Failure Of War On Drugs

The “War on Drugs” policy has been the approach by the United States to protect citizens from the harmful effects of illegal drugs. The article examines the failures of the war on drug policy has had on society, such as, increasing violence, increasing the prison population, increased spending of billions of taxpayer funds, and being racially biased against minorities. The war on drugs policy reflects a deeper political agenda and is diverting attention away from the real issue by

of this war in a variety of ways. Not only is there a huge financial cost to taxpayers, there is also a cost to the individuals involved. Drug use is essentially a victimless crime. It hurts nobody other than the person using that drug. The Hammerabi­esque drug laws we have in place are far too harsh and should be reformed. These laws only fuel extreme violence in our streets and on our borders. Decriminalization and legalization of different drugs could end this violence. If these cannot be achieved, there are better alternatives and solutions to treating the nation’s drug problem. Therefore, the War on Drugs should end because it

In the past forty years, the United States has spent over $2.5 trillion dollars funding enforcement and prevention in the fight against drug use in America (Suddath). Despite the efforts made towards cracking down on drug smugglers, growers, and suppliers, statistics show that addiction rates have remained unchanged and the number of people using illegal drugs is increasing daily (Sledge). Regardless of attempts to stem the supply of drugs, the measure and quality of drugs goes up while the price goes down (Koebler). Now with the world’s highest incarceration rates and greatest illegal drug consumption (Sledge), the United States proves that the “war on drugs” is a war that is not being won.

As many African-Americans were rejoicing their long and strenuous journey, a new plan was afoot for them: the war on drugs. The war on drugs is unequivocally the biggest and most durable war this country has ever fought against its own citizens. Like any other wars the United-States has engaged in, the war on drugs is remarkably different; it was fought internally, and intended to target a specific group, people of color. Their communities, houses and churches were flooded with law enforcements, constantly checking for illegal possession of drugs. They were branded criminals and were continuously being thrown in jails or prisons, with harsh and lengthy sentences imposed on them. And once they were released, many are saddled with huge debts

The government needs to understand that marijuana is a drug that can actually help; not only people with mental and physical problems such as cancer, but the economy as well by getting rid of the hard drugs that cause real problems and benefiting from a drug(s) that that can actually help problems.

The United States government has been wasting millions of dollars each year on a worthless war that cannot be won. This war is explained in detail by author Art Caden in their essay “Let’s Be Blunt” about the United State war on drugs. The war on drugs began in 1971 under the order of President Richard Nixon, and it was one of the worst decisions he ever made. It has been nothing but a waste of government funding, time, and manpower that can only be described as a dismal failure and should be repealed or at the very least medical marijuana should be made legal.

Beginning in the nineteenth century, spanning to the present day, US history has witnessed a plethora of changes both socially as well as racially. These racial and social changes were the results of moral panics centered around marijuana as well as eugenics.

On June 17th, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse to be “America’s Public Enemy #1” in a press conference in which he called for an “all out offensive” against this enemy, an initiative that would later be known as America’s War on Drugs. By giving this speech, thus starting “The War on Drugs,” President Nixon created what would eventually become one of the most catastrophic failures in United States political history. Analysis of the historical events surrounding Nixon’s declaration reveal ulterior motives behind the initiative, providing context to the reasons for its failure, which were based short term in its moral failure, and long term in its failure of efficiency and results. The War on Drugs has lasted for generations and continues to be responsible for policies that criminalize non-violent drug offenders at the expense of taxpayers, contributing to a devastating mass incarceration dilemma in the United States that perpetuates a disproportionate marginalization of low-class, particularly African American citizens.

Harsh, cruel, and unusual is an understatement to the punishments given to drug dealers for their drug related offenses. Mandatory minimum drug sentencing was arguably established to target higher level drug dealers but recently the majority of cases have been low level drug dealers. Distributing narcotics is a serious offense, but do these people who are trying to support themselves, a family, or an addiction deserve to spend close to a lifetime incarcerated?

America’s war on drugs has failed. After millions of dollars and untold man hours spent enforcing the prohibition of illegal drugs, there is little, if any, success to show for it. Illicit drugs are still available on most American street corners, drug usage rates have not decreased, and the scourge of drug related violence continues to spread like wildfire. Sadly, the war on drugs has also resulted in the incarceration of millions of Americans for petty possession offenses and has created a black market for illicit drugs upon which criminal organizations, such as the Mexican cartels and even the Taliban, thrive. Decriminalization of drugs is the only way America will ever be able to eradicate its drug problem. Imagine a country where drug users were treated instead of imprisoned, where drug usage rates perennially fell, and where diseases such as AIDS and Hepatitis C were in decline. This isn’t a fantasy, drug decriminalization policies have been proven to work and they’re America’s only answer to the drug epidemic.

The American “War on Drugs” war created to keep an exorbitant amount of people behind bars, and in a subservient status. First, America has a storied history when it comes to marijuana use. However, within the last 50 years legislation pertaining to drug use and punishment has increased significantly. In the modern era, especially hard times have hit minority communities thanks to these drug laws. While being unfairly targeted by drug laws and law enforcement, minorities in America are having a difficult time trying to be productive members of society.

In the United States crime rates have been on a decline for years, but the United States still has the largest number of people incarcerated in the world. The “war on drugs” as well as policy’s by the government to be “tough on crime” has lead to the uprising of corporate prisons, which are known as for-profit prisons, and private prisons. Private prisons have also lead to States, and federal prisons to become worse when it comes to programs to rehabilitate those who are incarcerated, so that they can function in society as a productive member of it. The conflict between private prisons, and States/federal prisons has worsened prison conditions for both men, and women who are incarcerated.

When, in 1971, Richard Nixon infamously declared a “war on drugs” it would have been nearly impossible for him to predict the collective sense of disapprobation which would come to accompany the now ubiquitous term. It would have been difficult for him to predict that the drug war would become a hot topic, a highly contentious and polarizing point of debate and, it would have difficult for him to predict that the United States would eventually become the prison capital of the world, incarcerating, proportionally, more people than anywhere in the world. Today, beyond being a popular political talking point, mass incarceration has become a veritable crisis. The United States now has over 2 million citizens languishing in prisons -- far and away in the most in the globe, and a nearly 68% recidivism rate. Most Americans are quick to blame the dire state of mass incarceration in the United States today on the punitive drug war policies instituted by the likes of Ronald Reagan, and Richard Nixon; however the reality is much more equivocal. Further analysis of mass incarceration - its causes and factors - in reality reveals a much less black and white situation: While these severe drug war policies played almost undoubtedly an integral role in creating the American system of mass incarceration, they are only a segment, emblematic of a larger systemic crisis of draconian, “tough-on-crime” penalties, which over the last forty years placed more Americans in prison than any other

The drug war has never been focused on rooting out drugs kingpins or violent offenders. Federal funding flows to those agencies that increase dramatically the volume of drugs arrests, not the agencies most successfully in bring down the bosses. What get rewarded in most this war is sheer numbers of drugs arrests to make matters worse, federal drugs forfeiture

The War on Drugs in the United States has a profound influence on both the incarceration rates and activities of the criminal justice system. Many politicians and advocates of the policy claim that the War on Drugs is a necessary element to deter criminal behavior and reduce the crime rate. However, studies show that drug deterrent policies on possession and use have been inadequate and unsuccessful (Cole & Gertz, 2013). Studies also show that the War on Drugs has not attained its objectives because the policy exhibits racial discrepancy as it has led to the disproportionate incarceration of Blacks and minorities. Specifically, evidence indicates that the upper class, generally White individuals, is more likely to use powered cocaine while