...The War on Drugs: What is America Fighting For? Sandra Gailer COM/172 September 25, 2013 + The War on Drugs: What is America Fighting For? With the number of arrests having more than tripled in the past 25 years, and billions of dollars spent annually to fund the war on drugs, the United States (U.S.) should consider decriminalizing and regulating illegal drugs to reduce the number of people incarcerated and produce tax revenue from distribution. Since it was first declared by President Nixon in 1971 (Drug Policy Alliance, n.d.) the drug war proves to be causing America more harm than good. With no end in sight, the government should not be focusing on drug prevention but rather drug policy reformation. The US has been funding the war on drugs for decades. Although the intentions behind declaring the war are to help Americans, the reality is the war continues to be causing more harm than good. America has spent at least $1 trillion dollars on the war so far (Drug Policy Alliance, n.d.). In 2010 alone, the federal government spent over $15 billion dollars funding the war, that is at a rate of about $500 per second (Drug War Clock, n.d.). With the amount of debt increasing over a billion dollars every day, our government should be directing efforts towards creating revenue instead of continuing to spend money and increasing taxes. One way to accomplish generating revenue would be if some of the drugs that are considered illegal were decriminalized and regulated by the federal...
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...presentation on the War on Drugs. Going into this presentation I assumed we would hear about how bad drugs are and how they need to find a way to do away with all the drugs there are out there. During the presentation I was very shocked at what information I was hearing. I am not sure if I understood them correctly, but what my friend and I both took away from the presentation was that the punishments for drugs should not be as severe. I understood them describing how no matter how many drugs or the amount you are caught with you will still be charged the same. They believe that should not be the case. They don’t feel it is right to charge someone who has very little amount of drugs the same they would charge someone who has a ton of drugs on them. Another statement they provided us with is how majority of the jail cells are filled with drug users instead of people who actually commit serious crimes that hurt others and we don’t have enough jail cells for them. Other points they stated were how they are against drug users being in jail for a short time without going to rehab so that when they get out of jail they aren’t still addicted and go right back to using drugs. They also feel that the drug world is so dangerous because drugs are so illegal. If drug punishments were not so strict they believe there would be a lot less injuries in the drug world. We were handed a packet during the presentation they pointed out that 2 of the top 6 harmful drugs are legal for us...
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...The War on Drugs ShaLisa R. McCray COM/172 April 17, 2013 Nick Boden The War on Drugs Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, whether illegal or legal, with the intention of creating or enhancing the recreational experience. Many of the drugs used recreationally were intended to be used medically, to stimulate the mind, or to aide in military combat. Once the government realized the effect the drugs had on people they began to initiate regulations to control the substances they introduce the people to. As the government fought harder to control drug abuse by enacting more regulatory policies, the more people began to use and abuse drugs, inciting a war across the nation. The “War on Drugs” is the term the federal government uses to refer to their efforts to stop the import, manufacturing, sale, and se of illegal drugs in the United States. The term is not used reference to any particular policy or target but instead refers as a whole to the series of antidrug initiatives directed towards ending drug abuse. On November 27, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the International Committee on Narcotics which was accountable for coordinating executive branch antidrug efforts. This initiated what the New York Times labeled “a new war on narcotic addiction at the local, national, and international level”. During a press conference on June 17, 1971, President Richard Nixon labeled illegal drugs as “public enemy number one in the United...
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...Kendall Beddell Per.4 2/28/13 English 12 CP Mexico’s Long Drug War! The Mexican drug war has been an ongoing problem for citizens all throughout Mexico. Violence along the border has risen dramatically towards military and civilian’s deaths rates are sky rocketing. Although Mexico has been a producer and transit route for illegal drugs for generations, the country now finds itself in a pitched battle with powerful and well-financed cartels. The Mexican drug war has largely been defined by violence along the border is intensifying in interior and southern areas of the carnage, broadening to analysts and new government data. Mexico has been fighting a long war against drugs .Street gangs with cartel ties are not only in Los Angeles and Dallas, but also in many smaller cities across the united and much farther north of the Mexican border. Mexican cartels had a presence in 230 cities in the United States in 2008, according to the U.S. justice department. Its 2011 report shows that presence has grown to more than 1,000 U.S. cities. While the violence has remained mostly in Mexico, authorities in Arizona, Georgia, Texas, Alabama and other states have report investigated abductions and killings suspected to be tied to cartel. Mexican drug cartels operating in cities in the U.S. are buying up legitimate businesses to launder money. “The Tijuana-based Felix drug cartel and the Juarez-based Fuentes cartel began buying legitimate business in small towns in Los Angeles County...
