...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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...The Mexican Drug War: Is It Their War or Ours? A common news headline in any newspaper or on any news channel these days mentions the “Mexican drug war”. It has become common along the U. S./Mexico border to hear people talking about it at schools, work places and in their own neighborhoods - coworkers, classmates and neighbors whom are involved in some way or know someone that is. Violence is seen and heard of on the U.S. side of the border quite frequently, which raises the questions, is it their war or ours? This war may have started on Mexican soil; however, it is, most definitely, the United States’ war as well. How did this all begin? What does the U.S. have to do with it? “For years, Mexico’s domestic supply of psychoactive...
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...The war on drugs in America has been going on for more than a century. As history can show war is not the answer as example the reign of terror during the french revolution. America was first introduced to drugs in the mid 1800’s. Soon after America started passing laws to prohibit drugs and then started a full out war on drugs.The reign of terror in france is similar to the war on drugs in America due to both having organizations that set up to regulate the revolutions and both had similar punishments for crimes. To start off the very first drugs that were introduced to the American market were opium, cocaine, and morphine. According to COLONEL THOMAS B. BENNETT’s research project “ Before and after the Civil War, the use of opium based products...
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...Abstract Illegal drugs are no longer just a domestic problem. The drug trade business is a multibillion dollar enterprise that is run by international criminals. The drug lords behind these operations, non-nation-state actors, have become more powerful than the nation-states in their respective regions. The current “War on Drugs” strategy has offered little hope for any decisive victory; instead it has dealt primarily with domestic drug prevention, treatment, and market disruption. In this paper, I will demonstrate that because illegal drug trafficking is so inextricably linked to international crime and terrorism, there is a critical need to increase Department of Defense initiatives, in conjunction with the other elements of national power, to develop a decisive anti-drug cartel strategy that will provide security for not only our nation but other nations as well and its citizens at home and abroad. Narcotics, guns and violence, the powerful elements of a never ending war. All these elements are part of the campaign to rid the world of the disaster that drugs so ferociously have inflicted upon the United States and Mexico. The United States and Mexico has for the past three decades declared that it is in a full fledged attack against drugs and the violence it fosters. For decades billions and billons of dollars have been justified through the infamous War on Drugs. The money and military activity have not been enough, and the “urban problem,” has not been solved. It...
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...101 -070 The War on Drugs The “War on Drugs” is a term commonly applied to a campaign of prohibition, military aid and military intervention, with the intention of reducing and eliminating the illegal drug trade. The War on Drugs was officially declared in 1971 by President Richard Nixon and is still very prominent in our society today. The War on Drugs has been studied since its inception and copious amounts of data have been collected from it. The War on Drugs has a long history; since it has been enacted the government has utilized large sums of money funding it, made illicit drug use rise in percentage overall, and created an artificial and thriving black market. There is an ongoing debate on whether the War on Drugs is effective and organizations like the DPA (Drug Policy Alliance) are fighting to change it. However, the Obama administration is continuing the War on Drugs and has changed the name to the “National Drug Control Policy.” The first U.S law that restricted the distribution and use of certain drugs was the “Harrison Narcotics Tax Act” of 1914. This act regulated and taxed the production, importation, and distribution of opiates and Cocaine products. This Act pushed a more restrictive handling of certain drugs that would inevitably lead to the creation of more drug policies and the current drug war. On June 18th 1971, ongoing policies, laws, and counter culture built up and President Richard Nixon declared a “War on Drugs” stating that the drug problem in the...
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...around the world the United States of America faces many different threats and issues globally. As a result like many other countries America has and continues to implement more foreign policy for the overall well being of the American people. Even at its closest neighboring borders within Mexico lie huge drug war problems both nations are attempting to resolve through the use of a variety of different foreign policy including military intervention, sharing of information, and stricter border control. Yet it would seem that all of which have been ineffective in solving the problem and may have even worsened it. These costly and terrible policies are hurting both nations and only tarnishing the...
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...international drug trade from Latin American states is having an impact on a global scale. The trafficking of drugs along with corruptness and murder is an international conflict that is being fought daily. There are many aspects of the drug war from Mexico and other Latin American states which have effects on United States policy as well as policies from other countries that participate in the global suppression of illegal drugs. It can be hard to differentiate between conflict and issue in regards to Latin America’s drug war and International Relations. The Mexican drug war is a global issue because it interferes with the states ability to collaborate and form policy in order to address the issues between international borders. Conflict arises because certain states want to resolve the situation and are willing to do what is necessary to do so. While drug-related violence in Mexico receives considerable attention, the Northern Triangle of Latin America is far worse. Venezuela has emerged as a major departure point for cocaine trafficked to Europe. Between 2006 and 2008 over half of all detected maritime shipments of cocaine to Europe came from Venezuela. (Crime 2010) These ports in Latin America have had an impact on the cities in the Bahamas as well with the drug cartels exporting their drugs quicker to the surrounding countries; they use the ports of the Caribbean to refuel while on the way to America. The waters of the Caribbean islands are patrolled by navies from the United States...
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...suspected that drugs have been part of our culture for decades. Researchers have found nomadic drug paraphernalia dating back to as far as 100BC, where it was believed that cavemen were using hallucinogens in hopes for a glimpse of their deity or god. Fast-forward to present day, drugs are more ingrained in our culture than ever. Except rather being used for spiritual purposes, drugs have become a coping mechanism or our ever chaotic society. Dating back to 1973 when the United States officially waged the “War on Drugs”, the federal government alone has spent 1.3 trillion dollars. In comparison, that would be about year’s salary for about 18 million teachers, or able to sustain about 19.2 american families. Not only have we...
