Modern society is facing many problems. One of the biggest problems is drugs, or at least we think so. United States has become the world leader in fighting drugs. Ever since President Nixon our laws have been tougher but does that mean that the number of people using it has decreased or that number of people selling it decreased. Well neither one is true and there are many reasons why. One of the reasons is our approach to drugs and the way we deal with it.
According to (Cedro article p.2) “the number of the drugs offenders imprisoned in the U.S. has increased 800% since 1980, and that made the U.S. achieve the highest imprisonment rate in the industrialized world”. This fact alone shows that our current system does not work and that something else must be done. Browsing thru internet I remembered Amsterdam. That city is world famous for the approach on drugs that it has taken. It’s a little crazy but it’s working. Their numbers are significantly down. “Users under the age of 22 dropped from 14.4 percent to 1.6%.” (Amsterdam p.1) Amsterdam is a city of 727,000 and total of 5,100 hard drug users. I must say those are good numbers. Would the Amsterdam model be a usef
Maybe there is another reason why U.S. has not tried different approach. According to (Cedro p2) “Politicians compete for votes on the basis of whose rhetoric is “tougher” on drugs. The right –wing who control Congress call President “soft on drugs” even though more drug users are imprisoned now than ever. So Clinton appointed McCaffrey Drug Czar not because the General has any training in drugs, but because he was a military man who would symbolize “toughness”. Whatever the reason may be our view on drugs must change because we are the number one market which means that this country wants and needs drugs. So why not change the way people get drugs and turn it into a profit like tobacco and alcohol. There are many ways to explore drug problems and one of them I think is Amsterdam. It serves as a good role model for the United States. Amsterdam proved that a self-governing society is able to handle a drug problem in an inexpensive more practical way. Prohibition isn’t the solution to our on going battle with drugs. When are we going to search for a more practical and efficient way to handle our long overdue drug problem?
ul government response to hallucinogen and marijuana use in this country? Why or why not? Amsterdam’s coffee shops and cafes are worldwide known for th
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