The War On Drugs And Its Impact On The United States

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.

The American “War on Drugs” war created to keep an exorbitant amount of people behind bars, and in a subservient status. First, America has a storied history when it comes to marijuana use. However, within the last 50 years legislation pertaining to drug use and punishment has increased significantly. In the modern era, especially hard times have hit minority communities thanks to these drug laws. While being unfairly targeted by drug laws and law enforcement, minorities in America are having a difficult time trying to be productive members of society.

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.

The war on drugs is a movement that had started in the 1970s and is still evolving from today. Over the years, people have had mixed reactions to the campaign, ranging from full-on support to claims that it has racist and political objectives. People who are affected by drugs are the people you use them and have gotten addicted to the substances that they started using for medical or recreational purposes. The war on drugs has many challenges attached to it but there are five possible solutions that can hopefully end the war on drugs.

In the past 40 years, the American government has spent more than $2.5 trillion dollars on the war against drugs. The huge expenditure has been coupled by numerous the ad campaigns, clean-up on smuggling, and increase in illicit drug users and incarceration rates. Actually, the increase in illicit drug users currently stands at 19.9 million in the United States with huge supplies from Mexico. With the increase in both the expenditure and number of illegal drug users, there have been huge concerns regarding the country's war on drugs. The main question is why the United States can continue spending much money on this war while it can legalize and tax the supply of drugs. The most appropriate and effective measure for tackling the problem of drugs is through legalizing and collecting taxes than spending huge amounts in stopping the flow of the commodities to America.

When, in 1971, Richard Nixon infamously declared a “war on drugs” it would have been nearly impossible for him to predict the collective sense of disapprobation which would come to accompany the now ubiquitous term. It would have been difficult for him to predict that the drug war would become a hot topic, a highly contentious and polarizing point of debate and, it would have difficult for him to predict that the United States would eventually become the prison capital of the world, incarcerating, proportionally, more people than anywhere in the world. Today, beyond being a popular political talking point, mass incarceration has become a veritable crisis. The United States now has over 2 million citizens languishing in prisons -- far and away in the most in the globe, and a nearly 68% recidivism rate. Most Americans are quick to blame the dire state of mass incarceration in the United States today on the punitive drug war policies instituted by the likes of Ronald Reagan, and Richard Nixon; however the reality is much more equivocal. Further analysis of mass incarceration - its causes and factors - in reality reveals a much less black and white situation: While these severe drug war policies played almost undoubtedly an integral role in creating the American system of mass incarceration, they are only a segment, emblematic of a larger systemic crisis of draconian, “tough-on-crime” penalties, which over the last forty years placed more Americans in prison than any other

As many African-Americans were rejoicing their long and strenuous journey, a new plan was afoot for them: the war on drugs. The war on drugs is unequivocally the biggest and most durable war this country has ever fought against its own citizens. Like any other wars the United-States has engaged in, the war on drugs is remarkably different; it was fought internally, and intended to target a specific group, people of color. Their communities, houses and churches were flooded with law enforcements, constantly checking for illegal possession of drugs. They were branded criminals and were continuously being thrown in jails or prisons, with harsh and lengthy sentences imposed on them. And once they were released, many are saddled with huge debts

The United States government has been wasting millions of dollars each year on a worthless war that cannot be won. This war is explained in detail by author Art Caden in their essay “Let’s Be Blunt” about the United State war on drugs. The war on drugs began in 1971 under the order of President Richard Nixon, and it was one of the worst decisions he ever made. It has been nothing but a waste of government funding, time, and manpower that can only be described as a dismal failure and should be repealed or at the very least medical marijuana should be made legal.

Beginning in the nineteenth century, spanning to the present day, US history has witnessed a plethora of changes both socially as well as racially. These racial and social changes were the results of moral panics centered around marijuana as well as eugenics.

The United States has been staring down a crisis to our nation for decades; the overpopulation of inmates housed in our prisons. Our nation has five percent of world population yet houses twenty five percent of the world’s inmates (Liptak, 2008). As states turn to private prisons for as a quick solution to their ever expanding inmate population they are sponsoring the very originations that are responsible for creating overcrowding to begin with. Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) – which is the largest private prison company in the United States -- has lobbied away 17.5 million dollars in the last 10 years; 17.5 million taxpayer dollars spent on making immigration laws and drug laws stricter (Lee, 2012). CCA is a public traded stock with emphasis as any business would have on their profit. Private prisons seems like a quick solution for states that are running out of space and focused on saving money up front seems yet they are not the answer when their corporations are

On June 17th, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse to be “America’s Public Enemy #1” in a press conference in which he called for an “all out offensive” against this enemy, an initiative that would later be known as America’s War on Drugs. By giving this speech, thus starting “The War on Drugs,” President Nixon created what would eventually become one of the most catastrophic failures in United States political history. Analysis of the historical events surrounding Nixon’s declaration reveal ulterior motives behind the initiative, providing context to the reasons for its failure, which were based short term in its moral failure, and long term in its failure of efficiency and results. The War on Drugs has lasted for generations and continues to be responsible for policies that criminalize non-violent drug offenders at the expense of taxpayers, contributing to a devastating mass incarceration dilemma in the United States that perpetuates a disproportionate marginalization of low-class, particularly African American citizens.

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.

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.

In 2009 1,663,582 people were arrested for non-violent drug charges. These people’s lives are now forever changed because of a mistake they made. This mistake is continually made every single day and Americans are being punished in extreme ways for a non violent crime. The United States needs to decimalize all drugs because the drug war is costly, causes high incarceration rates, and isn’t effective as European drug solutions.

I think that the start to the War on Drugs was innovative in the hopes that it would positively impact society, but as laws have expanded and increased incarceration, they have affected society in ways not intended to do as much harm as they did. I believe that people should have the right to access the help that they need to overcome addiction. By focusing more on rehab, counseling and a variety of other strategies, we rid our society of the negative stigma against addiction, and can help those who have a need before incarcerating them and causing more issues with money and healthcare within criminal facilities. Giving people increased access to information, rehab, and help to move them past addiction and back into society, we are showing