The war on drugs in America is an outdated idea that is wasting billions of taxpayer dollars every year. According to the world drug clock America has spent over $12,500,000,000 so far this year combating drugs and it is estimated that the total will be nineteen billion for all of 2008. There have been nearly 460,000 arrests made so far this year and estimates exceed 1.8 million this year. A drug related arrest is made every seventeen seconds in this country. These statistics are all courtesy of Drug Sense drug war clock at http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm.
Despite all the money spent and the arrests that are made enough drugs remain on the street for the United States to be the largest illegal drug abusing country in the world. It is easier for under aged children to get illegal drugs than cigarettes or alcohol. The war on drugs is an incredible failure and waste of taxpayer resources. Violent crimes in this country almost always involve drugs either fighting over territory or crimes committed for money to buy drugs. This has caused a major population explosion within the prison system making America the most incarcerated county in the world as well.
Despite the addictive nature of cigarettes and despite a very aggressive advertising campaign tobacco use is on the decline in this country. The decrease in use is due to a combination of factors. An aggressive health campaign that effectively concentrates on the dangers associated with smoking that targets young children before they start. The government’s ban on tobacco companies producing adds that appeal to children. Tax increases that make cigarettes cost prohibitive. Crack downs on stores that sell to cigarettes to minors that include stiffer fines and penalties. And most importantly parents are more involved with their children and talk to them more openly about the dangers of smoking.
If these measures work for cigarettes why wouldn‘t they work for drugs as well? The United States is a capitalist nation driven by supply and demand and making drugs illegal goes against everything that capitalism stands for. People have the right to decide what is best for them. The market has a right to provide what consumers are willing to purchase. If people want to spend their money on drugs why shouldn’t they be allowed to? Instead of wasting money on trying to prevent the unstoppable flow of drugs into this country and creating the largest prison population in the world the government should be taking advantage of the tax opportunity. At the same time drugs could be made safer by having strict manufacturing laws concerning the purity and quality of the drugs.
During prohibition thousands of people went blind or died due to substandard hooch produced illegally by criminals whose only interest is money. Once booze was legal again and made safely with recognizable standards those deaths disappeared. That doesn’t mean that people don’t die from drinking it just means what they are drinking is safe.
The drug laws are outdated and ineffective and should be repealed. No government should be allowed to control what an individual chooses to put into his or her body. We are not owned by anyone and as adults the dangers of substance abuse are common knowledge. Whether drugs are legal or not we are all faced with those choices already due to the ease of obtaining drugs on our streets. The focus on drugs needs to move from prosecution and punishment to prevention and treatment programs funded by tax dollars generated through the legal sale of all drugs.
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It is a good idea to legalize drugs because that way the government can regulate all the aspects of its production. Higher taxes on the selling of these drugs can pay for the treatments and rehabilitation centers people can go to due to the nasty side effects of these drugs. Plus, the profits that drug lords can get decreases because it is no longer illegal. Availability of the new legalized product pushes up the supply and pushes down the prizes. Economically, it is much more efficient to regulate these drugs but morally, people are very scared to have these drugs easily accessible to the streets. I know I would be, because now I have to worry even more that some idiot out there is high on something and driving, or doing something else. It is the feeling of uncertainty that drives society to ignore ways that are otherwise efficient.
Unfortunately all of these drugs are very easy to acquire as it is. I live in a town of only 3000 people and all I have to do is walk to the local park and I can buy anything I might want. Drug abuse at the local high school is at about 90%. I’m sure in the cities it is even easier. I believe one of the benefits to legalization is that it is out in the open. The other is there can be an age limit similar to alcohol. Drug pushers couldn’t target children and get them hooked at a young age. If the money is removed from the streets and into the government coffers the incidents involving violent crime would drop significantly. I also believe that use would decrease dramatically. It seems that drug use has become a symbol of teenage rebellion due to it’s underground nature. It wouldn’t be nearly so mysterious or interesting if it was more mainstream. Unfortunatly
I generally think you are on the right track. Prohibition doesn't work and it was never right in the first place. There has to be something seriously wrong with laws who's biggest proponents are the ones who are getting rich breaking them.
I'm not sure if an across the board repeal is the right way to go. I believe it makes sense to test our theory by first legalizing marijuana. That would not do much harm even if we are wrong and it would allow us to build the framework for legalizing other drugs. For example we are going to need the equivalent of liquor stores. That is going to take a new body of law to regulate and tax and will require new responsibilities and procedures for law enforcement. And then hopefully the taxes will get used to fund education and treatment. Those regimes are going to take some time to put in place too.
If the first step goes well then we move forwards with other drugs. Of if it did not go well we have given pot the same status as alcohol and cigarettes and have not done too much harm.
There are some drugs like mephamphetamine that I am not sure if they should ever be legal. They do to much harm to society and even one use can wreck a kid's life and will almost certainly result in untimely death. I think we should simply define anybody who sells these drugs as a murderer and execute them post haste.
I absolutely agree that the sale of drugs should be done in a government controlled facility. It removes the temptation, from independent business owners, to sell drugs to minors in an effort to increase profits. I can certainly see your point about using marijuana as a testing ground it definitely is the least dangerous of all the illegal drugs. As a counter to that it is also the reason that it wouldn’t be a great barometer of how the other would do if legalized. Most importantly marijuana isn’t an addictive drug. I don’t believe that anyone has ever become addicted and that puts it in a different category than tobacco or alcohol not to mention crack or heroin. As to crystal meth I’m not exactly sure of the make up but I believe it contains mostly toxic poisons so I don’t think it could be manufactured in good conscience. It would be the equivilent to the government selling huff grade gasoline. It would have to be the organic plant based drugs or their synthetically lab created equivalents.
The other reason I support the legalization of drugs is because I don’t think that the government has any right to tell me what to do with my body. I am a grown up capable of making decisions for myself. I have never done cocaine or heroin but I have had numerous chances to do so. My decision had nothing to do with the legality of the drugs. I chose not to based upon the dangers of becoming addicted. It was my choice and it should be everyone’s choice whether or not to do drugs. Smoking and drinking are both legal and can be habit forming yet every day people choose not to smoke or drink. Many other people give up smoking or drinking every day because it is no longer the right choice for them.
The government that governs best is the government that governs least.
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