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...Mexican Drug Wars Today Mexico and it citizens are in the middle of a major battle zone between powerful drug cartel who are going to extreme measures to claim their territories and gain more power. Mexican government have stated that their primary focus is on dismantling the powerful drug cartels, however they need to begin by doing internal cleaning within their authorities and politicians in order to be able to accomplish this. There are many factors that have gone into the drug cartels evolving into what they are today, but there is one that is above the rest and that is government corruption. The lack of authority and poor management in the Mexican government is the primary reason the cartels strength & control has grown to where it is today. The war on drugs in Mexico begin in Dec 2006, when their formal president Felipe Calderon ordered the federal police and army units to go out and battle the cartels directly by taking down high value leaders. Not only did this strategy fail, some critics say it made matters worse. The cartels begin escalating their violence in order to counteract the aggressive strategy of the government. With so many deaths associated to the drug trade and the fight for supremacy among the cartels in Mexico, going head to head with the cartels proved to be the wrong decision. With the Mexican government sending thousands of troops and federal police to contest this, it has only served to increase the death toll across Mexico. There have been...
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...Most people assume the drug war in Mexico should not be called a war at all, but through the first 11 months of 2008 the Mexican war has “about 1,000 more [deaths] than the number of U.S. military personnel [killed] in Iraq” (“Is Mexico’s” 3) in that same time period. You have to wonder why more isn’t done for this reoccurring violence and illegal activity. The Mexican drug war masked by powerful gang leaders called cartels and hidden by intimidated citizens will continue for many years unless both the United States and Mexico join together further more to stop this ongoing problem that has cost thousands of lives. The cartels using various forms of illegal money making techniques to attain their powerful state has received minimal defiance until recently by U.S. and Mexican governments. The cartels use highly illegal techniques to obtain power. These techniques originated because of the chance at 8-23 billion dollars estimated for anyone to obtain (“Is Mexico’s” 4). Topping the list to acquire money are illegal drugs which are the most “widely recognized source of criminal power in Mexico” stealing cars, kidnapping, smuggling Mexicans into United States, and protection rackets also increase their profit (Walters 2). This profit is made from drugs shipped to the U.S., and sold there because of the high demand. At the peak of these drugs is marijuana which it is the “single largest source of drug profits for cartels”. They can easily ship their marijuana to marijuana legal...
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...Combating the Modern Day Drug Problem Deleasa Bell CRJ.362.01.2138 Drugs & Drug Abuse Arthur Acosta May 26, 2015 Is there a drug problem in our society? You bet there is. Are we winning the so call “War on Drugs”? No we are not winning the so called “War on Drugs”. Should something be done to combat the drug problem that exists in our society? You bet something should definitely be done. In addition to outlining the drug problem in society, this proposal will contrast supply side and demand side as it is related to our society’s drug problem and how we can win the “War on Drugs. The illegal use of drugs and the nonmedical use of prescription medications are increasing, and this is largely driven by an increased rate of marijuana use, a survey shows. The survey on drug use was released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which included about 67,500 people in the U.S. aged 12 and up?Continue reading below... * More young adults aged 18 to 25 are using illicit drugs, up from 19.6% in 2008 to 21.5% in 2010. * Rates of nonmedical use of prescription drugs, hallucinogens, and inhalants are around the same as in 2009. There were some signs of hope in this survey: * The number of current methamphetamine users decreased by roughly half from 2006 to 2010. * Cocaine use also declined, from...
