Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 11

Running head: TERMINATING THE WAR ON DRUGS

Terminating the War on Drugs

Cesar Padron, Maximiliano Gutierrez,

Juan Ramirez, Frida Talavera

University of Texas at El Paso

RWS 1302

Senaida Navar
Running head: TERMINATING THE WAR ON DRUGS

Abstract

The United States has a long history of fighting drug addiction and distribution, from the

Creation of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) to the Drug Enforcement Administration

(DEA), having many victories against the organized crime, but also many defeats. But with the

declaration of War on Drugs, things have yet to look more positive. In this paper you will find

evidence that things have progressively gotten more violent, and have worsened over time. As

the war keeps on going many innocent lives have been taken and families have been torn apart.

Although the original intentions were to eliminate drugs, solutions kept introducing new

problems that eventually were too much to handle. It is time to end the war on drugs and provide

an alternative safer way to recover for those suffering.

Keywords: War, Drugs, Policy.


Running head: TERMINATING THE WAR ON DRUGS

Introduction

Drugs have been around for many years and have been, depending on how you look at it,

a problem causer for society. Drugs such as marijuana, opium, cocaine, and psychedelics have

been used for thousands of years for both medical and spiritual purposes. However, in June 1971,

President Nixon declared a “war on drugs” (Sacco, 2014). He dramatically increased the size and

presence of federal drug control agencies, and pushed through measures such as mandatory

sentencing and no-knock warrants. These measures taken by President Nixon and kept by his

successors, affected the society in several ways, rather than help it. During the prohibition era, a

similar thing happened; alcohol was being sold illegally at a very high price, governments

officials were bribed in order to keep the illegal business running, there were many people

arrested and many deaths because of the empowerment and enrichment of organized crime. With

the end of prohibition, alcohol has been controlled, taxed and provides a revenue stream to the

State. The drug war is creating a similar problem, and one should ask the question: is this policy

really working?

Stasis Questions
Running head: TERMINATING THE WAR ON DRUGS

● Facts: How did the war on drugs began and what did it cause among the youth and their

families?

● Definition: What has been gained and lost from the war on drugs since it was declared?

● Quality: With many people dying because of the war on drugs, what kind of people are

most likely to be influenced by the war, and how is their health affected?

● Policy: What changes can society make in order to handle the situation involving drug

abuse, and criminalization concerning drugs?

How did the war on drugs begin and what did it cause among the youth and their families?

On June 18, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared “war on drugs” after two

congressmen released an explosive report on the growing heroin addiction among U.S. military

in Vietnam; ten to fifteen percent of the soldiers were addicted to heroin. That is when President

Nixon declared drug abuse to be "public enemy number one". President Nixon’s aggressive

response to the increasing drug problem was a continuation of U.S. drug policies that began in

1914 with the “Harrison Narcotics Tax Act”, which regulated use and distribution of some drugs

(Sacco, 2014).

The first organization created to enforce the drug regulation acts was the Federal Bureau of

Narcotics (FBN) in 1930. The FBN had a hard time doing its job due to the Great Depression

and low budget to keep the bureau running, however, the bureau did what it could during the

next decades while congress continued to pass drug control legislation. And yet, the drug abuse

and distribution keep rising while the FBN continued to enforce federal narcotic acts with low

funding from the federal government. During the presidential elections of 1969, candidate
Running head: TERMINATING THE WAR ON DRUGS

Richard Nixon responded to the increasing drug abuse by making the reduction of drug use and

distribution one of his top priorities upon taking office. After declaring the war on drugs

President Nixon transformed the Federal Bureau of Narcotics into the Drug Enforcement

Administration (Sacco, 2014).

The major goal of the DEA was to enforce all drug regulation acts, such as the Controlled

Substances Act. All these drug control legislations caused many crime organization to emerge; in

many cases these cartels and crime organizations often fought over territories in which to sell

drugs. This has caused many problems in society, among which is the seduction of teenagers and

young adults with money in a drug selling job. Furthermore when territories are being fought

over, these young civilians who take part in selling the drugs end up caught in the crossfire, this

leaves many kids deceased, tearing families apart. Kidnapping, extortions, robbery, murders,

shootings, and many other things are a consequence of these crime organizations, and above all

of the war on drugs.

What has been gained and lost from the war on drugs since it was declared?

