When I Read That The United States Has A “Drug Problem”,

No matter who has occupied the executive branch, the United States has pursued the same overall policies throughout the drug war. Anti-drug policies can be separated into two general camps, 'supply-reduction ' and 'demand-reduction’ (McCabe 5). Supply-reduction strategies seek to reduce the availability of drugs by limiting access to drug sources and increasing the risks of drug possession and distribution. Demand-reduction strategies, on the other hand, seek to reduce demand for illegal drugs through drug use prevention and treatment. The rhetoric of war helped shape the strategies that were used to combat the perceived drug threat.

The roots of addiction, drugs, alcohol and the policies and treatments that branch from them are important to study both chronologically and contextually; as one event influences the next. For the United States, the alcohol and drug problem began during the colonial period. During this time, it was normal for most all women, men, and children to drink alcohol. Chronic drunkenness was seen as criminal. In the wake of the Revolutionary War, alcohol consumption grew at a large rate, along with the problems associated with it; thus leading to the “discovery of addiction.” During this time, the public also grew concerned about the increased drug consumption in general. New technological innovations played a role in drug availability and new addiction

Substance abuse is something that has plagued our populations for as long as there has been a substance to abuse. Many of our top health concerns in the world can often be linked back to abuse of things like alcohol, cigarettes, drug use/injections, other types of tobacco products, and many other forms of legal or illegal substances. In the United States, substance abuse costs the nation more than $484 billion dollars per year. That’s more than the costs of cancer and diabetes care combined. Abuse of these substances does not stem solely from just environmental factors or just biological factors—both play a colossal role; along with personal characteristics and parental models.

When I was 12 years old, I recall watching as my brother piled into my father’s Honda, leaving for his first stint in rehab. As tears streamed down my face, I promised myself I would never try any sort of illicit drug as I grew older. A promise that I would inevitably break within a few more years. Growing up, I watched both my brother and mother fight terrible drug addictions that almost cost them their lives. Even after witnessing the terrible side effects of drug abuse throughout my childhood, by 18 years old I found myself, too, battling a drug addiction. Today, one in every 10 Americans over the age of 12 are addicted to alcohol, or some sort of illicit drug. Out of that staggering number of citizens, only 11 percent receive any sort of treatment for their addiction. Temptation is present in everyone and the truth is, most people do try illicit drugs at some point in their lives. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to prove that drugs are becoming more and more accessible on the streets and have become a growing problem in our society, especially with college-aged kids.

According to The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), substance abuse among teenagers and adolescents is transforming into America’s number one public health problem, as numbers of high school and college students abusing drugs and alcohol are on the rise (2011). In a national survey done by CASA at Columbia University, they found that 75 percent of high school students have used an addictive substance. In addition, 46 percent of high school students reported currently using an addictive substance, and approximately 12 percent of high school students were discovered to meet the clinical diagnosis criteria for substance abuse disorder (2011).

The use of illegal drugs has plagued society for thousands of years. Illicit drugs use can be found all around the world. The War on Drugs is a term applied to a campaign on the prohibition of drugs of drug use, with the effort to reduced illegal drug trades. The current War on Drugs has affected our society physically and emotionally, and should end for the better of our society immediately. When the War on Drugs began, it was “The expectation that drug trafficking in the United States could be greatly reduced in a short amount of time through federal policing and yet the war on drugs continues to this day.” (Becker1) The war on drugs is an unwinnable war.

“The fact that war is the word we use for almost everything—on terrorism, drugs, even poverty—has certainly helped to desensitize us to its invocation; if we wage wars on everything, how bad can they be?”- Glenn Greenwald. The use of drugs through out the United States has gotten worse and worse every year, and I know that in the U.S. it is both a health problem and a crime problem. But I feel like that we should treat the abuse of illegal drugs as a matter of public health. It should be treated as a matter of public health over a matter of criminal justice because we can help people that abuse drugs and are addicted. Also well be able to get their lives on track so they won’t have to use drugs again which makes

Americans today have many different views than 100 years ago about addiction, alcohol and drugs. In the early days of the 19th century, it was only a dream that a drug could save a life. Today drugs are used for specific treatments of specific diseases. However, they are also a multi billion-dollar business both legal and illegal that is not only saving

