The so-called “War on Drugs,” as declared by the Nixon administration in the signing of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, marked the beginning of the current era of mandatory minimum sentencing, racism, privatized prisons, and a powerful constituency that profits as a result of the prohibition of drugs. Psychoactive substances have been apart of the human experience as long as humans have walked the earth. There is little hope that drug production will ever be curtailed, so long as there is a demand; a demand that has remained steady even though it has been forty years since the beginning of said war. As Judge James P. Gray from the Superior Court of Orange County has so plainly put it: “Where did this policy On one side the government is telling it’s citizens that’s drugs are evil and on the other hand this very same government is importing the very products that they claim to be protecting people from. Whatever is happening here is for you to decide.
There are also many vested interests of United States corporations that lobby to keep current policies. The tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical industries emphasize the difference between illegal and legal drugs, in an effort to lock down the market for drug use. Alcohol, tobacco and some pharmaceuticals are equally harmful and addictive, yet they distinguish themselves as different. There is a group called a Partnership for a Drug Free America that advocates against the use of illegal drugs. Seems harmless enough, until you look at the main funders. The predominant funders are, ironically, from the tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical companies. This demonstrates that these industries have a market lockdown on legal psychoactive substances and are threatened by the possibility of legalization, which would dramatically cut into their profits. These industries have an enormous amount of money from which to lobby against all legislation that would advocate for any kind of policy change in regards to the drug laws. Money is incredibly influential, and there is a lot
The war on drugs, my future look!!! The reason I picked this topic is because the drug war seems to be a major topic for America. There is a big discussion on whether it should be legalized or not. So what I want to do is give a future look on what this drug war would look like if it were to be legalized. What will licit and illicit drugs…
War on Drugs Drug addiction is a problem faced by many people of the world today. The War on drugs campaign was started in order to define and further reduce the illegal drug trade and fight against drug dealers. The campaign was conducted with the help of participating countries facing many controversies which are still argued to this day. The laws put in place were intended to reduce the level of not only drug consumption but drug addicts. Drugs will always be a part of our culture so we are…
Nick Williams The War on Drugs Argument Paper 12/7/2007 We see it on the news, and in the newspapers. Almost daily there are new headlines reporting drug involvement in many situations in this country; from the war on drugs, trying to stop them from entering the country, to gang trouble, and drugs in the school systems. The debate is whether or not to legalize illegal drugs. You’re probably telling yourself that it’s absurd why anyone would consider this, after reading about the tragedies…
Drug Dealer Street Pharmaceutical Distributor “Yes I’ve known of police officers who sell drugs,” Cain says in response to the question. “They are worst than I am because they are supposed to uphold the law!” There are many types of drug dealers, from the behind the scenes Caucasian white collar and government criminals, to the overexposed black street corner thug. The early twenties, corn-roll braided male, that I will call Cain, was at ease as we sat in his newly purchased home. Besides…
The War on Drugs Preventing drug use has been a very, very long process. It is very important that everyone understands the danger of drugs and the violent war crimes that can develop from their usage. It is called the longest and deadliest war in United States history. It has been said that it started around the 1970’s when President Nixon announced it. The “War on Drugs” has costs billions of dollars and has also taken thousands of lives. About seventy-thousand people lost their lives…
The War on Drugs Renee Bailly CJA/394 April 22, 2015 Jeremy Barnett The War on Drugs “The ‘war on drugs’ that was declared in the early 1980s has been a primary contributor to the enormous growth of the prison system in the U.S. [Spell out United States here....may abbreviate after that] since that time and has affected all aspects of the criminal justice system” ("Drug Policy And The Criminal Justice System", 2001). [Remove quotations from the source information at the end...quotes…
In watching the John Stossel documentary on The War on Drugs (Sidewinder77, 2009), it is evident that the 40 year war has created more crime than the intended purpose of reducing the drug problem in America. Is the point of the drug prohibition to reduce drug possession which would reduce the drug problem? Instead it has opened up different doorways to other crimes as a byproduct of prohibition. The Department of Justice says that the illegal drug market in the U.S. is dominated by 900,000 criminally…
April 2013 According to the National Survey of Drug Use and Health data, in 2008, 20 million people in the United States of America ages 12 and up used an illicit drug. (Walker 305) 20 million is a high number and being that the age level went all the way down to 12 years old is frightening. Marijuana is the main source of drug use weighing in at 15.2 million users (76 percent of the total number of users taken in the National Survey of Drug Use and Health) in 2008. (Walker 305) Cocaine comes…
Paulina Ross Professor Dursema English 1010 20 April 2012 Drug War: The Two Sides of The Border The drug war, ever growing, and reaching across more and more borders, has raised many concerns on both sides of the borders that it crosses. It is not uncommon that phrases like the following are seen as the tittles in well-known newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times: “Death toll in mass graves in Mexico reaches 116.” “Ex- Tijuana mayor freed, faces new charge of murder.” “At least 20 people…
Drugs 1 Running Head: Drugs Drugs: More Than Just Black and White Brooklyn High School Drugs 2 The war on drugs is the fight to keep illegal drugs off of the streets. The government is fighting the drug dealers and users single-handedly, and are somewhat successful with catching drug lords. The government then fails with drug treatment programs. If the government would just educate the drugies why the drug is bad instead of saying it is with no…
