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Matthew Cooke's How To End The War On Drugs

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The seemingly endless national struggle, otherwise known as the War on Drugs, has been around for decades; with policies being enacted hoping to end this epidemic. But after numerous failed attempts, officials have hit a wall in the fact that they don’t know what else they can do to end it. If history has taught America anything at all, it is that it repeats itself, as shown by Prohibition; which made alcohol illegal during the Great Depression. This begs the question: Why are officials so set on prohibiting the use of drugs when history has proven its’ effects? With multiple failed government attempts to end the war on drugs, it has only worked to create a damaged federal prison system. However, by making drug sales, possession, and use …show more content…

Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates, who believed that “casual drug users should be taken out and shot,” founded the DARE drug education program, which was quickly adopted nationwide despite the lack of evidence of its effectiveness. As shown, all of the attempts did little to hinder the drug war’s effects, All of this leads to groups and individuals alike to search for solutions to end this ongoing crisis. In Matthew Cooke’s, “How to End the War on Drugs” he brings about possible solutions to end the war. Cooke (2013) suggests making all drug sales, possession, and use non crime nor jail able offenses, allow pharmacies to sell recreational drugs to adults only, with plenty of warning information, and outlaw advertising for recreational drugs (Cooke, 2013).While this all may seem reasonable at first glance, the author’s use of over emotion does not play to his advantage. First, the writer assumes that the narratives he presents to his reader connects him on a personal level with them. Instead, they make his argument unreliable. Also, although the use of voice in one’s writing is commendable, the author’s writing reads as too comfortable, leading to unprofessionalism. Adding on, when he presents solutions to end the national drug problem, he fails to give explanation to the reader, completely invalidating his …show more content…

By that he means instead of just arresting drug abusing criminals off the street and sentencing them to life in prison, we should treat them like humans, and allow them to get the help they need. This is where local officials come in. The author (2013) suggests if we were to allow any addict who walks into a police station seeking help to get it, and to not let them face charges, then the war on drugs could slowly but surely be resolved (Collins, 2013). The author provides an example of this notion already being put to work in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and further discusses the LEAD program, which allows this all to happen. While the author does make some noteworthy suggestions, he fails to provide multiple examples, which leads his argument to sound invalid. Yet, with the use of more examples, his claim would sound completely

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government provides help to drug addicts, such as helping them find jobs and providing them with housing, instead of locking them up or punishing them, the cost of drug control in the United States will increase significantly. The most important reason for taking punishment is that the US government does not expect to gain economic benefits and support by providing help to drug addicts. On the contrary, they want to spend the least amount of money to reduce drug trade as effectively as possible. Let's imagine that when the US government punishes drug addicts, they only need to build a prison to isolate drug addicts, and hire some prison guards to watch them until they no longer crave drugs, or simply fine drug addicts. These are the most effective and cheapest means of arresting drugs.

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The current system that incarcerates people over and over is unsustainable and does not lower the crime rate nor encourage prisoner reformation. When non-violent, first time offenders are incarcerated alongside violent repeat offenders, their chance of recidivating can be drastically altered by their experience in prison. Alternative sentencing for non-violent drug offenders could alleviate this problem, but many current laws hinder many possible solutions. Recently lawmakers have made attempts to lower the recidivism rates in America, for example the Second Chance Act helps aid prisoners returning into society after incarceration. The act allows states to appropriate money to communities to help provide services such as education, drug treatment programs, mental health programs, job corps services, and others to aid in offenders returning to society after incarceration (Conyers, 2013).

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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).

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It seems that our nation has a difficult challenge; at least, not at this particular moment. The most up to date information disclose that inmates who are in prison for drug-related charges experience the utmost return rates of all criminal offenders. This data conveys that making drug offenses a criminal problem isn’t working for individuals who are caught up in the justice system. Instead, the 50 states need to approach America’s growing drug problem by allocating resources to drug courts or centers that focus on treatment and prevention rather waste taxpayer money on new

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isn’t the only thing people believe needs to change; the reasons for arrests have been criticized by many. America incarcerates more citizens for drug related crimes than any other place in the world. Of the roughly 200,000 in federal prison, 52% are being held for drug crimes and only 8% are for violent crimes, such as: murder, assault, and robbery (Waldman, 2013). Many believe that the “War on Drugs” must become less aggressive because of its large contribution to the prison population. The distribution of prisoners by race has also raised concern among Americans.

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Current Philosophies of Policing and the War on Drugs Styles and philosophies of policing have undergone substantial changes since the beginning of codified police practice and the Statute of Winchester 1285 (Schmalleger, 2015). Illegal drugs, laws regarding illegal drug use, and the way in which illegal drugs and their use are fought have evolved with the changes in policing philosophies. The changes are evident when looking at how illegal drug crimes and offenders have been treated since the “War on Drugs” was declared by President Nixon in 1971 and current times. The effectiveness of the “War on Drugs” is debatable and depends on a persons perception of effective. History of policing can be broken down into four eras: the Political Era which occurred from 1840 - 1930, the Reform Era commencing in 1930 and ending in 1970, the Community Policing Era which has run from 1970 to current day, and the Homeland Security Era from 2001 to current day.

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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.

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