Bertram, Blachman, Sharpe, & Andreas. Drug War Politics: The Price of Denial

Reinarman & Levine. Crack in America

Zimmer and Morgan. Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts

Section 1: Discussion of the Problem

1. The history of drug policy began in 1969 under the presidency of Richard Nixon. Nixon was looking for a way to decrease crime in the Washington D.C. area. He felt that drugs caused violent behavior and to lower crime, you need to decrease drug use. Marijuana laws went into effect. These laws were used to lock up people that the police didn't want on the street instead of rather than to make an impact on stopping the use of drugs. Blacks, hippies, and teens were targeted. Nixon felt that drugs are bad, so bad people do drugs. While heroin was surfacing and becoming the big drug, Nixon ruled marijuana as being relatively safe, however illegal. He also legalized the methadone clinics, enabling users who wanted to become clean to do so at the government and taxpayer's expense.

Jimmy Carter saw drug use as a health problem. While Carter wasn't very active in the drug war, small amounts of drugs we

Zimmer and Morgan. Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts

2. As far as policy changes, legalizing drugs and incorporating drug education would be an alternative to the current failing policy on drugs in America. If the government would legalize and regulate drugs as an industry and tax the products, income would result. The problem of overcrowded prisons would be reduced by fifty percent in some estimates and violent crime would decline. Some believe that legalization will turn our whole country into drug addicts. There is no evidence to support this. In fact, the drugs that are legal in the United States such as alcohol and nicotine are used in the lower dosage form. The alcohol distribution method of choice is beer or wine, which contain low doses of alcohol while cigarettes are the most popular form of nicotine distribution, which also contains a very low dose. These Americans are not considered addicts although they may drink or smoke everyday and are damaging their bodies a great deal. Making something illegal only creates resistance, which people challenge because they know its wrong. It is morally wrong to arrest and jail people for taking drugs. This is invasion of our right to privacy guaranteed us by the Fourth Amendment. Advocates of incarcerating people for using drugs say that this is a deterrent to drug use and an effective way of controlling drug usage. Studies show that this is not true. Of the people that are arrested and jailed for using drugs, eighty percent go back to using again once they are released. The government should not be allowed to prosecute non-violent offenders for consensual crimes committed in their own homes thus complying with the U.S. Constitution. It seems that our government is in the business of drugs. Even former President Clinton, has admitted to experimenting with marijuana and President George W. Bush, Jr. has been said to have used cocaine while in college, not to mention ex-mayor Marion Barry of Washington D.C. Should drugs be legalized, we can expect several immediate results. First, the government will be forced into taking a look at the real issues. For too long policy makers have used prohibition as an excuse to avoid addressing the social and economic factors that lead people to use drugs. Most illegal and legal drug use is recreational. Poverty and despair are at the root of most problematic drug use and it's only by addressing these underlying causes that we can hope to significantly decrease the number of problematic users. Opponents believe that deterrence will do the trick, but drug use continues to increase even though tougher laws have been passed. Next, the criminal drug market will dry up. The market for drugs is one of supply and demand and people demand illegal drugs. Organized crime has moved in to fill this vacuum and is making billions of dollars. Legislation will force organized crime from the drug business. In return, the government can regulate the market by licensing, enacting laws on sales to minors, and monitor the quality of the product. Besides that, taxes similar to alcohol and tobacco could be implemented bringing in billions of dollars. Crime would be dramatically reduced by legalization. Most of the violence associated with illegal drug dealing is caused by its illegality and disputes over territory. Dependent users would not have to resort to crime to get their supply since it will be regulated and the price lowered. Since they are often cheated by street drug dealers they would be less likely to need extra money through crime to try another buy to get what they want. Our legal system would be freed up and our prison population dramatically reduced saving billions and leaving law enforcement to catch and prosecute violent criminals. Legalization will send the message that drug use is normal and that it's a social issue, not a criminal justice one. The United States has the highest rates of HIV and Hepatitis C infection. Regulating drugs would give us

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