Reducing the Harm of America?s Drug Problem Essay

For many years, drugs have been the center of crime and the criminal justice system in the United States. Due to this widespread epidemic, President Richard Nixon declared the “War on Drugs” in 1971 with a campaign that promoted the prohibition of illicit substances and implemented policies to discourage the overall production, distribution, and consumption. The War on Drugs and the U.S. drug policy has experienced the most significant and complex challenges between criminal law and the values of today’s society. With implemented drug polices becoming much harsher over the years in order to reduce the overall misuse and abuse of drugs and a expanded federal budget, it has sparked a nation wide debate whether or not they have created more harm than good. When looking at the negative consequences of these policies not only has billions of dollars gone to waste, but the United States has also seen public health issues, mass incarceration, and violent drug related crime within the black market in which feeds our global demands and economy. With this failed approach for drug prohibition, there continues to be an increase in the overall production of illicit substances, high rate of violence, and an unfavorable impact to our nation.

In the essay “America’s Unjust Drug War” by Michael Huemer, Huemer discusses the facts and opinions around the subject on whether or not the recreational use of drugs should be banned by law. Huemer believes that the American government should not prohibit the use of drugs. He brings up the point on drugs and how they harm the users and the people in the user’s life; he proves that the prohibition on drugs in unjust. Huemer believes that drug prohibition is an injustice to Americans’ natural rights and questions why people can persucute those who do drugs.

The War On Drugs in the USA One of the most explosive issues in the current American political

The argument over drug reform and the current prohibition has been going on for years. It seems to be an argument between a wise parent and a young teenager, but as generations change more and more of the parents seem to switch sides. While prohibitionists say the mainstream drugs like cocaine, heroin, LSD, and marijuana are harmful and immoral, legalizers argue the opposite (Rachels 223). While they are both valid and interesting arguments the drugs named above still remain illegal. Many organizations and respected citizens have come to America’s attention in their support for drug reform or complete legalization of certain drugs. These people range from normal citizens who support the recreational use of marijuana to judges and ex- law

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 “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 “War on Drugs” policy has been ineffective in its effort to reduce drug abuse in the country and President Obama has a good reason to transform the policy.

The United States has spent over 30 years fighting the war on drugs. Americans have paid a heavy price financially. The drug enforcement budget is now $40 billion. A lot of time, effort, and money go into America’s attempt in eliminating trafficking, dealing, and the use of illegal drugs. Many believe that this is a war worth fighting, while others feel that America will never conquer the war on drugs. The latter suggest legalization as an alternative plan that will help save the country millions of dollars. In this paper, I will examine the history of the drug war as well as the arguments for and against fighting the war on drugs.

In the United States of America, we, the people value several things, some of which

If the United States is serious 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 the nature of addiction. Drug addicts do not abuse drugs because they are deviant or even because they consciously desire to cause harm to themselves or to those around them, they abuse drugs because they are

The War on Drugs, like the war on Terrorism, is a war that America may not be able to afford to win. For over forty years the United States has been fighting the War on Drugs and there is no end in sight. It has turned into a war that is about politics and economics rather than about drugs and criminals. The victims of this war are numerous; but perhaps they are not as numerous as those who benefit from the war itself.

Executive Summary America’s most popular anti-drug program D.A.R.E. has created an uproar. The D.A.R.E. program had many issues the main one being its ineffectiveness. How could the most widely used drug prevention program in the United States be deemed ineffective? What went wrong? “The prevention of drug abuse is an especially salient topic for school psychologists and other educational professionals. Schools are the primary setting for providing education and information aimed at the prevention of drug abuse. Previous meta-analyses” (Ennett, et al., 1994; West & O 'Neal, 2004) indicate that one of the nation 's most popular drug prevention programs, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program (D.A.R.E.), was not effective in reducing illicit drug use among youths. Current evaluations have produced an array of evidence showing the effectiveness of the new D.A.R.E. curriculum. Future studies must be conducted to determine if this new curriculum is effective. This analysis will show how this once prosperous program has proven to be so ineffective the D.A.R.E. program ranges from $1 billion to more than $2 billion annually. Despite questions about whether DARE works, it appears the cost will go up by millions even as the program is retooled. the following analysis would include a meta-analysis on why the program was so ineffective what could have been done.

According to the Drug Policy Alliance over $1 trillion has been spent by the United States’ government in hopes of reducing illicit substance use since the inception of the DEA and thus the start of “the War on Drugs” (Wasted Tax Dollars). However, all of this government spending has been futile in its efforts to control illegal drug use. Even though it has some of the strictest drug policies of any nation, the United States is the world leader in drug usage for several drugs, including cocaine (Buggle). A study conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime revealed that drug use has been slightly rising ever since the beginning of the War on Drugs (2012 World Drug Report 67). Not only is illicit substance abuse not being reduced by these policies, but illegal drugs are cheaper and more pure than ever before

Drug culture in the United States is constantly portrayed in the media and various entertainment outlets. The heavy presence of drug use in mainstream music, television, and news, is often glorified or excessively denounced, causing many to hold misconceptions about the factual consequences illegal drugs have on the human body. The United States Drug Enforcement Agency has categorized illegal drugs into five groups: narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and drugs of concern.

In 2012, President Obama outlined his vision of a built to last America where an educated, skillful trained workforce with knowledge, energy and expertise to enter in the global marketplace. However, far too many Americans visions and dreams are limited by drug use, which put limitations not only on the individuals, but also threatens families, neighborhoods, and communities. The economic downfall of drug usage is huge. Illegal drug use cost our Country more than $193 billion dollars in lost productivity, healthcare, and criminal justice costs. Nonetheless, the loss of human lives are much worse. Nationally, drug induced overdose deaths exceed homicides and vehicle crash deaths in America. A 21st century approach drug policy, the National Drug Control Strategy signifies the Obama Administration’s plan to reduce drug use and its effects.

The so-called “War on Drugs,” as declared by the Nixon administration in the signing of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, marked the beginning of the current era of mandatory minimum sentencing, racism, privatized prisons, and a powerful constituency that profits as a result of the prohibition of drugs. Psychoactive substances have been apart of the human experience as long as humans have walked the earth. There is little hope that drug production will ever be curtailed, so long as there is a demand; a demand that has remained steady even though it has been forty years since the beginning of said war. As Judge James P. Gray from the Superior Court of Orange County has so plainly put it: “Where did this policy