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...Richard Nixon began the “war on drugs.” This “war” was supposed to reduce the trade of illegal drugs, and yet, the country has seen an increase in the trade of illegal drugs. With the largest prison population in the world, the United States keeps approximately 2.3 million behind bars. Over half of that population is incarcerated for drug-related crimes. That is 1,150,000 lives wasting away in the prison system. To effectively rectify injustice, the United States government needs to end the war on drugs (“A Brief History of the Drug War,” Branson). First, the government must address the criteria for who is problematic enough to incarcerate. In 2005, the United Nations estimated that there are over 230 million illegal drug users worldwide, yet 90% of that sample is not categorized as “problematic.” Today, there are about 500,000 individuals in United States jails for nonviolent drug crimes (Branson). In fact, there are over 3,000 inmates serving life sentences without possibility of parole for nonviolent crimes in the country (Pilkington). Moreover, if the Justice System was not so preoccupied with incarcerating individuals who are posing no real threat to society, it would earn the country about $2.1 billion in taxpayer money (Schmitt, Warner, Gupta, Warner, and Gupta). That is a great sum of money which could and should be allocated to institutions that need it more, like education. With the war on drugs, the United States has become a police state. Education and health are...
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...Mexico’s drug war is a non-stop battle for the citizens of Mexico, the traffickers and suppliers of the drugs for many years. Many rival cartel gangs are in constant competition for different regions of Mexico, which escalates the violence and triumph to an even higher level. The Mexican government and civilians have all been a part of this ongoing drug war, which continues to this day. The government’s goal behind the drug war has always been to put a stop to any drug related violence that carried over from the war for years, more specifically since 2006 when the Mexican military intervention was started. Stripping the drug cartels of their power and control has also been one of the main goals of the Mexican government rather than preventing...
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...The fight against illegal drug production and consumption, as well as the war against terrorism has plagued the world for more than a decade. In particular, the United States has faced multiple terrorist attacks and the issues of drugs continues to put a damper on society within the country. The nations of Latin America are greatly affected by the tragic effects that occur within their powerful and influential neighbor. History shows that the nation of Colombia has had relatively friendly and cooperative relations with the United States. In result of the events that have occurred globally and within the U.S., the country of Colombia has vowed itself in alliance to the superpower. The cooperation when it comes to the war on terror and drugs...
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... many “sensitive” topics, such as tobacco, drugs and alcohol are always on the table for debate; since they influence and impact our personal lives, people’s beliefs and the economy. As the United States of America continues on its present path of accumulating a deficit, many political opinions and justification will be voiced to clarify the excessive funds allocated to aid various tobacco, drugs and alcohol programs/budgets. These programs includes, but not limited to: education and awareness; local support groups; rehabilitation centers to medical finance assistance for care and medication. The programs listed above can easily be justified by local, state and/or national government bodies, but how about monies that are being missed used and/or irrelevant in helping society, which I like to, refer them as “scam expenses”. Tobacco products in the United States have influence two major problems in today’s economy. First, in recent years, numerous state governments have enacted higher tax rates on cigarettes. The governments overall explanation of higher tariff of tobacco products would hopefully lead to a decrease smoking rates. However, some disagree and different publications note the increase in taxes was solely for the purpose of increasing revenue. Overall state tax revenue from tobacco sales have dwindled in recent years in states like New York, which presently has the highest state tax on cigarettes in the United States. At first glance, people would consider this...
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...Introduction The question of whether or not to legalize drugs in America has been a strong debate for many decades. Each year there has been a growing number of deaths because of drugs in the United States. With these numbers, there are still wide spread efforts to legalize illicit drugs around the country. This paper will research drug legalization in the United States versus other countries, the positives and negatives, and a reasoned opinion on the topic. When debating the issue of drug legalization and crime, there are questions to ask: Do drugs cause crime and do they inevitably lead to crime? If drugs are made legal, would there be less crime? If the government subsidized addicts, would they still engage in criminal conduct? What would happen if drugs were legalized (Hartnett, 2005)? States like Washington and Colorado have made Marijuana legal, all other states and countries are watching the results. They are watching what legalizing marijuana does for the economy, tax revenue, and crime reduction. There is an international impact with marijuana legalization. History behind the drug war Throughout the history of the drug war, both state and federal law enforcement agencies have cracked down on both drug abusers and drug dealers. During the late 60s, the U.S. government founded the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD). The BNDD worked a study to find a correlation between crime and heroin addiction. They found that 44 percent of...
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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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...Legalization: The War on Drugs and Criminal Law Howard R. Burke Strayer University Abstract This research will point out that the United States’ current policy on drug prohibition, the so called “War on Drugs,” is ineffective. The current draconian prohibition policies against drug consumption may actually increase their use. As well, contrary to claims made by current drug policy supporters, increased drug enforcement can reduce public safety and compound the individual and social costs of drug use. The U.S. drug policy, born over a hundred years ago, has gone through several transformations becoming more voracious with each new invocation. The War on Drugs is an expensive and failed concept which has incorporated racism in its administration, increased crime rates, imposed harsh sentences for nonviolent offenses, facilitated police corruption and aggressively eroded civil liberties. Table of Contents INTRODUCTION Introduction to the Problem Background of the Study Statement of the Problem Purpose of the Research Research Questions Significance of the Research Assumptions and Limitations Organization of the Remainder of the Study LITERATURE REVIEW CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Marijuana Legalization: The War on Drugs and Criminal Law INTRODUCTION The United States has conducted a long experiment of drug prohibition. The prohibition of marijuana and other illicit drugs has only increased...
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