Trent Ware

Op-Ed Piece
RWS 1302
Nehls
The War on Drugs in the United States has reached an epidemic level of
harm on our country. More people than ever are in prison (nearly 1 in every
111 adults), and they are being turned into a recurring profit for the prison
system, where 76.6% of inmates return in the first 5 years of being free.
These statistics should provide a small glimpse into the terror that is the
United States prison system, all courtesy of the War on Drugs and its
monumental failure.
A recent report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy has recommended
a new way to control illicit drug trade in the world. This commission is
headed by the former prime ministers/presidents of five countries, many
human rights leaders, and a former secretary general of the United Nations
among others. The report details the shortcomings of the current global War
on Drugs declared 56 years ago, noting the increases in opiate, cocaine, and
cannabis use from 1998 to 2008 (34.5%, 27%, and 8.5% respectively). The
primary recommendations being to decrease imprisonment by substituting
rehabilitation.
Jimmy Carter in a message to Congress in 1977 said the country should
decriminalize the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, with a full
program of treatment for addicts. Does this not sound like a sane and
logical idea? Help those who need it rather than throw them away in prison
to be made into second-class citizens. The idea that the government believes
it has the right to punish a person for possession of a naturally occurring
substance throws my mind for a loop. If only so that our country can
continue to grow we must release all non-violent drug offenders, whose lost
effect on the GDP of our country factors in somewhere between 57 and 65
BILLION dollars in lost productivity.
Families are losing fathers and mothers to simple drug possession. Friends of
mine have been convicted of drug possession for 0.035 of a gram of
marijuana here in Texas where the cop literally scraped the carpet of his car.
How can we justify the destruction of an entire life for a drug? We cant! If the
punishment for possession of a drug has greater ramifications on a life than
the drug itself, there is a serious overreaction going on.
Looking to countries such as Portugal and even states within the Union such
as Colorado gives us a glimpse into what decriminalization and legalization
of certain drugs can do for the country monetarily, socially, and morally.
Crime rates, traffic fatalities, and drug overdoses plummet by double
percentage points where drugs are legalized. Prison populations decreased in

Portugal by 23% in the ten years after decriminalization of all drugs. How can
we so blatantly ignore policies that work?
I urge the reader of this article to stand up and find ways to contact their
congressional representatives. Get involved in the politics of the country you
live in, despite whatever disdain you may have. If you do not put your
opinion in the realms of policy and morality the country can never reflect
your values. Fight for what you believe is right, fight for the right to be free
from a prison system that cripples individuals for life both socially and
economically. Without you, we are powerless.