The War on Drugs Has Reduced Drug Use
The major consumer of illegal drugs in the World is the US. The facts in the US provide for much optimism: drug control has reduced casual use, chronic use and addiction, and prevented others from starting to use drugs. Drug use in the US is down by more than a third since the late 1970s. This means that 9.5 million fewer people use illegal drugs and cocaine use has been reduced by an astounding 70% resulting in 4.1 million fewer people using cocaine.
Over the last four decades, policies of drug control can be broken down into two periods: the first, from 1960 to 1980 - a period of permissive drug laws; the second, from 1980 to present - a period of tougher drug laws. During the permissive years, drug crime incarceration rates fell almost 80 percent. In contrast, during the period of tough drug laws, drug incarceration rates rose almost 450 percent. These two periods had far different consequences. During the permissive years, drug use among adolescents climbed by more than 500 percent. During the tougher years, drug use by adolescent students decreased by more than a third.
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You can make an argument for anything, if you fail to calculate the cost .
I'll give you, what I consider to be the final argument against this puerile and failed " war on drugs ," which is and alway has been, first and foremost, a war upon America's poor. America can't afford it anymore.
Apart from the devastation of the respect which American citizens are treated by the police and the international embarrassment of pretending that we are free while being the most imprisoned nation on earth, drug prohibition is an expensive failure.
Let those who like wars upon our own citizens pay the billions of dollars that protecting them from their delusions cost us. America no longer has the money to fund this irrational waste. Get out your check book then tell me how much this national disgrace is worth to you.
The drug war HAS filled our prisons and destroyed the lives of those it was suppose to protect - it has made felons of people who are not criminals, separated children from their parents, killed many innocent people, and wasted billions of dollars; however, the one aspect the drug war CANNOT claim is reduced drug use .
American politicians actually believe they can control the drug use in Canada and Mexico too. The drug war is insane.
Illegal drug use might be down but what about prescription drug use? It only matters if people abuse illegal drugs? More people die every year from prescription medications than from ALL illegal drugs combined...
The "War on (SOME) drugs" is a failure. The money could be better spent on education and treatment instead of incarceration. Drug abuse should be treated as a health issue just as alcoholism is.
"What causes more crime and death on this planet? Drug addiction, or wealth addiction?"
-Eric Boucher
The war on drugs is only effective if you put everyone on drugs in prison. Drug use goes up and down with the economy. When were 'ritch' it's cocaine, "poor' it's alcohol. but that's just a generalization.
When is the last time you checked your facts David? It must have been around 1992. Because that's the year that Marijuana use was at it's lowest for high school seniors. Don't believe me? Check the ONDCP's (Office of National Drug Control Policy) own data.
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/druguse/index.html
The figures are down the page a bit. It takes a little work to find them. But I'm guessing, based on your arguments (David), that you are just too lazy to actually check any facts.
Here, let me spoon feed them to you:
1975
Marijuana use was 27%
Cocaine use was 1.9%
All drugs was 30.7%
1992
Marijuana use was 11.9%
Cocaine use was 1.3%
All drugs was 14.4%
2001 (last year reported)
Marijuana use was 22.4%
Cocaine use was 2.1%
All drugs was 25.7%
So, as the war on drugs has raged on for the last 16 years, Marijuana use has doubled and cocaine use has nearly doubled.
David, do you want to explain yourself?
Making all drugs 'legal' doesn't make any more sense than fighting the 'war' the way it has been fought. Since unelected thousands within the government are now dedicated to it, it probably won't change any more than simplifying the tax system won't happen for the same reason - job security of those involved in the current system..
One simple step is to buy drugs at point of origin then destroy them, just pay the farmers more than the going rate. The back room chemical labs present a different problem. I'm sure with enough thought a simple solution can be found.
If drugs were legalized in this country, not only would it encourage responsible drug use because the freedom and responsibility is put on citizens' shoulders, but far more jobs would be created by the market filling out and taking up the new products that could be produced and sold. In the free market, they might even be made safer because smart consumers would want a safer and healthier experience. Even if you don't like drugs, that just means you are being responsible for your own life just like other people should be trusted to be responsible with theirs.
You are right that it would take a lot to change the current drug laws because of job security for government employees, and for many other reasons such as many Americans believing that all drugs are evil as they've been told by the government. However, for the good of this country and every individual in it, the drug war needs to stop. In our economic recession , legalizing drugs would stimulate the economy far better than the recent " stimulus plan".
Um... Just pay the farmers more than the going rate??? That is Funny! How many farmers do you think will be growing illicit drugs as the prices spiral forever upwards? That would be a real transfer of wealth.
there will always be a percentage of folks that abuse, regardless of the indulgence. Remember the couple that let their baby starve to death because they were playing video games?
http://www.gamewithabrain.com/2008/02/22/news/couple -lets-baby-die-while-they-play-videogames-and-watch-tv
should we make videogames illegal now?
fact is the majority of folks are responsible users, with about 10% being the exception, JUST LIKE ALCOHOL. JUST LIKE HISTORY.
http://drugwarstats.com /
You casually skip over the other significant effect: the costs involved in perpetuating a losing war.
Consider: the war on drugs has destabilized many countries causing them to become more and more dependent on US aid (Latin America), has increased the level and nature of violence around the world, created black market empires out of thugs, increased the danger of narcotics by increasing potency that drug sellers push, aided and abetted the manufacture of methamphetamines as a cheap substitute for cocaine and other amphetamines as the government violently cracked down on cocaine distribution networks, put a disproportionate number of urban black males in prison, destroyed the lives of casual and non-violent users.
In the meantime, our police forces are slowly taking the form of a military and people are far more prone to having their rights violated by authorities under the guise of drug use today than any other period of time in our history. And you call that better?