The War on Drugs: Why the United States Is Losing and What Can Be Done.
The war on drugs in the United States is one that has been unsuccessful since its beginning. Billions of tax dollars are spent every year to stop various drugs in society, yet the numbers in terms of users, distributors, and importers continue to rise. Of all the drugs the government has focused on, marijuana is the one that poses the least threat. It is not life threatening and has not been proven to be physically addictive. If it were to be legalized and distributed through the government than it would benefit the United States in numerous ways. For example, there would be more money to spend on education towards preventing the use of serious drugs, and because of this the number of users would likely decrease. .
The United States of America officially began its war on drugs with the passing of the Harrison Act in 1914. Since this time the United States government has changed its policies and techniques at tackling this complex issue. The biggest changes took place in the 1980's because the government began to realize the weaknesses of there approach (Caulkins, 9). The main drugs the government has focused on are marijuana, heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, LSD, various tranquilizers, and hallucinogens. The goal of the war on drugs is to decrease usage by decreasing availability. The problem that has risen with this war is that government spending has increased to stop the usage and sale of these drugs, but still the number of users and amount of drugs in society has increased. This had led to questions among the American public who have been told that their tax dollars are being used to stop these drugs. Given the fact that the war on drugs has been a failure in many senses, it is necessary to consider some sort of drug reform. The most common idea for drug reform revolves around the legalization of marijuana. Through the possible economic benefits from this idea, there can be a greater focus on stopping other drugs that are extremely hazardous to individuals in society.
