Whether to End the War on Drugs - Term Paper Example

The war on drugs The United s government’s War on Drugs is a controversial policy that aims to enforce the prohibition of illegal drugs in the United States. The War on Drugs began in the post World War II era and remains quite controversial to this day. Thousands of people each and every year are arrested and incarcerated for drug use and the trafficking of illegal narcotics. Trying to understand the War on Drugs in the twenty-first century, this essay will provide evidence in support as well as against the War on Drugs. The purpose of this essay is to argue from my personal perspective, but before learning what my beliefs are on the sbject, this paper will discuss arguments for as well as arguments against the War on Drugs. The conclusion will sum up all information explored as I argue that the War on Drugs does more harm than good and should be scrapped as American government policy. As a personal essay, this essay will reflect my opinion but beforehand, both sides of the coin regarding America’s War on Drugs will be discussed. While the War on Drugs deals with many different types of drugs including cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, MDMA and marijuana among others, marijuana is one of the most commonly used drugs in America today. Because of this, much of the data here will be from marijuana usage in the United States while exploring America’s War on Drugs. In order to understand both sides of the coin in America’s War on Drugs, the following will begin with an overview of the reasons for the War on Drugs (Witmer, 2009). Reasons for the War on Drugs Created under the presidency of Republican Richard M. Nixon, the War on Drugs represents the federal government’s attempt to crack down on the spread and use of illegal drugs. Illegal drug use in the United States has been seen for years as a major social problem with many important societal ramifications. According to a survey carried by National Household in 2001 on drug abuse, it was established that nearly 5.6 million American from 12 years and over had problems with illegal drug use in the previous year. Out of this number, 3.6 million were classified as being dependant on illegal drugs. Over 2 million were diagnosed as dependant on marijuana and other so called “soft” drugs. Back in 1999, over 220,000 people seeking treatment programs for drug abuse reported that marijuana was their main drug of abuse. Due the numbers mentioned above, the government believes that drugs are harmful and society has an important role to play in ensuring that people do not take harmful drugs. As a result, the argument that drugs are harmful and that the government must play an important role in restricting their use is one of the major arguments for the current War on Drugs (Witmer, 2009). Another argument for the War on Drugs is based upon the belief that drugs are addictive and that “soft” drugs such as marijuana lead to greater drug use among young people. Recent data from the US government indicates that marijuana remains the most commonly used illicit drug in the US and more than 83 million Americans aged over 12 years have at one time used marijuana. Using the yearly Monitoring Future Survey, which involves students from 8th, 10th and 12th grades, the following data was given: In 2001, 20% of 8th graders had attempted to use marijuana at least once, out of this percentage, those who later continued using marijuana when in 10th grade (used marijuana within the last month of the survey), rose to 20%. Among those in the 12th grade, almost 50% had attempted to used marijuana at least once when they were in 8th grade; of that percentage 22% continued to use marijuana (Witmer, 2009). Other studies have indicated that the use of marijuana as well as other drugs normally peaks when the teenagers in their late teenage years or early twenties, however the use declines overall in adulthood. Furthermore, another argument for the War is Drugs is that young people are especially vulnerable and society must protect the most vulnerable members of society. Accordingly, there is a duty to protect the young from the harmful effects of drugs and drug use in America today (Gazzaniga, 1995). The War on Drugs is based on many arguments. These include the fact that drugs are harmful, that drugs are addictive, that so called “soft” drugs lead to harder drugs and that the government has a responsibility to protect all citizens, especially the most vulnerable members of society such as children and teenagers. As has been explained above, teenagers are a social group which uses drugs more than any other and the government needs to protect them. As a result, the War on Drugs exists to protect Americans from the dangers of illegal drugs. Now that this essay has explained the reasons for the War on Drugs, the following looks at the reasons why the War on Drugs should be ended and concludes with a personal analysis of the subject (Costs, 2009). Reasons Against the War on Drugs There are many reasons why the War on Drugs should be ended. Many illegal drugs are less harmful than so-called “legal” drugs. Dunne (1999) explains that marijuana is in fact less dangerous than cigarettes, alcohol and even some medicines sold over the counter. See below for a chart listing from 2003 listing the number of American deaths annually from drug use. ANNUAL AMERICAN DEATHS CAUSED BY DRUGS TOBACCO 400,000 ALCOHOL 100,000 ALL LEGAL DRUGS 20,000 ALL ILLEGAL DRUGS 15,000 CAFFEINE 2,000 ASPIRIN 500 MARIJUANA 0 (Gazzaniga, 2004) Drugs such as marijuana, while in their natural state, are also among the safest therapeutic substances. Accordingly, he explains that using any measure of rational assessment, marijuana can safely be used within a monitored schedule of medical care. As Dunne argues, in America alcohol poisoning is one of the main causes of deaths in America, and cigarettes are estimated to cause roughly 400,000 premature deaths every year. The effects of marijuana on the health of AIDS patients and others suffering terminal illnesses continue to be studied by researchers and there is the belief that some drugs which today are illegal may have therapeutic benefits for those who are sick (Drug War Distortions, 2009). Another important reason as to why illegal drugs ought to be legalized is that it will save a lot of taxpayer dollars spent on fighting the War on Drugs. In America, the federal government, state authorities and even local authorities spend millions of dollars prosecuting the War on Drugs. Today, billions