The War On Drugs And 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 War On Drugs in the USA One of the most explosive issues in the current American political

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.

In 1971 President Nixon declared an all-out war on drugs, now over a million non-violent drug offenders live behind bars. The war on drugs has been the longest, most costly, and destructive war in the US history as of today (Booth , 2007). The war on drugs focuses on the poor people, and not the bankers that launder the money. In 1973 Nixon created the DEA, which stands for Drug Enforcement Agency. The DEA is a federal agency responsible for enforcing laws and regulations governing narcotics, and controlled substances. Their job is to immobilize drug trafficking organizations. When Nixon declared the war on drugs in 1971, the federal budget was 101 million dollars, going into the year 2000; the federal budget allegation was 20 billion dollars. Half of what we spend in the court systems and prison is drug related (Booth , 2007).

In the late 1960's and early 1970's, the federal government began to increasingly tighten drug laws. In 1972, President Richard Nixon formally declared a "War on Drugs", which continues

The United States government has been involved in the war against drugs for many decades since President Eisenhower established a committee to eradicate narcotic addiction in 1954. The term "War on Drug" became prominent in 1973 when President Nixon established the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as an all-out initiative to attack the drug problem across the globe. Since then, there have been various campaigns to fight this national and global phenomenon including Drug Abuse Resistance Education in 1983 and the Partnership for a Drug-Free

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

In the United States crime rates have been on a decline for years, but the United States still has the largest number of people incarcerated in the world. The “war on drugs” as well as policy’s by the government to be “tough on crime” has lead to the uprising of corporate prisons, which are known as for-profit prisons, and private prisons. Private prisons have also lead to States, and federal prisons to become worse when it comes to programs to rehabilitate those who are incarcerated, so that they can function in society as a productive member of it. The conflict between private prisons, and States/federal prisons has worsened prison conditions for both men, and women who are incarcerated.

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.

While laws prohibiting the use of drugs, in one form or another, can be traced back to the 1870s, it was not until 1968, when Richard M. Nixon was elected President, that our current drug war was conceived. In 1970 Congress passed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Control Act.(2) With an

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.

What If I told you that legalizing all substances, substances such as heroin could do much more good than harm. Drugs have been public enemy number one ever since Richard Nixon declared so in the 1960’s. The war on drugs today had proven to become a huge failure with some unintended consequences. Some of those consequences include corruption, mass incarceration, and political debilitation and violence. It has negatively affected many across the globe. While this is happening we continue funding drug cartels who what nothing more than to keep drugs underground. The war on drugs is a war of freedom, a war of moral principles, a war of extortion of the US people.

According to Michelle Alexander, why and how has the “war on drugs” developed over the last 40 years? What are the main political and economic factors that led to the war on drugs, and what are the main political and economic factors that shaped it as it developed over the last four decades? Draw on material from the Foner textbook chapters 25 through 28 to supplement Alexander’s discussion of the political and economic context.

The War on Drugs first coined by Richard Nixon in a press conference (1971) with the Congress on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control where he publicly declared drug abuse as “public enemy number one” and requested federal funds for “an all-out campaign of