The war on drugs, which was declared by President Richard Nixon in 1971, is an epidemic that is still being dealt with today and that is trying to be stopped by any means. This so called “war on drugs” has killed many Americans and has created tremendous amounts of violence. For example, in the late 1960s, America's inner cities faced so much violence, and dealt with heroin users looking for money to feed their addiction. And according to the video, heroin is causing more deaths than car crashes and even more than violent crimes. And because of this, new laws and help from the government have begun. For example, New York’s governor at the time, Nelson Rockefeller passed some of the harshest Heroin laws the United States had ever seen. These

The drug culture that began with the use of marijuana then eventually into other more dangerous hallucinogenic such as heroine and cocaine began to merge into American society seamlessly in the late 1960’s. Due to the state of political unrest due to the Vietnam War and civil rights movement, initially the drug policy was loosely associated. It was not until 1982 when president Reagan declared the War on Drugs that the United States and other governments in the Americas took a serious stance on the topic. These policies have been very hypocritical in their approach, as they have still not achieved their implied goals. In actuality, the policies create more problems than they solve. They lead to negative healthy effects for their citizens, an

There are many significant moments throughout American history that formed the United States. Unfortunately, not all historical moments are positive, such as the War on Drugs, but we must not forget our preceding in order to progress our nation's future. While the War on Drugs has emerged, it has damaged American far beyond what it has attempted to assist, to this day we continue to feel its harmful effects. We must not overlook the imperative history that lead to the War on Drugs, the underlying consequences of the War on Drugs, how it has affected American law and society, and the reform of the War on Drugs. As we continue to attempt to improve our country, we must not continue to make parallel mistakes with the repercussion of the War on Drugs as they come with many dire consequences brought upon this country.

In the past century, alcohol has been a prevalent staple in the lives of the majority of the American population. In the past few decades, we have seen the rise of illicit drug use increasing at a steady rate. The use of drugs is wreaking havoc in our communities. Addiction causes individuals to lose their morals in chase of one more high. Their life revolves around doing whatever it takes to find that next drug. Addiction in the United States is growing at a rapid rate; this is a direct effect of the faulty American legal system, stress placed on students to do well in school, and stress from monetary issues.

You are sleeping, peacefully in your bed on a cold winter night. You wake up, groggy, and glance at your clock, it reads 1:43 a.m. Six more hours, you think to yourself, as you fall back into your deep sleep. But in 17 minutes, your life will change. Due to an increase in the availability of drugs, the number of millennials using and abusing drugs has increased substantially over the last decade. In turn, this is costing the United States billions of dollars, but that has not stopped anyone. The diversely of drugs is growing, with certain drugs becoming more and more popular by year. We know the causes of abuse, and we know that rehabilitation combats the abuse. But do you fully understand drug abuse, the deep blackness that takes over millions of people’s lives? Let me tell you more about the causes, statistics, diversity in abuse, side effects, and rehabilitation pertaining to drug abuse in the United States of America.

    Most people believe that drug addicts lack morals and self-control.  Many insist that addicts could all just simply say no to drugs; however, I know addiction is not this at all. From years of watching my brother go to rehab, living a sober life, then watching him become a jittery mess again, I know drug addiction is a disease and a war. A war that 23 million people are facing everyday (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Some people can overcome it, but the hard truth is that more than 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016, including my brother, Steven Summers (National Institute on Drug Abuse). This horrific issue can affect anyone, no matter the social class or where they are from. Addiction is in classrooms, corporate offices, and yes, on the streets. It is an issue that has an awful stigma that must be ended.

Drugs are substances that can alter a person’s physical or mental state. Drugs have the ability to speed up or slow down a person’s central nervous system, cause hallucinations, and most importantly, relieve stress. There are prescription drugs that are used by people with medical conditions, but there are also others who abuse illegal drugs or prescription drugs despite the health problems that come with it. Addicts constantly deny their addiction and claim that they can stop whenever they choose, and others will even tell themselves that it is necessary to take the drugs for their own make-believe medical conditions. However, drugs and alcohol