1998 and 2008, global use of opiates increased 34.5 percent, cocaine 27 percent, and cannabis 8.5 percent.” The government is not helping fight drugs but instead put more people in prison. In 1980, 500,000 people were incarcerated in America. At the end of 2009, the number increased to 2.3 million. If the number of people on probation and parole are included, the figure totals 7.2 million people. In 2011, 50.8 percent of Federal inmates are incarcerated for drug offenses. “This compares to just 4.2 percent for robbery, 2.7 percent for homicide/assault/kidnapping, and 4.7 percent for sex offenses."(Li).

Historically speaking, according to Narconon (2015), the issue of prescription drug abuse began in the 1800’s when consumers could self-prescribe medications such as cocaine and morphine. In the 1900’s, the Pure Food and Drug and Harrison Narcotic Tax acts were put into place as measures to control the sale and distribution of these substances (Narconon International, 2015). Today, the prescription drug problem continues to be a growing issue that has many consequences in our society.

It all begin in June, 1971 Nixon officially declares a "war on drugs," identifying drug abuse as "public enemy No. 1." He assembles a task force and the “war on drugs” takes off. At first, it seemed like the government was trying to stop the flow of drugs coming into America. Then in September of 1984, Nancy Reagans “Just say No’ campaign began. From there America began locking up drug offenders at an alarming rate. As a result, today many of those enslaved in the prison system are those who have problems with using illegal narcotics. This has done nothing to stop the flow of drugs on the streets of America, or to rehabilitate those with addiction problems. Instead, according to National Review on “The War on Drugs is Lost” it is seen as, “We are speaking of a plague that consumes an estimated $75 billion per year of public money, exacts an estimated $70 billion a year from consumers, is responsible for nearly 50 per cent of the million Americans who are today in jail, occupies an estimated 50 per cent of the trial time of our judiciary, and takes the time of 400,000 policemen--yet a plague for which no cure is at hand, nor in prospect.” (Buckley). So, obviously locking up those with addiction problems is not the answer to helping them, but then again the ruling majority likes it this way. It keeps prisons full, and keeps the bottom social class in

The issue of substance abuse in the United States is quickly reaching epidemic proportions. The steady increase in abuse of prescription medications has been one of the largest factors in this recent trend. Opiates in particularly have come under quite a bit of scrutiny due to the over prescribing of the medications by clinicians. Along with this epidemic has been the increased knowledge of addiction and its various forms of treatment. While society is becoming more aware of the problems associated with substance abuse, it still is seen by many as a moral defect or lack of individual will-power. With the vast impact substance abuse has on the health care system, it is imperative this issue is addressed and discussed in ways to best treat those who suffer from addiction and substance abuse problems.

Since the early 1960’s there have been an alarming increase in drug use in the United States in 1962, four million Americans had tried an illegal drug. By 1999, that number had risen to a staggering 88.7 million, according to the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, drug use became a major concern for most Americans. As the War on Drugs and “Just Say No” campaign were being thrust into the spotlight by the government and media, the public became more aware of the scope of drug use and abuse in this country. The federal and states’ governments quickly responded by creating and implementing more harsh and punitive punishments for drug offenses. Most of these laws have either remained unchanged or become stricter in the years since then.

For a start, Dan Baum talks about in his book, “Smoke and Mirrors: The War on Drugs and The Politics of Failure”, on how the War on Drugs is ineffective with many variables. Buam claims that the War on Drugs costs the administration more than the Commerce, Interior, and State departments joined. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, in over the past four decades, both federal and state governments have poured over $1 trillion the drug war and relied on taxpayers to foot the bill. In addition, The United States had roughly around 50,000 people behind bars for drug law violations. Currently, that number had multiplied ten times to half a million. Either way, drug war advocates