Drug Policy Synthesis Essay

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The blame for this current predicament rests on stubbornness to admit that the current means of tackling the drug issue is not working. However, it is worth reiterating that the individuals promoting these policies are often not doing so out of ill intentions. Individuals on both side are in search of a health society. Even those promoting the drug warrior approach are doing so out of a genuine belief that it will provide a healthier environment for individuals in these drug-afflicted communities. While there are political entrepreneurs that engage in this drug war fully aware of these negative repercussions, many are blind to the extent of the counterproductive effects that come with this approach. The idea has been so ingrained in Americans …show more content…

A Gallup poll found that 1 in 3 Americans are have been affected by alcoholism in their family (Jones). However, these family members are not treated with scorn and contempt like drug addicts, but instead are met with compassion and sympathy. The difference between the two is the stigma attached to drug users as “junkies” and “criminals”. For any substantive change to take place in our society, there must be a fundamental change in the way Americans view drug users and drug addicts. The objective of drug policy should be to put these drug users in a position where they can help uplift their community, rather than seeking to uplift these communities through removal of drug users. The manner in which we attempt to uplift drug users can take form in a multitude of policy approaches. This change is likely to be a slow, gradual one that requires undoing much of what people believe of drug dealers. However, we should celebrate and recognize where promoters of these approaches succeed. Cities like New Haven and Shreveport should be looked at as standards for the rest of the country to follow in effective harm reducing strategies that humanize drug addicts, and still tamp down on crime. With continued success in cities like these, there is a hope that the war on drugs will soon come to an

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