of dollars are being spent each year chasing those who smoke marijuana and putting them behind bars; more money is spent to keep them behind bars. This is very expensive for the government as well as the taxpayers. This money could be better spent on things such as health care and education. Because of the War on Drugs, the United States’ prison population is nearly 10 times that of many of western European countries. In 2000 alone, 734,000 people were arrested by the authorities for marijuana-related offenses. The United States’ fight against drugs gives a big emphasis to marijuana and thousands of people are arrested for smoking it every year. Records indicate that from 1990 until 2005, almost 5.9 million Americans were arrested on marijuana-related cases. This is a huge number of people, many jailed for merely smoking a joint. In 2000, the number of people arrested for marijuana related crimes by the state and local law enforcers were 734,498 (LegalizationOfMarijuana.com, 2008). This number indicates an increase of 800% since 1980, according to the FBI, and was the highest ever witnessed. Out of that number, 646,042 people or 88% of those arrested where charged for possessing marijuana, while 12% were charged with selling/manufacturing this drug. These new statistics from the FBI thus indicates that every 45 seconds, one marijuana smoker is apprehended by the police (LegalizationOfMarijuana.com, 2008). The sale of illegal drugs also creates an environment that promotes criminality. It is a well known fact that drug dealers make money and to the youth, money is all they care about. In the inner city, the government programs such as the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) are subdued by the temptation of quick money by the drug dealers. It would not make sense for a sixteen year old to work at Burger King or McDonalds for minimum wage when they could be making a thousand dollars a day. There just isn’t any competition between the two and the choice is obvious. If the legalization of drugs were to happen, then the dealers would have no choice but to look for legitimate work. US prisons’ today are overcrowded and filled with inmates that have committed drug crimes. Most of the crimes committed were “victimless” crimes in the sense that they did not harm anyone but themselves. Sixty five percent of all inmates in federal prisons are there on drug charges. The legalization of drugs would result in two thirds of the prisons being empty and more room for serious offenders. Overcrowded courts mean reduced sentences and plea bargaining for violent criminals whose presences are the real threats to society. Instead of serving their rightful time, serious criminals are prematurely released of to the public to make room for nonviolent drug offenders. As a society there is need to find better ways to discourage individual behavior of all types that is abusive or dangerous to others. Certainly, people criminalizing nonviolent behavior such as smoking marijuana in a responsible way, is not a positive step in the right direction (LegalizationOfMarijuana.com, 2008). Finally, prohibiting illegal drugs does not work. Although marijuana is an illegal drug in America, statistics indicates that in 2000 alone, 734,498 people were arrested for crimes related to possessing, selling or smoking marijuana. This number seems to be increasing each and every year. Thus prohibiting drugs such as marijuana seems not to be working. Indeed, a number of theories such as the “forbidden fruit” seem to suggest that making drugs illegal has actually increased their usage in America. One unintentional effect of prohibiting drugs is that it makes them more popular in schools. Indeed, Kaplan (1990) observes that it is a lot easier for a kid to get marijuana than getting alcohol. Since alcohol is legal, and thus its availability is controlled by the government. The governments of the past tried prohibiting alcohol and it failed badly; it ought to learn form past experiences and stop repeating similar mistakes. Prohibiting drugs is not an effective way of controlling drug use, what should be done is to educate people on the effects of drug use and give them the information to make responsible choices (Law Enforcement for Prohibition, 2009). Conclusion The issue as to whether to end the War on Drugs evokes serious emotion and is quite controversial for the American people. However, from this discussion, it is clear that the War on Drugs has not been working. I personally feel that while there are relevant arguments for the War on Drugs, the arguments against the this War outweigh the arguments for it. Accordingly, many illegal drugs such as marijuana are less harmful than legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco. Importantly, more deaths are attributed to alcohol and tobacco than all other illegal drugs. Importantly, the US government presently spends billions prosecuting the War on Drugs yet drug use is rising. Also, the War on Drugs promotes criminality and criminal culture. Finally, making drugs illegal makes them "forbidden fruit" and ironically more appealing to others. Legalizing drugs in this country will save America millions wasted on prosecuting the “War on Drugs”, among other positive effects. The moment that all these facts are understood, it becomes certain that American’s drug laws need to be reformed. The matter has to be openly debated and perhaps things will change. Groundless assertions, meaningless data, and exaggerated scare accounts that have been advocated by politicians and antagonists for past 60 years. This war needs to be reevaluated and rejected. REFERENCES About Us. (2009). Drug War Distortions. Accessed December 5, 2009 from: http://www.drugwardistortions.org/ Costs. (2009). JustThinkTwice.com. Accessed December 5, 2009 from: http://www.justthinktwice.com/costs/ Dunne, R. ed. (1998). ”Consequences of Alcohol and Marijuana Use” National Institute on Drug Abuse. Rockville: Maryland. Accessed December 15, 2009 http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/00952998809001561 Gazzaniga, M. (1995). “Legalizing Drugs: Just Say Yes”. The National Journal. (10), 44-51. Law Enforcement for Prohibition. Accessed December 5, 2009 from: http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php LegalizationOfMarijuana.com. (2009). US Policy on Drugs: Accessed December 15, 2009 from: www.legalize-marijuana.com Witmer, David (2009): Marijuana Drug Use. Accessed December 5, 2009 from: http://parentingteens.about.com/cs/marijuana/a/marijuana10.htm Read More