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qhat is the history of drug essay?
the effects of the war on drugs
the effects of the war on drugs
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It has been questioned as to why would the government put restrictions on something that has been part of the history and culture of the world since that beginning of time. Drugs were used back in earlier times for reason that include rituals, religion, recreational, and medical. The war on drugs have been a critical issue that has repeatedly held a great debate topic. It was in the 1906 when the first act against drug was put into effect with the Pure Food and Drug Act which required all over-the-counter medication to have label of its ingredients. Under President Nixon the first executive branch office to coordinate drug policy was formed and the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act was put into place. Two years following that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was formed. It was in 1971 when President Nixon first declared a …show more content…
Much of the budget is used to intervene drug flow on the U.S. border and for interdiction according to Cooper’s 1993 War on Drugs article. Some people agree that having more man power at the U.S. border will help eliminate the U.S. drug problem while others argue that even though having more people working the border increases drug seizures there are still drugs continuing to enter the United States. These may be the very people that believe in using the budget to provide more educational programs to the younger generation and having prevention programs will help those that may have become a drug user if not a addict. The last group of American do not believe either of those programs have worked in the past and will not work in the future. With those options gone the only thing left to do it to legalize illegal drugs. The purpose of this paper is to examine which approach to the war on drugs is believed to be and has shown to be most effective in abolishing illegal
It has been said that addiction is the plague of the 21st century. In an age of unprecedented life expectancy and medical breakthroughs, people are dying from both disease and overdose that are self inflicted and the cure is currently out of reach. Implementing progressive ideas such as safe injection sites have been a battle, both for caring social workers and front line emergency workers looking to minimize the health risks associated with risk taking behaviors that inevitably occur with intravenous drug use. While the addicted population currently uses considerable government funding by way of shelter services as well as prison and jail time, safe injection sites are a necessary step in the battle against drug abuse as is a major prevention
Drug use has been an ongoing problem in our country for decades. The use of drugs has been the topic of many political controversies throughout many years. There has been arguments that are for legalizing drugs and the benefits associated with legalization. Also, there are some who are opposed to legalizing drugs and fear that it will create more problems than solve them. Conservatives and liberals often have different opinions for controversial topics such as “the war on drugs,” but it is necessary to analyze both sides in order to gain a full understanding of their beliefs and to decide in a change in policy is in order.
In this paper I will evaluate America's War on Drugs. More specifically, I will outline our nation's general drug history and look critically at how Congress has influenced our current ineffective drug policy. Through this analysis I hope to show that drug prohibition policies in the United States, for the most part, have failed. Additionally, I will highlight and evaluate the influences acting on individual legislators' decisions to continue support for these ineffective policies as a more general demonstration of Congress' role in the formation of our nation's drug policy strategy. Finally, I will conclude this analysis by outlining the changes I feel necessary for future progress to be made. Primary among these changes are a general promotion of drug education and the elimination of our current system's many de-legitimating hypocrisies.
The war on drugs began with the presidential term of President Nixon in the 1970s. According to drugpolicy.org, “He dramatically increased the size and presence of federal drug control agencies, and pushed through measures such as mandatory sentencing and no-knock warrants. Nixon temporarily placed marijuana in Schedule One, the most restrictive category of drugs.”
In 1971, President Nixon declared a “war on drugs.” He substantially increased the presence and size of federal drug agencies, and passed legislation like mandatory sentencing laws and unconstitutional warrants. Nixon even listed marijuana as a Schedule One drug, the most constrictive drug category. Over forty years later, the U.S is still waging a war on drugs, spending billions of dollars per year and creating major social issues.
