Effects of the United States Failed War on Drugs Policy Essay

Effects of the United States Failed War on Drugs Policy Hector Arreola SSCI 306 MWF 10:40-11:50 AM March 14, 2012 Abstract The â€Å"War on Drugs† policy has been the approach by the United States to protect citizens from the harmful effects of illegal drugs. The article examines the failures of the war on drug policy has had on society, such as, increasing violence, increasing the prison population, increased spending of billions of taxpayer funds, and being racially biased against minorities. The war on drugs policy reflects a deeper political agenda and is diverting attention away from the real issue by†¦show more content†¦Therefore, president after president has adopted the â€Å"war† metaphor and declared drugs as a national security risk that must be fought at an international level to maintain society safe. In Bush’s speech to the nation, he states the citizens must come together behind one plan of action, â€Å"an assault on every front† (cited in Elwood, 1995 p. 106). Consequently, the misuse of rhetoric, war metaphors, and the assault on drugs have ha d a negative impact on society which has failed American citizens. Additionally, the war on drugs is also having an impact on minorities and lower socio-economic citizens by imprisoning African-American and Hispanic citizens at alarming rates. Nationwide, the rate of persons admitted to prison on drug charges for black men is 13 times higher than that for White men (Fellner, 2000). Currently African-American and Hispanic citizens make up the majority of the prison population that is the result of the harsher sentencing of drug related crimes. In 1989, the Bush administration targeted the public housing projects by devoting $50 million to fight crime in the public housing projects. This would help restore order and kick out the dealers for good (cited in Elwood, 1995 p. 104). In 1973, the Rockefeller drug law was enacted which provided extremely harsh sanction and mandatory minimum prison sentences, for example, sentencing someone to fifteen years to life for selling an ounce of heroin (as cited inShow MoreRelatedHow Congress Has Influenced Our Current Ineffective Drug Policy1521 Words   |  7 Pagesnation s general drug history and look critically at how Congress has influenced our current ineffective drug policy. Through this analysis I hope to show that drug prohibition policies in the United States, for the most part, have failed. Additionally, I will highlight and evaluate the influences acting on individual legislators decisions to continue support for these ineffective policies as a more general demonstration of Congress role in the formation of our nation s drug policy strategy. FinallyRead MoreThe War On Drugs Policy1723 Words   |  7 Pageslevel drugs. It was through some divine intervention that he only got probation, but his friends were not as lucky, they were served long jail sentences. The War on drugs policy is something that is well known to all conservative congress members that support its creation. It’s a declaration first made in 1971 by President Richard Nixon to buckle down and to be rid of drugs within our streets. This policy has expanded and grown into the present year with minimum sentencing for carrying drugs to reformRead MorePresident Richard Nixon s The War On Drugs1335 Words   |  6 PagesNixon declared the War on Drugs. He stated, â€Å"America’s public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive.† The War on Drugs aimed to fight against a supply and demand epidemic that had America at its knees. Nixon’s policies blatantly reflect society s attitude regarding the trafficking of illegal narcotics. In 1973, Nixon initiated an interdiction effort in Mexico. The United States spent millions ofRead MoreMandatory Sentencing F or Minor Drug Offences957 Words   |  4 Pages Since 1971, the United States has been on a war against drugs. Yet four decades and one trillion dollars later, we are still fighting this war (Branson). All that we have to show for this war is drugs running rampant and tons of citizens incarcerated. Mandatory sentencing for minor drug offences should be overturned due to overflowing prisons, damaging families, and the scare tactic it was created to be has failed. Due to mandatory sentencing for minor drug offences, the American prison systemRead MoreYoung Advocates International Advocate Basic Human Rights in Nigeria1538 Words   |  6 Pagesinternational drug control effort began fifty years ago with the aim of eradicating the abuse of certain drugs by controlling their supply. A complex international system of enforcement grew on this belief in supply control. Five decades on, the empirical data is available and overwhelming; the system has failed. Worse still, it has become increasingly clear that the human rights costs of pursuing many of its policies render them unjustifiable. From mass incarcerations in the United States and Asia,Read MoreWhat Was The Failure Of The Peace Process1033 Words   |  5 Pagesenabled the paramilitaries to gain an upper hand in drugs and arms smuggling. Similarly, government forces were increasing in size and strength, having benefitted from the United States’ newly implemented Plan Colombia. The Colombian government’s strategy shifted, however, as the United States transitioned from the War on Drugs to the War on Terror. Under the War on Drugs, counternarcotics tactics had informed the United States strategy. During the War on Terror, however, U.S. strategy shifted to counterinsurgencyRead MoreMexican Drug Cartels: Problem of the Past or Indication of the Future?1688 Words   |  7 PagesMexican drug war began in the 1960s, with America’s love for illegal drugs fueling the fire. Narco-violence has claimed the lives of thousands of citizens in recent years. Drug cartels have become comparable to Mafia figures, and have resorted to Mafia-style violence to prove to the Mexican government that they remain in control. The violence caused by drug cartels is rumored to lead Mexico to become a failed state. George W. Grayson, regular lecturer at the United States Department of State, has madeRead MoreDrug Wars and Coffee Houses Paper1197 Words   |  5 PagesINTL 4997: The Mexican Drug trade | Reading Response #3 | | | Audrey Robert | 10/31/2012 | | David Mares gives us insight into the political economy of drug trafficking in his book Drug Wars and Coffee Houses. To help us understand how psychoactive substances are organized and distributed, he uses the concept of a commodity chain. A commodity chain is the system that links consumption of psychoactive substances to everything that makes it possible, and proves that if somethingRead MoreDrug Decriminalization In The United States. The Unitedstates1681 Words   |  7 PagesDrug Decriminalization in the United States The United States has been engaged in a â€Å"war† for nearly 25 years. It is a war with unclear goals; ending the war in a victory is made nearly impossible due to subjective statistics and hazy results. At the heart of this continuing struggle, the â€Å"war on drugs,† is the fundamental question: Is this a battle the United States can win? It is likely everyone will agree drugs are harmful; they have serious medical side-effects. Drugs are addictive; they canRead MoreProhibition Of Drugs And Alcohol1492 Words   |  6 PagesPopular belief holds that consumption of drugs and alcohol encourages violence and that the appropriate response is prohibition of these goods. However, a different viewpoint is that prohibition creates illegal underground markets, which require violence and crime to remedy in-house disputes. This paper examines the relationship between prohibition and violence using the historical data and behavior following previous U.S. drug and alcohol laws, regulations, and enforcement on indicators of violence