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...The Drug War: Will It Ever Stop? INTRODUCTION The United States and Mexico share a border that stretches 2,000 miles. The border is a product of the clash of the British and Spanish Empires. It is a place of lawlessness and violence. Drug cartels have used the border to smuggle illegal drugs into the United States for years. The United States market for drugs is a multibillion dollar a year industry. 90% of the illegal drugs that are smuggled into America come through our southern borders. As a nation we consume over 50% of the worlds illegal drugs, which exemplify the problem that America has with drug consumption. The demand for illegal drugs in the US allows drug cartels in Mexico to make billions of dollars by smuggling Marijuana, and Methamphetamines through the US/Mexican Border. Efforts to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the US have been unsuccessful. Drug Cartels use various methods in the transportation of their merchandise. Such methods include using underground tunnels, semi trucks, automobiles, and humans to transport these illegal drugs. Only 3 to 8 percent of the drugs that are smuggled from Latin America into the United States is confiscated, which is a very discouraging number. Our border patrol and DEA need to do a better job securing our borders and preventing the flow of such harmful drugs into America. There are a reported 7 cartels that operate in Mexico; the biggest players in the drug trade between Mexico and the US are the Tijuana, Juarez, Sinaloa...
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...War on Drugs 1 Running Head: WAR on DRUGS: EFFECTS of DRUGS War on Drugs: Effects of Drugs Matthew Boone Camden County College War on Drugs 2 Abstract This paper will attempt to explore the effects of the War on Drugs by showing the way drugs have effects on people and been classified. This researcher will show how effects of drugs plays a major factor in today’s society. It will explore the cost of incarceration that play apart of today’s economy and how it has increased since the War on Drugs. This paper will also explore the term drug interdiction and how it has affected the War on Drugs. Drug interdiction is the process of confiscating illegal drugs from traffickers smuggling drugs into the United States borders. War on Drugs 3 War on Drugs Drugs have been around for years, being used for their medicinal uses, for their hallucination affects and other reasons. The same drugs are still being used today. Some argue that certain drugs should be legal considering that they are mainly plant based and therefore natural. The problem with it is people are learning ways to modify and condense the chemicals that are producing the affects wanted and making the affects stronger. Drugs are also being combined to create new drinks and drugs to be used, known as designer drugs. These new combinations can become lethal due to the drugs being condensed to intensify the effects. The United States has been fighting a war on drugs for over 100 years. In...
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...War on Drugs and Prison Overcrowding Thomas K Anderson University of Memphis Prison overcrowding has been a social phenomenon that has led to a variety of reforms. One of the major causes for overcrowding in the prison systems today began back in the early 1970’s, when President Nixon declared War on Drugs. There were dramatic increases in the prison population in the 1980’s and 1990’s. These increases were projected due to trends of harsh punishments. Political leaders were influential in these trends as they created mandatory sentencing guidelines. Currently 50.1% of all offenders that are incarcerated in the Federal Prison System are due to drug offenses. That total accounts for 98,554 individuals, many of whom are serving time for a nonviolent offense or first time offenses. The second largest cause for overcrowding in the prison are immigration related crimes, which still only accounts for 10.6% or 20,862 of the individuals. In June of 1971, President Nixon declared a war on drugs, which did not go over too well because he and everyone else had differing views on how to handle the problems being created due to the increase of drug use. Because of the increasing of the prison population, a reform was created to offer treatment for drug abuse; of course this did not take place since it was a contradiction of current drug policies. Unfortunately, the end result of Nixon’s plan did not stop the problem of drugs, but only caused...
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...Stephen Fletcher The War On Drugs: Our Most Costly Mistake The war on drugs has become a flashpoint of sorts on both sides of our border with Mexico. Thousands are being killed every year and drug use is still rampant. “Currently the government spends 51 billion dollars annually to try and curb the supply of drugs that have been pouring across the border for decades” (Powell). The only impact, in an economic sense, is actually an increase in price for the drugs while maintaining similar quantity demanded. It is clear that the United States is waging its war on the suppliers and distributors of the drugs more so than people who just possess the drugs, as evidenced by the decriminalization of the possession of marijuana in certain states. In short, the war on the supply side of drugs is wasting billions of taxpayer dollars as well as crippling future efforts to curb the effects of drug use in the United States. The United States was hoping to, metaphorically speaking, plug the hole in the dam that was holding drugs back from entering our country. Their main goal in waging a supply-side war was to decrease the quantity supplied rather than increase the price that drugs are being sold at. The war on drugs was started to make it more difficult for suppliers to smuggle their drugs into the country. In that respect, the United States succeeded. In the end though, their plan backfired because the demand for drugs is largely inelastic and by increasing the costs of producing and...
