The Drug War And Its Effects On The City Of San Francisco

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 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.

In 2009, the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit of the United States Department of Justice reported charging 114 people with human trafficking offenses. Out of the 114 people, there were only 43 human trafficking prosecutions. Of those 43, only 22 were for sex trafficking. In 2008, more than 50 people were charged when Phoenix, Arizona police took down a prostitution organization (Arizona Republic). Obviously, the rate of prostitution and the rate of prostitution do not correlate with each other. There are more prostitutes operating in the United States versus the number of people being brought to the United States by way of human trafficking, strictly for the purposes of working in the sex industry.

The “War On Drugs” and Anti Drug Abuse Act of 1986 required aggressive enforcement. One method is the use of undercover police to enforce these laws. Three factors can jeopardize a dealer’s income: 1) Nonpayment, 2) other dealers encroaching on territories; turf wars and the biggest factor 3) being caught by the police. A method that crack cocaine dealers used to protect these three factors was the use and possession of guns. In the 1980s and 1990’s guns were as plentiful as illegal drugs. The U.S. Department of Justice in a manual of “Promising Strategies To Reduce Gun Violence” cites that “those who are most likely to possess

Throughout the 1970s there’s been a large influx of drugs, and violence as a result of drugs. During this same time period African Americans were experiencing new levels of equality they hadn’t felt since the Reconstruction Period began, which dashed their hopes after the Civil War ended. They were still experiencing discrimination in employment. The combination of unemployment and drugs was a contributor to the crime rate. Drugs and alcohol overwhelmingly effected the Black Community Unfortunately, at the time, former President Richard Nixon declared War on Drugs, the governmental approach for addressing the harmful effects of drugs on society was to create an atmosphere that unjustly targeted poor blacks and other ethnic minorities in the

Sexual addiction cannot be blamed on prostitution any more than alcoholism can be blamed on alcohol, but never the less the link still exists. Decriminalization of prostitution would make this vice more accessible to someone whom suffers from sexual addiction. Some addicts consider the legal boundary to be one that they would not cross. Removing this boundary would allow some addicts to accelerate their addiction and spiral deeper into prostitution to gain the same feeling of arousal felt initially. This technique is similar to the drug dealer giving young kids meth laced candy; it

Prostitution flourishes in territories that have a high crime rate, along these lines, cops and courts are overburdened with these cases, having next to zero effect on prostitution. The sex workers and their clients pay their fines and are back to the boulevards right away in a rotating door process. Law enforcement is occupied with adding prostitution to the rundown of things to shield us from, the genuine violations go unchecked and unchallenged. Not with standing if prostitution were legitimate, police would have less work attempting to dispose of prostitution and additional time shielding people from far more heinous crimes. "It is estimated that if prostitution were legalized in the United States, the rape rate would decrease by roughly 25% for a decrease of approximately 25,000 rapes per year. The analysis seems to support that the rape rate could be lowered if prostitution was more readily available. This would be accomplished in most countries by its legalization (Sexual Violence Such as Rape)."

This article by Janie Chuang offers a critical account of the prostitution-reform debates’ influence on anti-trafficking law and policy development over the last decade. The article discusses the difficulties of translating moral and ethical beliefs, as well as anti-prostitution ideology, into effective policy and governance. Chuang conversely recommends the adoption of a

In the past three decades the United States has developed a powerful weapon against crime, civil asset forfeiture. Rooted in the British practice of issuing writs of assistance during colonial times, civil asset forfeiture allows the United States government to confiscate assets associated with criminal activity, without charging a suspect with a crime. Civil asset forfeiture has made possible the success seen by law enforcement agencies in the war on drugs (Reid). Despite its success, civil asset forfeiture has become a colossal problem. Police departments may keep the funds they seize with few stipulations on how they are used. The resulting abuse of civil

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 drug war in America has shaped our society into what we know it as today, the war has so far been a failure where hundreds of millions of dollars, workforce, and policies have only served to maintain the same rates of usage as those in the 1970’s. When the drugs hit America, they hit hard. Overwhelmed by drugs showing up in almost every town, America decided to declare war.

Policies and laws fail to stop prostitution, and it will not stop. It is more costly to keep prostitution illegal. Prostitutes will be more vulnerable to getting criminal records, which then makes it harder for them in society, to obtain legal jobs. Also, with prostitution being illegal the workers may not be able to protect themselves from crimes against them. As prostitution is not legal, then they have to find discreet places to work, which usually is not in a safe environment. If some kind of crime against them did happen, they may feel that, they aren’t able to go to the police for help, as their work is illegal. It actually makes it harder on the worker, in turn making it harder for the client. There are all sorts of people who turn to prostitutes. From blue collar workers to high executives of companies, business owners and more. With prostitution being illegal, the clients are facing criminal charges as well. This does not only hurt the client, but communities as well. The author believes that people around the world have changed their older views and sexual norms to adapt to a more modern society. Brents, B.A., Jackson, C.A., & Hausbeck, K. (2010) concludes that prostitution is better being legalized than being criminalized (p.233). And with this change, people should reevaluate and learn from Nevada’s policies on prostitution being legal. While the author has shown many reasons why

The current policy in use by the United States concerning illegal drugs is both outdated and unfair. This so-called war on drugs is a deeply rooted campaign of prohibition and unfair sentencing that is very controversial and has been debated for many years. The war on drugs is designed so that it will never end. This current drug was has very little impact on the overall supply of prohibited drugs and its impact on demand seems non-existent. United States’ taxpayers are spending billions of dollars on this failure of policy. They are spending billions to incarcerate drug users instead offering drug treatment which could help lower demand. Legalizing illicit would lower abuse and deaths from use and could have a positive economic impact on the United States. Certain industries are making massive sums of money by capitalizing on the drug war.

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.

“A study of San Francisco prostitutes found that 82% had been assaulted and 68% had been raped while working as prostitutes” (Fuchs). Since prostitution is shunned and disregarded, many women are abused and killed because they are forced to work against the law. They cannot trust the police or any kind of governmental official which in turn forces them to accept the abuse and rape involved in their work. In our current society, tax dollars pay for police work, including the arresting of prostitutes. Although prostitutes do not inflict physical harm to their customers they are still arrested and prosecuted, wasting thousand of tax dollars. The only harm that could possibly hinder their customers health is the sharing of sexually transmitted diseases. This could easily be prevented by regulating prostitution because of the giving of contraceptives and testing to the women involved. “Law enforcement agencies in America's biggest cities spend an average of about $2,000 for each arrest of a prostitute, which amounts to more than $120 million a year in enforcement costs nationwide” (Becklund). Along with saving thousands from not prosecuting prostitutes, the government could receive enormous amounts of revenue from enforcing an income tax. If the act of prostitution is legalized, each legally licensed sex worker would contribute approximately $20,000 in income taxes per year (“Case”). The amount of money that