In his article, “Toward a Policy on Drugs,” Elliot Currie discusses “the magnitude and severity of our drug crisis” (para. 21), and how “no other country has anything resembling the American drug problem” (para. 21). The best way to describe America’s drug problem is that it is a hole continuously digs itself deeper. America’s drug issues were likely comparable to other country’s at one point in time, but today it can be blamed on the “street cultures” (para. 21) that continue to use and spread the use of illegal drugs. These street cultures transcend the common stereotype of drug users, such as low income communities in cities or welfare recipients, and can be found in every economic class and location. They are groups of people who have
The House I Live In, is a documentary that visually represents how the War on Drugs affected drug dealers, parents of those who took drugs, enforcers of the drug laws, prisoners convicted of drug violence or drug dealing, poor neighborhoods, and historical recordings about the war. All of these were captured through clips of interviews by those imprisoned due to drugs, experts from academic institutes, and police personnel. Moreover, it is a discursive narrative, since the film exhibits conversation of past and current results of the War on Drugs. Additionally, it has been a ‘hot button’ topic actively discussed by victims and authoritative enforcers of the war, outlining how ineffective it has
Reagan’s Intensified War on Drugs In the 1970’s and 1980’s, a problem arose. Drugs became an issue as they had become widespread and heavily used. Both legal and illegal drugs were being abused. In 1971, President Nixon started a War on Drugs that would combat this issue.
The use of narcotics like cocaine, claimed many lives and earned widespread coverage by media and news. Following this Nancy Reagan began the “War on Drugs”, a campaign to combat pre-existing drug usage and prevent future
The term “War on Drugs” is a phrase used that refers to a government-led initiative that aims to stop illegal drug use, as well as the distribution and trade of narcotics. Drug use and the abuse of drugs is a problem in the United States that not only causes financial problems but social problems as well. In the late 1960s recreational drug use became popular among young, white middle class Americans. The use of drugs became more mainstream and was a main representative of protests and social rebellion.
“The New Jim Crow offers a devastating account of a legal system doing its job perfectly well. We have simply replaced one caste system with another one.” — Forbes Magazine “The New Jim Crow” sheds light on the racial amplitude within the war on drugs. It contends that federal drug policies unfairly target minorities, i.e. people of color. Due to this discrimination, people of color, black men particularly, are kept in a never ending cycle of living in poverty or behind bars.
For example, agencies have been established with the sole intent to manage drug use and distribution and technology has been exclusively developed to detect the presence of drugs. Yet, evidence has indicated that such exhaustive efforts have been relatively unsuccessful. First, it has been assumed that drugs have perpetuated violence in society and based on this rationale, it was believed that by the suppressing the pervasiveness of drugs that incidents of violence would simultaneously diminish. However, reality has failed to align with the expectations that had initially been anticipated. Research findings have suggested that the decriminalization of drugs would result in a less adversarial drug market in which conflicts have tended to arise among dealers as well as between dealers and buyers (Common Sense for Drug Policy, 2007, p. 21).
Therefore conflict theory defines substance abuse as primarily being a problem that is a result of structural inequality and class conflict. Corporations such as the LCBO and various pharmacies financially benefit the most from drug use and also obtain the power to keep it available. In response to political, social, and power inequality, political and business groups are able to influence society’s depiction of drugs and their users. Many substances were considered legal but public opinion and the law altered when drugs were associated with ethnic minorities and crime. Conflict theorists argue that marginalized groups, the lower class, and other alienated groups are more likely to suffer negative ramifications as a result of addiction.
In the name of fighting drug abuse, governments unleashed a war on drugs that continues to rage today. Drugs have numerous negative consequences that can result from an addiction, but some can have positive effects when used appropriately and under the care of a healthcare professional. The War on Drugs is a government-led initiative aimed at stopping illegal drug use, distribution, and trade by issuing increased prison sentences for drug-related offenses, and it increased federal funding for drug-control agencies and treatment efforts. Instead, it has resulted in a disproportionate amount of incarcerations of minorities.
Legalizing drugs has been a hot debate topic since the human mind has been effected by outsider chemicals and the topic still lingers. Today; from almost every political view, ethical group, social class, race, gender and age, arguments are thrown out there whether supporting or denouncing the war on drugs. There are three main benefits of legalizing drugs such as; it would be for the benefit of all society because the government could control the drug traffic the economy would develop with such a huge and new area of marketing and also by not splurging government money on useless wars, there must be freedom in democracies, and finally it would help science, art, general knowledge and personal journeys. Drugs are known to be very
It is estimated that 2.3 million American are in jail or they are in prison and roughly half of them are convicted of drug use or drug possession. America has created an entire nation of warring gangs and rivals by making the use and possessions of drugs illegal. The opposing side to the legalization of drugs argue that legalizing drugs will take more lives than it already has, which in the eyes of many people is the opposite of what we think. As of today, non-prescribed drugs are illegal and because of the government's doing it has caused a countless number of lives to be lost due to the battle for control of the illegal drug
Then, look at the addict from the eyes of the soulless dealer that supplies the drug. Finally, look at life from the addict’s point of view that has been tarnished by the effects of drugs. The war on drugs has been an ongoing problem in our country. Everywhere you look, and everywhere you go, there are people that have succumbed to their desire for a certain drug. Some people may have the obvious look of a drug addict and some may be able to keep it hid.
As of recent, the war on drugs has been a very often discussed topic due to many controversial issues. Some people believe the War on Drugs has been quite successful due to the amount of drugs seized and the amount of drug kingpins arrested. I believe this to be the wrong mindset when it comes to the war on drugs. The war on drugs isn’t a winnable one so we must do all that is possible to assist those who struggle with drug addiction and decriminalize small amounts of drugs. These minor changes in the way we combat drugs will create significant change and have lasting effects.
The War on Drugs that the government has been fighting for almost two centuries has been a failure. The War on Drugs has made criminal organizations, violence around the world, and drugs themselves worse. The War on Drugs has negatively affected the lives of millions of people around the world as it has led to massive incarceration in the United States; corruption, political destabilization, and violence in Latin America, Asia, and Africa; to systemic human rights abuses across the world. Prohibition of certain drugs has actually led to higher rate of violence and murders all around the world. Which drugs are legal and illegal is not really based on any specific scientific assessment of the relative risk of the drugs, but it has everything