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... Many argue that the war on drugs is waste of time and money but many are forgetting that the war on drugs has been successful in achieving its aims. The war on drugs has the power to diminish the supply of drugs causing for drug prices to increase and by doing the consumption of illegal drugs on the streets to reduce. This paper will present a debate on the affects our society will suffer if the war on drugs is discontinued. The war on drugs needs to continue because by doing nothing people will continue to sell drugs, profit from the drugs sales which in return thousands of people lives and families will be destroyed and our streets will continue to be unsafe for the children. Drugs are harmful to our society they have the power to destroy lives. If government were to legalize drugs and provide treatment for those on drugs the government would basically be telling people that its o.k. to drugs. According to Wikipedia.com “The U.S. government's most recent 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reported that nationwide over 800,000 adolescents ages 12–17 sold illegal drugs during the 12 months preceding the survey. The 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that nationwide 25.4% of students had been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug by someone on school property. The prevalence of having been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug on school property ranged from 15.5%...
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...New Type Of Politics Social Issue: War on Drugs America has been in the one of its longest wars since 1971. Not against another country’s but, against its self. It’s our public enemy number one, as declared by Richard M. Nixon, and is the war on drugs. Sadly, little effect has occurred. We spend nearly $51,000,000,000 dollars as a country on the war on drugs annually. In turn, drug use is still soaring high and money keeps getting spent. This needs to be fixed. The war on drugs has a great cause but, sadly it has little effect to back it up. It’s idea of making America better is awesome but, their plan of doing so is terrible. So far, we have the largest prison population but we have less than 5% of the world’s population. As you probably could have guessed, most of them have drug crimes as part of or as the prison sentence. A good bit of these drug crimes are harmless such as just the use of it alone. So, if you’re wondering where you’re tax dollars are going, most of it is going to keep these people in jail. So, the government is trying to stop drug use and drug related crimes. That sounds amazing but, sadly, teens report that illegal drugs are easier to obtain than controlled, legal, age-regulated alcohol. What does that mean you ask? It means that the drugs we have a war on are easy to give, get, and use and when your under 21, its way easier to get than alcohol which we have no problem with. So basically, we’re fighting a useless war. In fact, the only positive of this...
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...Importation of Drugs The War on Drugs has failed. If it were a business, it would have been shut down a long time ago. This is not what success looks like. The idea of eradicating drugs form the world by waging a war on those who use them is basically flawed. It does not reduce drug taking. The standard response is that we must continue on our course. Maybe if a few more people are arrested, or seize more shipments then the Government has achieved a victory. This is NOT true. It is like playing a game of Russian roulette. The government attacks one major supplier allowing for another to build up. The cycle is never ending. Where there is a demand there will always be a supply. We are not stopping drug supply because it moves. We could never get the resources to shut down the entire hemisphere. It is a simple as the law of supply and demand. No matter how many more billions of dollars are spent, or lives lost, history has proven that as long as there is a demand for drugs that there will be a supply for them. If alcoholism is supposed to be considered a public health issue then why is drug addiction considered a national security threat? The United States tends to declare war on things that it considers harmful or bad; for example the War on Cancer, The War on Drugs, War on Poverty, etc. Yes, you may be able to reduce poverty, prevent most terrorist attacks, cure many types of cancer, and even reduce crime rates but there is no clear end to any of these wars. The problem...
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...War on Drugs Robert Lee Adams October 11, 2015 Speech Professor Gil Stern In this essay I will be describing the alleged war on drugs along with its effect on all of us whether it be from a financial stand point, emotional, or its overall effect. I will also be writing about the possibilities of decriminalizing recreational drugs and the effects that would have on everyone. Lastly, I will discuss why I believe this is the best course of actions along with why I believe that it has not been done already. The simple fact of the matter is more people die each year from alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drugs than any other cause of death in the world. That includes cancer, aids, and many other prominent diseases combined. Benefits I will start off with the pros of legalizing drugs which are the following, tax dollars earned from sales, less tax dollars spent on housing inmates for drug possession, and less broken homes from people being hauled off to prison. Two senior lecturers at the University of Harvard have conducted studies to show how much revenue would come from legalizing drugs. In their findings they saw that there would be over 40 billion dollars in tax revenue. Over 8 billion from marijuana alone, and 32 billion from cocaine, heroin, and other drugs. It’s said that right now that marijuana is a bigger cash crop than wheat or corn. Now that is the money coming in from these drugs. Imagine how fast we could decrease our national debt, not to mention the tourist...
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