War On Drugs And The American Society

In the essay “America’s Unjust Drug War” by Michael Huemer, Huemer discusses the facts and opinions around the subject on whether or not the recreational use of drugs should be banned by law. Huemer believes that the American government should not prohibit the use of drugs. He brings up the point on drugs and how they harm the users and the people in the user’s life; he proves that the prohibition on drugs in unjust. Huemer believes that drug prohibition is an injustice to Americans’ natural rights and questions why people can persucute those who do drugs.

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 January 2004, senatorial candidate Barack Obama firmly opposed the twenty two-year war on drugs, saying that the United States’ approach in the drug war has been ineffective (Debussman).  Although the term, “war on drugs,” was originally coined by President Richard Nixon in 1971, it wasn’t until Ronald Reagan announced that “drugs were menacing society” that it became a major policy goal to stop widespread use. Following Reagan’s promises to fight for drug-free schools and workplaces, the United States boosted its efforts in its most recent declaration

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.

Nixon’s drug war, however, was a mere skirmish in comparison to the colossal efforts launched by the Ronald Reagan administration in the 1980s. Formally announced by President Ronald Reagan in 1982, the War on Drugs was marked by deep public concern, bordering on hysteria,, towards the nation’s drug problem. Under the leadership of President Reagan, the nation focused unprecedented energy and resources towards eliminating illicit drug use and trafficking.” (pp.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs. This war was commenced to repel the wave of drugs rushing throughout the world. The U.S. has taken plenty of measures to fight back against drugs; whether it’s criminalizing the use of these drugs, hunting those who sell them, or making anti-drug propaganda to sway citizens and users away from them, not all of it has been beneficial to the world. Some of the tactics used have wasted money, imprisoned innocent people, and has gotten people killed. The war on drugs has been taken too far and needs to end before more lives in the world are ruined.

Throughout history, campaigns against certain parts of life are frequently argued upon. Wars are in a state of flux, but a constant in America's policies is the Drug War. The government attempts to prevent the consumption of illicit and harmful substances, even shown in modern domestic policies. Yet with much effort, positive results was not usually yielded. Apart from the outcomes, prohibition has made a large impact on daily life. In the United States, prohibition of alcohol and opium was a visible and controversial debate. The prohibition of alcohol and criminalization of opium were very different but still had some similarities such as the events that happened, its immediate reaction, and the lasting significance.

As we now know, declaring the war on drugs was a very bad idea. It has led to mass incarceration in the US; to corruption, political destabilisation and violence. The ultimate aim of the drug war was to decreases drug use, their core rule for this was: no drugs=no problem.

The term “War on drugs” was first announced when President Richard Nixon created a volume of programs intended to suppress the consumption of certain recreational drugs in 1972. It marked the beginning for the era of mandatory minimum sentencing, privatized prisons, racism, and constituency that profits as a result of the illegal drugs. The “Just Say No” and the D.A.R.E. campaign were created to help youths from starting to use drugs but they were not effective. Treatment programs have directed their attention to current drug user and to stop future drug users. The war on drugs war that is being fought our backyards every day. This is a war that cannot be won by military arms or peace treaties but we must uphold those responsible that our

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 United States has been engaged in a “war” for nearly 25 years. It is a war with unclear goals; ending the war in a victory is made nearly impossible due to subjective statistics and hazy results. At the heart of this continuing struggle, the “war on drugs,” is the fundamental question: Is this a battle the United States can win? It is likely everyone will agree drugs are harmful; they have serious medical side-effects. Drugs are addictive; they can ruin a family, a job, a life. The war is continued with the goal of eradicating the drug epidemic. With that in mind, the war on drugs has had a minimal impact on drug use in the United States. Instead, it has created a military police force,

Already a trillion dollar failure thus far, the war on drugs adds 51 billion dollars to that tab every year. An effort of these proportions should have some accomplishments to boast, right? Sadly, it does not. The current United States drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, who directs the drug-control policies in America, is quoted talking about the war on drugs, saying, “Forty years later, the concern about drugs and drug problems is, if anything, magnified, intensified.-- In

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 so called war on drugs is going on for more than half of the century and yet authorities are still far from achieving victory, some would even say further than ever. The problem lies in the fact that many countries tend to ignore prohibitions made by the UN to boost their own economies.

The war on drug has a history that starts in the early 20th century the Harrison act passed Congress make substance such as heroin and cocaine illegal. In 1937 marijuana began to be scrutinized and eventually made illegal by the federal government. Over the decades there have been many stances on this issue. Drug use was never really a major problem until 1960 were drug use increasing and became more tolerable in social situations such as concerts, parties, and other various areas. Then in the 1970’s the drug use was at an all-time him and many conserved citizens wanted the government to take lead on this issue by ending it. President Nixon was elected with restoring law and order as his platform. He took a very strong stance against illegal drug use. Millions of federal dollars were allocated to fight against drugs. The War on Drug still being fought today but it has ceased to decrease drug use or the crimes associated with it. (Nielsen, 461)