The United States Current Drug Policy

Drug policy is a crucial topic in the country today. Substance abuse, as well as drug-related crime rates, are a huge problem. This is a fact. The way to fix the problem of substance abuse, however, is widely disagreed upon. Some think that stricter laws regarding drug possession and use would solve the problem, while others believe that loosening the restrictions would be a better option. The issue of legalizing drugs, especially marijuana, is one that is debated all the time. In fact, in 1995, a survey was conducted on the most important policy issues and eighty five percent of the country placed drugs at the top of the list (Falco 1996). Many states are actually beginning to decriminalize, and even

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).

The current way the government handles the war on drugs is ineffective and costs America so much(becker and murphy C.1).

However, before the specific outcomes of Congressional influence and policy impact can be evaluated it becomes important to first review the general history and current situation of drugs today. Our present drug laws were first enacted at the beginning of the century. At the time, recreational use of narcotics was not a major social issue. The first regulatory legislation was for the purpose of standardizing the manufacturing and purity of pharmaceutical products. Shortly after, the first criminal laws were enacted which addressed opium products and cocaine. Although some states had prohibited the recreational use of marijuana, there was no federal criminal legislation until 1937. By

In regards to the “drug menace”, the main goal to evaluate is whether or not the use of drugs in America has been significantly lowered. According to an article published by Reuters in 2008, the World Health Organization did a study on drug use within 17 countries including the United States; the study found that the “United States leads the world in rates of experimenting with marijuana and cocaine despite strict drug laws” (Fox). Furthermore, nearly four times as many people in the United States stated that they had used cocaine at some point compared to individuals from New Zealand which rated second in terms of cocaine use in the study (Fox). This shows that the U.S. not only leads the world in this category, but that it leads it in a drastic fashion. Although the United States only led by a 1% margin when it came to marijuana, it was still found that 42% of the Americans polled had used marijuana at some point in their lives (Fox). These numbers are important, as they provide a way to compare the effectiveness of the U.S. drug policy against the rest of the developed world. By gaining this international perspective, it becomes clear that the drug policies enacted have been unsuccessful in their goal of decreasing the use of drugs. Furthermore, the United States has been largely unable to reduce rates domestically as well. Statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse from this June provide a perspective on how drug use has changed over time in the United States. According to their data, “Illicit drug use in the United States has been increasing” (DrugFacts: Nationwide Trends). In respect to marijuana, the amount of people who use the drug has gone up from 14.5 million in 2007 to 19.8 million in 2013 (DrugFacts: Nationwide Trends). This shows a massive increase in marijuana use of over 35% in 6 years. It must also be noted that according

The government of United States spends nearly 15 billion annually on the “War on Drugs”. This translates to spending about five hundred dollars per second to combat the menace of drugs. According to group Law Enforcement against Prohibition, about 82% of the drug arrests are only for possession of banned substances. The War on Drugs has forced our law enforcement agencies to focus on nonviolent drug offenders instead of expending their energies and resources in capturing violent criminals. Our correctional facilities are overflowing with “small time drug offenders” which has created a number of social and economic problems for the country.

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” 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

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.

Each year, the President of the United States releases an updated version of the National Drug Control Strategy. The latest edition, from July of 2014, introduces a number of changes from previous years. The most important aspects of President Obama’s drug policy includes accepting those who do drugs as individuals who need help, and are the victim of a disease, rather than as criminals who are intentionally being menaces to society. This approach is very progressive, as there is a tradition in America to penalize those who have drug charges as though they are criminals, all while many people agree that money should be saved in this area. The idea that drug use is a victimless crime (of course, with the exception of violent drug-related crimes,

With implementing mandatory minimum sentences and then trying to lessen the tremendous amount of long prison sentences being served, legislations went back and forth in trying to find the most efficient way to provide drug control. With efforts from Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon (Bonnie, 2001), all past efforts were put into one legislation called the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) (Pharmacist’s Manual, 2001). It “replaced all prior federal laws regulating illegal drugs” and marked the official begining to the war on

The drug problems in America will not change until a proactive approach is taken on drug issues. The first step would be convincing America that addiction is a disease that should be treated as an illness and not as a criminal act deserving punishment. In The Journal of Gender, Race, and Justice, author Andre Cummings spoke about the war on drugs and the cost of prisons as it relates to our economy and the influx of incarcerations due to drug offenses. Cummings titled it a “mass incarceration,” he said “The United States has increased its incarceration rate in the last thirty years by more than an astonishing 335%” (Cummings, 2012) In a study from 1920-2006, “The United States has less than 5% of the world’s population. But it has almost 25% of the world’s prisoners.” (Cummings, 2012) The majority of those incarcerated are for drug offenses or something pertaining to the sale, manufacture, and/or distribution of an illegal

The War on Drugs has become an epidemic today that has afflicted in the United States and the United Nations; both are influenced by international drug laws which preserve the criminal justice system. These new laws promote an ineffective policies on the war on drugs. Therefore, communities are locked while the promotion of illicit drugs become the dominate framework to organized crimes. Today, the war on drugs continues to be an ongoing battle within our society. This paper will examine these issues focusing primarily on referencing historical context on the struggles controlling the drugs within our society. Effective changes must be made for the war on drugs to be disregarded. First steps of improvement must be lenient punishment policies based on the relevance and/or risk of these psychoactive drugs.

The War on Drugs has become an epidemic today afflicting United States and the United Nations; which are swayed by global drug laws which preserve the criminal justice system. These new laws promote an ineffective policy on the war on drug. Therefore, communities are locked while the promotion of illicit drugs becomes the dominate framework to organized crimes. Today, the war on drugs continues to be an ongoing battle within our society. This paper will examine these issues focusing primarily on historical struggles controlling our society. Improvement must be lenient punishment policies based on the relevance and/or risk of these psychoactive drugs.

Studies show that the rate of drug overdose has been a growing epidemic throughout the United States for decades (Rudd, 2016, p. 1323). The rate of deaths resulting from drug overdoses has increased by over 100 percent since the year 2000 (Rudd, 2016, p. 1323). The danger that drugs pose on nations are obvious. There has been a long history of drugs in the United States, leading to many changes in rules and regulations in regards to how they are handled. Furthermore, several controversial things have occurred over time such as the Controlled Substance Act of 1970 being passed, drug schedules and classifications, CSA regulations, and numerous ongoing debates related to the legal and medical usage of marijuana which have impacted