Since the declaration of the war on drugs, the United States and neighboring nations have

noticed major changes. Many problems were beings solved, but every solution would introduce

new conflicts. Even though drug abuse became a major concern, drug-related crime rates

dropped. Drug addicts had a much harder time accessing the drugs that they sought—The lack of

drug usage, prevented them from experiencing the highs or hallucinations that would drive them

to commit crimes. They also stopped having the need to obtain illegal money in order to buy the

drugs. Put simply, no access, no usage. Included in the policies of war on drugs is the penalty

that will be afforded to manufacturers, distributors and users of illegal drugs. The level of
Running head: TERMINATING THE WAR ON DRUGS

punishment that will be imposed depends on the gravity of the crime. Knowing that there are

consequences to be paid made people think twice before consuming drugs.

Drug users were not happy about drugs being taken away from them and were willing to find an

alternative way to consume drugs. Due to this, drug trafficking expanded, and it grew to be a

global problem. It converted into an illicit trade that involved the manufacture, cultivation,

distribution and sale of prohibited substances. Countries around the world put all their efforts to

put an end to this trafficking, but drug trade quickly became a booming business. The dynamics

of drug trafficking was simply impressive, in the perspective that consumption and distribution

continued to rise even with continuous efforts to curb drug-related crimes and offenses.

A majority of the population that are easily lured into drug dealing are those within and below

the poverty line. People who have no hope of achieving very much because of their

circumstances would resort to drug dealing where knowledge and skills are not required in their

resume. They also see it as a way to make something of themselves, and to have the resources to

fund their own drug habits. Would it not be better when the billions allocated for anti-drug

campaigns are used to help improve the lives of these individuals? For the last 40 years, an

estimated $1 trillion was funneled to the war on drugs; taxpayers are paying big for a war that is

showing no signs of being victorious any time soon. In fact, the flow of drugs into the United

States is increasing year after year. For the drug abusers that were prosecuted, many complained

that sentencing in drug-related crimes had major flaws. There’s a huge problem in the sentencing

between possessions or trafficking of powder cocaine and crack. For example, those convicted

for possession of 5 grams of crack and those in possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine

basically have the same punishment – minimum mandatory sentence of being incarcerated in a

federal prison for 5 years. Judging from the differences of the drugs in question, sentencing can
Running head: TERMINATING THE WAR ON DRUGS

be seen as unfair. The punishments that were brought upon the drug users and traffickers also

brought a bad reputation to their families. One man incarcerated for drug abuse or drug-related

crimes is likely to have children who are growing up without a father, which could lead to long

lasting psychological effects on them. If they are in the same situation as their father before

them, they could end up drug users or sellers as well, whichever comes first.

The intentions of the war on drugs was to contain drug abuse and to bring an end to drug usage.

It did fix some issues, but a new war that was unimaginable was created. A drug-free area or

community may seem impossible given the present situation, but it is achievable as long as

everyone does their share in the fight against drugs. War on drugs should not only involve the

government and local authorities, but also friends and family of drug users or sellers.

With many people dying because of the war on drugs, what kind of people are most likely

to be influenced by the war, and how is their health affected?

According to the NIH (National Institute on Drug Abuse), in 2016, 64,000 people died in the

United States from drug overdose. This number is higher than the deaths caused by the drug war

in Mexico, which, according to CNN, were 23,000. Many of the deaths in Mexico were caused

as a conflict of many of the rising cartels. These conflicts within the Mexican cartels take away

the lives of many innocent civilians who do not have anything to do with drugs such as

bystanders, or by people who refuse to sell drugs. Even government officials who try to do

something against the drug cartel and journalist who start to go over the topic, are killed by the

cartels. Most of the deaths in the United States were caused by the intake of drugs that are

brought over to the United States by the Mexican cartel. With every passing year the percentage

of teenage deaths related to drug has risen higher than those of other ages. The people who died
Running head: TERMINATING THE WAR ON DRUGS

the most due to drug overdose in 2016 are adults around the ages 25 through 45. According to

the Department of Homeland Security, the Mexican drug cartels take in between $19 billion and

$29 billion annually from drug sales in the United States. Most of the consumers would already

have a steady income of money which allow them to afford the drugs consumed.

