Summary Of The Book 'Buzzed'

In the book 'Buzzed' (Kuhn, 2014) the authors take a 'Just Say Know' approach to drug education rather than the failed slogan 'Just Say No' that became the clarion call for the drug prevention in the 1980s. It was part of the war on drugs that had been initiated several decades ago. Since the initiation of the 'Just Say No' program, designed to educate middle and high schools students about the perils of drug use and reduce its use, studies have found that this approach has had minimal effectiveness. The programs failed to deter adolescents from experimenting with drugs and abusing it and in fact some claim that it may have heightened the problem (Lilienfield, 2014). By emphasizing the hazards of addictions the campaign might have given youth

People who are calling the "Just Say No" campaign a failure are not expecting a society where drugs are freely accessible to everyone but they are encouraging education and advocating that the youth be given tools on how to handle peer pressure and social expectations. Early identification, intervention, and resources for treatment and counseling of not just the youth but also their families could be available. Youth is a vulnerable stage for the use of all drugs. 'Buzzed' warns about the dangers of the effects on the brain especially on the developing minds of

The war on drugs not only created powerful criminal organizations headed by criminals like Escobar and El Chapo but leads to the torture of millions of innocent people by the Mexican government. It encouraged the bloody and brutal clashes by rival gangs not only in Central and South American countries but also here in the United Sates. Between 2008 and 2014 alone, Congress has appropriated $2.4 billion dollars to fight the Mexican cartels which have led to the death of thousands of people (Gordon, 2014). If drugs were decriminalized not only will the violence decrease substantially but the government could control and regulate the market and sales and make the dispensation of drugs safer. The effect of outlawing drugs and waging a war against it also encouraged the mass hysteria that led to the mass incarceration of young people especially of youth belonging to a particular socioeconomic status and ethnic minority. Today nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population constitutes of African Americans and 59% of those are in prison for drug related charges. (NAACP, 2016) This also relates to the discussion post made in class about the difference in penalties for crack cocaine and powder cocaine how there is a bigger role of race that is a significant part of the