StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Failure of the Drug War - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay "The Failure of the Drug War" presents America’s war against recreational drugs as an example of good intentions gone terribly wrong. While this country squanders over billions of dollars annually on the efforts to stop illegal drugs, trafficking and use continue…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.8% of users find it useful
The Failure of the Drug War
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Failure of the Drug War"

Clearly, the threat of imprisonment is not sufficient to keep citizens from partaking in the drug, nor is it effective in ensuring the drug is not available on the street. This complete lack of any kind of tolerance for the casual marijuana user and its effects on funding, relations with the populace, and inability to accomplish its objective in the United States can be contrasted with the more relaxed legal structure adopted in other countries such as England and Holland.  While marijuana remains illegal in the UK, it is no longer mandatory that casual users of the drug must be arrested when caught.  Instead, an arrest can be detained until exacerbating circumstances arise, such as the use of the drug in the presence of minors.  This move was made, according to Home Secretary David Blunkett, “to free up police resources to fight hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine.”  (King/Mauer, 2005)   

As in alcohol laws, the line is drawn between adult and youth use. No one can deny that using illegal drugs can cause adverse effects to the user of any age but the effects to the teenager are especially damaging.  Teenagers are in a much more vulnerable situation than are adults as they are still developing in every aspect of life.  Drug use increases the chance that students will become pregnant, contract a communicable disease, perform poorly in school and attempt suicide.  Unfortunately, it remains this group that has the most access to drugs as schools have become prolific drug outlets.  

The hypocrisy of the drug war is apparent.  All illegal drugs combined account for about 4,500 deaths in this country per year while tobacco is responsible for the deaths of 400,000 people annually and alcohol ends 80,000 people’s lives every year.  (Fu, 2006) Legislators will not ban smoking because they indicate regulation regarding what adults do in privacy including what they can put into their bodies is clearly unconstitutional and an infringement on personal liberties.  Everyone can differentiate the distinction between a person that takes in an occasional alcoholic beverage and one who commits crimes while drunk.  Why can’t this simplistic reasoning be applied to drug users?  Our code of law is founded upon a principle of presumptive rationality.  Rational adults should be allowed to make personal choices as long as those actions cause no harm to others.  The U.S. government is unequivocally unjustified in choosing this particular personal freedom to ignore at such a colossal cost to society (Fu, 2006).

The costs of prohibition go far beyond the mere funding of legal authorities and transportation for search and seizures.  Economists who are actively involved in the drug policy in some way found three key issues upon which a very general consensus could be found. “First, most economists found the current policy to be somewhat ineffective, very ineffective, or harmful.  Second, most economists agree that the current policy should be changed.  Third, most economists agree that the policy should be changed in the general direction of liberalization.  Disagreement is generally based on the direction and degree of liberalization.” (Thornton, 2002)  Other costs include additional ‘drug-related crime that is the result of users attempting to gain enough money to fulfill their demand in response to artificially high prices thanks to the lack of supply.  “Public health problems like HIV and Hepatitis C are all exacerbated by zero-tolerance laws that restrict access to clean needles.” (Drug Policy Alliance, 2006).  

People who are at most casual users of drugs are arrested and incarcerated for mere possession charges, actions that do not take more drugs off the streets, or encourage more people to stop using the drugs.  At the same time, arresting possessors of drugs creates an encumbrance on society as tax dollars go to support these people no longer free to hold a job outside prison walls and bringing more children into the welfare system, contributing to their subsequent failure and dependence on society.  Initial conceptions of the drug-crime relationship were drawn from studies of criminality that involved alcoholics and those addicted to narcotics.  These studies substantiated the perception that violent crimes are associated more so with alcohol use, whereas another drug use is associated with crimes involving property in order to secure money for drugs. Many studies that include drug-related crime do not give weight to the fact that “a substantial proportion of inmates convicted of property crimes were under the influence of alcohol (in addition to another drug) at the time of the offense.” (White/Gorman, 2000)  These and other issues demonstrate the lack of complete and uniform definitions regarding drug-related crime. 

