Drug Wars: Positive Or Negative?
Retired policeman Tony Ryan declares, “While we definitely have a problem with drugs in this country, we definitely have to have a change in the policy,” (Richard, 1). Drugs are defined as a broad base of substances with psychoactive effects divided into four categories which include tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs, and other drugs. Many currently illegal drugs, such as marijuana, coca, and psychedelics, have been used for thousands of years for both medical and spiritual purposes. Since the mid 1980s, growing numbers of United States citizens have come to recognize the harshness, expense, and ineffectiveness of United States drug prohibition. Coincidentally, in June of 1971, President Richard Nixon officially …show more content…
“Despite having spent over a trillion tax dollars to make more than 37 million nonviolent drug arrests while prosecuting this war; today illicit drugs are cheaper, more potent and far easier for our children to access than they were 36 years ago,” (Jack 55). In 2002, the total cost of drug abuse to the United States was estimated at 180.9 billion dollars per year. Within the past forty years, the United States government has spent over 2.5 trillion dollars fighting the war on drugs. For instance, in 1971, the war on drugs has cost over 1 trillion dollars and resulted in more than forty-five million arrests. During that time, illegal drug use remained unchanged. Consequently, Mary Cooper refutes, “Reagan increased funding for the drug war from 1.5 billion dollars when he came to office in 1981 to 2.75 billion dollars in 1985” (Cooper, 5). Although the funding may have increased, the abuse of drugs certainly did not decrease. In fact, over five-hundred thousand people are incarcerated for nonviolent drug crimes. With this being said, there could be an inmate who was arrested for the possession of marijuana in a prison cell with a serial killer. That is money spent on, and jail cells filled with, inmates who may not necessarily deserve to be there. Peter Reuter, a drug policy expert at the RAND Corp. observes, “...the law-enforcement component of the drug was is closer to eighty percent of the federal anti-drug budget if the costs of state and local programs are included in the calculation” (Cooper, 4). Undoubtedly, the federal government spends billions fighting drugs, yet illegal drug use remains
Retired policeman Tony Ryan declares, “While we definitely have a problem with drugs in this country, we definitely have to have a change in the policy,” (Richard, 1). Drugs are defined as a broad base of substances with psychoactive effects divided into four categories which include tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs, and other drugs. Many currently illegal drugs, such as marijuana, coca, and psychedelics, have been used for thousands of years for both medical and spiritual purposes. Since the mid 1980s, growing numbers of United States citizens have come to recognize the harshness, expense, and ineffectiveness of United States drug prohibition. Coincidentally, in June of 1971, President Richard Nixon officially …show more content…
“Despite having spent over a trillion tax dollars to make more than 37 million nonviolent drug arrests while prosecuting this war; today illicit drugs are cheaper, more potent and far easier for our children to access than they were 36 years ago,” (Jack 55). In 2002, the total cost of drug abuse to the United States was estimated at 180.9 billion dollars per year. Within the past forty years, the United States government has spent over 2.5 trillion dollars fighting the war on drugs. For instance, in 1971, the war on drugs has cost over 1 trillion dollars and resulted in more than forty-five million arrests. During that time, illegal drug use remained unchanged. Consequently, Mary Cooper refutes, “Reagan increased funding for the drug war from 1.5 billion dollars when he came to office in 1981 to 2.75 billion dollars in 1985” (Cooper, 5). Although the funding may have increased, the abuse of drugs certainly did not decrease. In fact, over five-hundred thousand people are incarcerated for nonviolent drug crimes. With this being said, there could be an inmate who was arrested for the possession of marijuana in a prison cell with a serial killer. That is money spent on, and jail cells filled with, inmates who may not necessarily deserve to be there. Peter Reuter, a drug policy expert at the RAND Corp. observes, “...the law-enforcement component of the drug was is closer to eighty percent of the federal anti-drug budget if the costs of state and local programs are included in the calculation” (Cooper, 4). Undoubtedly, the federal government spends billions fighting drugs, yet illegal drug use remains