The Punishment For Illegal Drugs

In sociology, the definition of a drug is “any chemical substance that has a direct affect on the user’s physical, psychological, and/or intellectual functioning” (“Drugs” 3). According to this definition, many people may argue that the United States is a pro-drug society because of its legalization of alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals, however I believe that the United States is an anti-drug society. Although the United States has legalized tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceuticals, there are many drugs that are still illegal. It can be assume that these illegal drugs they are dangerous and somehow poses a threat to society, but its illegalization has more to do with economics and power more than anything else. According to the film, “A Marijuana

Proponents on the legalization of drugs believe if drugs were to become legal; the black market worth billions of dollars would become extinct, drug gangsters would disappear, addicts would stop committing crimes to support their habit and the prison system would not be overwhelmed with a problem they cannot defeat. The decriminalization of drugs will only make illegal drugs cheaper, easier to get and more acceptable to use. “The U.S. has 20 million alcoholics and alcohol misusers, but only around 6 million illegal drug addicts. If illegal drugs were easier to obtain, this figure would rise”(Should Drugs be decriminalized? No.November 09, 2007 Califano Joseph A, Jr).”

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

Drug court is an alternative sentencing program to rehabilitate defendants who were arrested for selling, using and abusing drugs. Drug court is not set up like the traditional court system within the criminal justice system, it’s a court system that addresses several issues defendants are going through prior to being in the criminal justice system and it also help reduce court dockets within the system.

Tougher sentencing is not likely to reduce illegal drug use or serious crime associated with drugs (Alexander, 2010; Mauer, 2009; Whitford & Yates, 2009). Despite that, politicians and law enforcement personnel continue to advocate for stronger sentences for those who take or sell drugs of any kind. The jails and prisons across the United States are filling up with drug offenders, and some believe that there are better uses for those jail cells and that there are many crimes that are more severe and significant. These are the crimes that should be provided with tougher sentencing guidelines, but yet illegal drug use is still a serious crime and should not go unpunished. What should be done, and how should changes be made? Those are tough questions that have to be explored and that do not have any easy answers for those who make the laws and those who enforce them. Drug incarceration has been on the rise, with mixed results. According to King (2008), "overall, between 1980 and 2003, the number of drug offenders in prison or jail increased by 1100% from 41,100 in 1980 to 493,800 in 2003, with a remarkable rise in arrests concentrated in African American communities."

Why are so many violent criminals walking free while so many non-violent offenders are locked up? Although various aspects have fueled this inequity of justice, the factors that have contributed the most to this development are, undoubtedly, the War on Drugs and mandatory minimum sentencing laws which have led to punishment disproportionate to the offense.

Even the U.S. is considering loosening up on drugs right now, over half of americans support marijuana for its recreational and medicinal purposes, it’s already been legalized in two states so far, setting up legalization for more states in the future (Huey). Huey also claims- “Drug reformers nationwide continue to argue that legalization will free up more resources to fight harder drugs, deny traffickers billions of dollars in profit, and generate tax revenues for prevention and treatment through state-controlled marijuana sales” (Huey). If there are more resources to fight harder drugs than funds used only to punish minor drug felons, there would be a lot less problems with the prison system and inmate

Since 1971, the United States has been on a war against drugs. Yet four decades and one trillion dollars later, we are still fighting this war (Branson). All that we have to show for this war is drugs running rampant and tons of citizens incarcerated. Mandatory sentencing for minor drug offences should be overturned due to overflowing prisons, damaging families, and the scare tactic it was created to be has failed.

The United States Drug Policy evolved after the 1900s when laws dictating drug abuse became prevalent. The targeted audience for the War on Drugs was aimed at helping the upper-class citizens and not the lower-class citizens which ultimately caused the government to become hypocrites. The United States War on Drug Policy was supposed to help America as a whole and not select classes. The supply of drugs entering into the United States did not seem to be affected after numerous different strategies were instilled by different presidents and government officials. Without a successful strategy to end the spread of drug usage we as a country have lost the War on Drugs. An unintended consequence from the United States drug policies to thwart drug

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.

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

Law enforcement resources would be freed up for more severe crimes. Marijuana accounts for almost three-quarters of all drug-related arrests in the United States (drugpolicy). Most consider the war on drugs an expensive failure. Resources of all levels of government (federal, state, and local authorities) partake in the fight (mjlegal). Think about the cost for every person employed to support fighting the war against marijuana, it adds up quickly. The United States spends $68 billion per year on corrections, and one-third of those being corrected are serving time for nonviolent drug crimes. We spend about $150 billion on policing and courts, and 47.5% of all drug arrests are marijuana-related. Most the

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

The drug war has dramatically affected the number of imprisoned Americans, as well as its prisons. According to DrugSense.Org, 1,576,339 people have been arrested for drug law offenses this year alone. And out of those, 9,261 have been incarcerated. As for marijuana offenses, 747,183 people have been detained. In fact, most of the non-violent offenders sitting in state, local and federal prisons

People who use drugs may find themselves face to face with serious legal trouble. Drug-related legal trouble can lead to a criminal record, which can follow you every time you apply for a job, make an offer on a home, or register to vote. Most companies conduct background checks on potential employees to make sure they are free of any legal issues and liabilities. A drug crime conviction is usually a huge red flag in the hiring process. Not being able to acquire a job does not help with the large fines that sometimes come along with possession of an illegal substance. Loss of a driver’s license and revoked profession licensure, especially in public safety, medical, and transit can also cause many problems.