The statistics regarding the numbers of individuals currently using drugs at least as a recreational activity remain stable even as drug busts and numbers of people incarcerated for drug possession continue to rise, indicating greater quantities of drugs being smuggled into the country and greater degrees of organization within the crime syndicates that accomplish this.  Rather than dissolving the demand for these substances, the attempted block on supplies not only fails to adequately block trafficking, but it leads to greater degrees of violence and corruption by ensuring this industry remains in the hands of criminals.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(Legalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words, n.d.)
Legalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1715982-legalization
(Legalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
Legalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1715982-legalization.
“Legalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1715982-legalization.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Failure of the Drug War

War on Drugs

The present administration has failed to comprehend the drug issue in all its ramifications.... Moreover, crime related to drugs would not be eliminated, as the drug addicts would indulge in criminal behavior, due to drug induced defective judgment and instability.... It would be incorrect to contend that the war on drugs had ended in failure.... On the other hand the proponents of drug legalization argue that the war on drugs has ended in a fiasco....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

Social Consequences of the War on Drugs

Illegal drug use was declining before the introduction of the drug war; but after the introductions of the drug war, the illegal uses of drugs seem to be intensifying.... … The authors argue that the current war on drug policies failed because of the failure of the authorities in identifying dimensions with respect to the social, economic, health, political and human costs of the current antidrug crusade.... If the drug war continues in its present form for the next 10 years, 6 in 10 African American males in the age group of 18-34 will be in prisons....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The War On Drugs

One of the most evident signs of the failure of this war appears in 2006, when Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against drug cartels in which 40,000 people were killed and media named this event “drug Violence” 40,000 people include not only cartel members ,police officers and many US citizens.... hellip; According to Global commission of drug policy (2011) US has spent $1trillion on this war and is considered as the longest and most in-effective war in which US is engaged....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

Is the U.S. Winning the Drug War in Latin America

winning the drug war in Latin America?... According to her "I would not agree with the premise that the drug war is a failure," Napolitano said.... The war on drugs is creating intense pressures on the drug-related organizations as these come clashing into each other 4.... the drug trade has many harmful effects on the safety, health and security of the American citizens.... and Mexican law enforcement officials are of the opinion that the current wave of violence in Mexico and other Latin American countries is due to the fact that the war on drugs is creating intense pressures on the drug-related organizations and these come clashing into each other....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Is the U.S. Winning the Drug War in Latin America

winning the drug war in Latin America?... PRO: Yes, the US is winning the drug war in Latin America 1.... CON: No, the US is not winning the drug war in Latin America 1.... Latin America has marked a huge rise in coca production over the past few years despite the US efforts of discouraging its production Amidst the narcotics decriminalizing calls by some leading Latin American leaders, Janet Napolitano, the US Homeland Security Secretary defended the drug war strategy of the US....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

The War on Drugs is a Failure. So What Can Be Done About it

The fear that legalizing illicit drugs will only exacerbate the drug problem did not actually happen.... What was feared that the country will become a nation of drug addicts did not actually happen but in fact, helped solved the drug problem.... % and the drug use in older teens also declined.... Experience has shown that the prohibitive approach towards drug is a total failure.... In addition, 60% of the total violence in the United States is related to drug prohibition which means that the prohibition of drugs only induces violence (Maginnis) The violence that resulted in the prohibition of drug is not new....
3 Pages (750 words) Research Paper

The War on drugs

he authors have supported the government view in this article as they talk about the economics and politics of the drug offenders.... The article uses seven explanatory variables which include the drug Enforcement Agency and suggests that the incarceration of drug offenders merely causes a crowding-out effect in prisons, releasing the non-drug offenders and thus, potentially increasing, rather than decreasing, crime.... This article is for those who believe that incarcerating the drug offenders will reduce the crime....
21 Pages (5250 words) Essay

How successful has the US 'War on Drugs' been in bringing the Transnational Illegal Drugs trade to an end

… In terms of dollars, it has been a failure, both because of the amount of money spent on the drug war, and for the amount of money lost through not having the drugs legalized and taxed accordingly.... This essay will state why the drug war has been a failure.... In terms of dollars, it has been a failure, both because of the amount of money spent on the drug war, and for the amount of money lost through not having the drugs legalized and taxed accordingly....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us