With so many victims of many ages, most of them had families that cared for them even

when they are alive. Most of this families sought help for the drug victim even when the victim

did not accept the help. Due to the family constantly treating the victim once the person dies it is

hard to believe that the person is gone. This people would then feel guilt and remorse because

they feel that they could have done more for the victim. For other families, such as those from

Mexico, it is hard for them to accept that that person is gone. Especially to those who were

innocent and died due to the conflicts within the drug cartels. In most of the cases it is hard to

accept the death of a loved one. In some of the cases, the rest of the family members feel a relief

because the victim would hurt them in many ways. According to an online rehabilitation

webpage, people who have any kind of addiction cause anxiety, pain, stress, and loss of trust

amongst the family. Due to the negative effect of the addiction, many families tend to develop

hatred towards the victim. When the person dies this hatred would turn into relief or guilt. If it

turns onto relief it is hard for the people to seek help due to feeling relief.

What changes can society make in order to handle the situation involving drug abuse, and

criminalization concerning drugs?

As many other situations and actions that can be deemed “inappropriate behavior” in

society, doing drugs can be placed at the top of the list. However, seeing drug addicts as

criminals instead of people that need help, can be considered part of the problem. Addiction is, in

simple terms, a short circuit in the wiring of the brain’s reward neurochemistry and
Running head: TERMINATING THE WAR ON DRUGS

neurotransmission (American Society of Addiction Medicine, 2018). Furthermore, this affects

the way your brain functions: learning, judgment, perception, impulse control, etc. This puts

substance abuse and addiction as a behavioral disorder but as a chronic disease as well, with risk

of relapse. There also seems to be an increase of overlap between a substance disorder and a

mental disorder such as depression, anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and many

other (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2018). This makes it harder for something to function,

but more importantly to head onto the road to recovery. As any other chronic diseases, they must

be treated with medical help in order for these people to live a fully functional life. But as a

society we ostracize these people instead of providing them with the medical attention that they

need. This can cause the “patient” themselves to not want to seek said medical attention,

furthering the idea conditioned into their minds that they do not deserve the help.

As is commonly known “quitting cold turkey” is not very effective and can even be

harmful to the addict. Many roads to recovery are led on by several steps, in which many cases

the first step is to admit and understand there is a problem and that you are helpless when it

comes to the addiction (American Addiction Centers, 2017). This kind of help and support can

be sought and given; yet, even with such programs available, there is the problem of the addict /

“patient” wanting said help. This goes back to the stigma that one does not deserve help, thus

affecting their desire to get better, and sometimes pushing them further into their addiction. This

is where it would make sense to “cut off” their source of addiction per say, hence the war on

drugs. But as explained previously, this made the situation more dangerous than previously

believed. Another way that has been sought by other nations is, to put so shortly, to make taking

drugs safer and cleaner. One prime example would be Switzerland and their “Four Pillar Drug

Policy”. This drug policy concentrated on providing addicts with a safe way to administer their
Running head: TERMINATING THE WAR ON DRUGS

drugs [heroin clinics in which they were provided with clean needles and pure heroing], as well

as minimize consequences for those that are caught; in the first year there were already positive

effects and changes—unemployment dropping from 73% to 45% (The Global Initiative for Drug

Policy Reform, 2018). A similar program in the United Kingdom recorded 16.1 million pounds

drop in crime costs after only one year (The Global Initiative for Drug Policy Reform, 2018).

Therefore a reform in the United States’ drug policy should be sought, as well as a way for drug

addicts to safely administer their addiction while also providing them with medical attention.

This can greatly reduce dangers not only in taking drugs but also the dangers that are involved in

the movement of drugs.

Conclusion

The war on drugs has proven not only that it was not successful but rather that it created

new problems as well. Though it may not seem appealing, terminating the war on drugs and

making accessibility to drugs can better our society’s situation. It can make the streets safer for

children, and create a more fair opportunity for those suffering from substance abuse disorder.
Running head: TERMINATING THE WAR ON DRUGS

References

A.A.V.V. Drug War Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.drugpolicy.org/issues/drug-war-statistics

Sacco, Lisa N., Drug Enforcement in the United States:History, Policy, and Trends (2014,

October 2) Retrieved from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43749.pdf

National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2017, September 15). Overdose Death Rates. Retrieved April

16, 2018, from https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates

Roberts, E. (2017, May 11). Report: Mexico was second deadliest country in 2016. Retrieved

April 16, 2018, from https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/09/americas/mexico-second-deadliest-conflict-

2016/index.html

The Effect Of Addiction On The Family. (2017, November 28). Retrieved April 16, 2018, from

http://www.drugrehab.org/effect-of-addiction-family/

Вам также может понравиться