The War On Drugs And Its Effects On America

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.

Today the number are in the war on drug is a huge failure with devastated unintended consequences, it lead to mass incarceration in the us, to corruption, to political destabilization, and violence in latin america, asia, and africa. To systemic human right abuse across the world.”-Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

For almost 40 years now the longest and most unsuccessful war in the United States has been the war on drugs. Resulting in 45million arrests and $1 trillion dollars in government spending, the war on drugs has been nothing more than a way of income for public officers and other law enforcement officials. The effort behind the war on drugs is solemnly to reduce illegal drug use and trade. This plan includes a set of drug policies that are intended to discourage the production, distribution, and consumption of these popular and wide spread narcotics.

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.

When my audience hears “War on Drugs” they may assume it is a worthy endeavor because drug abuse is such a pervasive problem that affects many families. I must dispel the assumption that the “War on Drugs” dealt with the drug abuse problem or reduced drug sales. I can do this by demonstrating that there is plenty of evidence showing that the “War on Drugs” did not do what it set out to do and is therefore not an effective approach to the problem of drug trade and abuse. Additionally the imprisoning of citizens, even if it is done unjustly, does not reduce crime at comparable rates. Research from Harvard found that during the “War on Drugs” in state prisons there was a 66% increase in prison population but crime was only reduced by 2-5% and it cost the taxpayers 53 billion dollars (Coates, 2015). The fact the violent crime went up all through Nixon’s administration while he rallied for “Law & Order” and policing became more severe furthers this argument (Alexander, 2012). Four out five drug arrests are low-level possession charges as well, demonstrating that police policies aren’t dismantling the drug system just punishing addicts (Alexander, 2012). What’s more, drug abuse in America have remained stagnate and even increased in some instances even when billions of dollars have been pumped into the program (National

Today the number are in the war on drug is a huge failure with devastated unintended consequences, it lead to mass incarceration in the us, to corruption, to political destabilization, and violence in latin america, asia, and africa. To systemic human right abuse across the world.”-Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

Before we begin our tour of the drug war, it is worthwhile to get a couple of myths out of the way. The first is that the war is aimed at ridding the nation of drug "kingpins" or big-time dealers. Nothing could be further from the truth. The vast majority of those arrested are not charged with serious offenses. In 2005, for example, four out of five drug arrests were for possession, and only one out of five was for sales. Moreover, most people in state prison for drug offenses have no history of violence or significant selling activity.5

Do you know what the war on drugs is about? Drugs? No, it’s more than that it could be about alcohol too but let’s just focus on the main issue, drugs. The war on drugs is a phrase used to refer to the government in which the goal is to stop illegal drug use, distribution and trade by increasing penalties for users. War on drugs started in the United States in the 1890s, the Sears and Roebuck catalogue had offers for syringe and small amount of cocaine for $1.50 and at that time, cocaine use had not yet been outlawed. The first uses of drugs were in the United States and spread to others but in some states laws to ban drugs were passed in the 1800s. In 1890s morphine and opium were taxed. The smoking Opium Exclusion Act in 1909 banned the possession, importation and use of opium for smoking. Although, opium could still be used as a medication. This was the first federal law to ban the non-medical use of a

More than 45 years ago President Richard Nixon announced and declared the nation is at war, that war was the "War on Drugs". Nancy Reagan campaigned heavily in the fight against drug use as well; her fight was that of teaching young children the slogan of “Just Say No”. The goals of the criminal justice system in the war on drugs have been a never ending fight against the sale of illicit drugs and that of combating drug abuse. We will discuss the increased resources spent on law enforcement and rehabilitation while making an attempt in understanding

One of the worst side effects of the drug war has been the extreme violence that inevitably comes with illegal drugs. Because they are illegal, sellers can put any price on their product that they want, and addicts will often pay whatever it takes to get their next fix. This makes the illegal drugs highly profitable. According to Norm Stamper, a retired Seattle police chief, a pound of marijuana costs about $75 to produce, and sells for around $6,000 depending on quality. Because of the potential profit, gangs will fight over control of certain areas that will make them more money. Normal businesses will compete with each other by making a better product, but drug gangs don’t operate on the same level. They will resort to violence to ensure that their product is the one that people are buying, and not their competition’s. We as a nation should have learned from the notorious Prohibition era that banning substances just does not work. The prohibition of alcohol gave rise to organized crime gangs like the Mafia. The untaxed alcohol was a money making machine, much like the drug trade today. The Mafia wasn’t renowned for their kindness, and would kill to keep their position as a trafficking giant. Once the 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition, thousands of jobs were created in the alcohol industry, and millions of dollars

The War on Drugs is a term that is commonly applied to the campaign of prohibition of drugs. The goal of this campaign is to reduce the illegal drug trade across America. This term “ War on Drugs” was used during Nixon’s campaign in which he declared War on Drugs during a press conference in 1971. Following this declaration many organizations were created to stop the spread of drugs, like the DEA and Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement. Note that Nixon’s approach to this problem was to fund treatment rather than law enforcement. After Nixon’s retirement from office, most of the funding went from going into treatment to the law enforcement. Which militarized the police force giving the officer’s military weapons and gear. With this, the sentencing for possessing drugs was changed as well, resulting incarcerations rates to increase overtime. The increase of incarceration rates started to create many patterns that were soon noticeable. The funding’s that go into the law enforcement has shown to greatly have an affect on the incarceration rates.

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.

The War on Drugs has been a common phrase in the United States for many decades. What exactly does this mean and how does it shape U.S. foreign policy? The War on Drugs can be defined as the systematic and aggressive policy that is determined to undermine and stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. This policy is backed by several U.S. institutions including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Customs. Also, included in this list are the numerous local law enforcement agencies across the country.

Since the 1960s, State and federal law enforcement have become more focused into putting an end to drug use. Each year, crimes related to drug use has increased, making the government spend tens of billions of dollars arresting, convicting, and jailing drug users. Because of this ongoing problem, the government can’t help but to wonder “will this ever end?” and “Should we stop fighting?” With these questions being raised about a problem so conflicted, The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branch have different views and opinions regarding the Drug War’s Standpoint.

The War on Drugs has been a long and difficult road for humankind. So many drugs exist today, from street drugs to recreational use to prescription and over-the-counter medications. They all affect anyone who uses them. Some give you an inebriated high and if overused and can lead to death. Drugs that were originally intended to cure an illness or disease are being combined to form an illegal substance. When it comes to curing the illness that was made by the drug, rehabilitation and programs are not always accessible to the public. The issue we have as today with drugs, is getting people to stop using them incorrectly and to regulate the use of drugs in a