In his article “Numbers Tell of Failure in Drug War”, Eduardo Porter, economic journalist for the New York Times, argues that despite the billions of dollars spent and countless number of lives lost, the War on Drugs has been a complete failure. Porter particularly wants us to review the methods used by the American government regarding drug control, in order to more successfully protect United States citizens and their health. He writes that the last thirty years has been spent fighting a war that cannot be won. Porter points out that in those 30 years, general use of hard drugs, as well as use of illegal drugs by teenagers, has not declined, but actually increased. Additionally, Americans on average don’t think drug use is even much of
being corrupted and molded from birth into an adult the had not choice but to become, it becomes abundantly clear that the “war on drugs” is simply a variable in the problem, not the problem itself. Critics may shout the exact opposite, facts are facts, though. The United states has been struggling for a very long time, with the debt that it owes to other countries, with civil unrest, racial disparities, extreme poverty, drugs, and much more. The U.S. is sick, and those that are fighting only certain issues must understand that it is futile to fight the symptoms of a disease when those efforts could instead be focused on developing a cure to fix the problem in its
Before the Drug Enforcement Administration was enacted, issues that dealt with drugs were handled by different federal agencies rather than one agency as it is set up presently. “Federal drug law enforcement began in 1915 with the Bureau of Internal Revenue” (“Drug Enforcement Administration” 4). Illegal drug use has always been an issue and continues to increase and remain to be a prevailing problem across the nation. The 1960’s marked the predominant era for the increase of drug use. This was a time where the hippie-marijuana movement manifested, organized crime mobs were overt and famous psychologist and writer Timothy Leary was advocating for psychedelic drugs. During his Presidency, Richard Nixon felt it necessary to instill a more effective approach in dealing with the increasing drug problem in order to protect America from violence and to “restore law and order” as he would say was his goal and slogan for his campaign in the 1968 Presidential election. Prior to the creation of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), drug control was being regulated under the Bureau of Narcotics and Da...
“How Goes the ‘War on Drugs’?: An Assessment of U.S. Drug Problems and Policy.” PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2005, doi:10.1037/e504322006-001.
One hit, one sniff, one injection and suddenly your life is forever changed. The way your body feels the moment of that rush; the cravings you acquire create the need to feel that rush once again and the trouble you will go through in order to feel it again. Drugs have inhabited the earth for centuries. People have been resorting to drugs for various reasons such as; medical use, recreational use or research purposes. One of the most common drugs used is cocaine. Cocaine is a drug derived from coca leafs and prepared synthetically; it is used as an illegal stimulant and sometimes as an anesthetic for animals. However, in today’s world cocaine is more commonly used as a recreational drug. Unfortunately, with the usage of illegal drugs come
The War on Drugs: What is the War on Drug America’s Unjust War on The Underprivileged Alan Rodriguez Sociology 346 Since the 1970’s, the United States has been waging an ever expanding and seemingly never ending war on drugs. The United States has spent trillions of dollars to rid the streets of illegal drugs, but with too little effect. On the contrary, drug use is higher today than during the 70’s when the drug war was officially declared by the Nixon Administration. Not only has the war on drugs failed to limit the drug trade, it has also damaged the black and Latino community. Women and lower class citizens have also been affected by our drug policies.
In the past decade, there has been significant growth in the illegal trafficking of drugs, people, firearms, and natural resources. In 2009, the value of illegal trade around the globe was estimated at $1.3 trillion and is increasing. Transnational organized crime and drug trafficking is a growing concern, and few, if any, countries don’t have issues with it. Drug trafficking has particularly severe consequences because of the vast illegal profits it generates; an estimated 322 billion dollars a year. UN action is required because criminal influence and money are having a significant impact on the quality of life of citizens. As Costa Rica does not standing army, it cannot fight aggressively against Columbia and Mexico against strongly armed drug cartels. However, the Costa Rican government has a strong relationship with the United States Navy to fight traffickers. The US DEA works closely with the Costa Rican police and Justice System. Internationally, the government of Costa Rica tends to be in favor of prevention and security initiatives, as well as supporting the debate on decriminalizing drug use.
The problem I want to explore is how the War on Drugs has become a social problem. This is a social problem because it has created an overpopulated prison system disproportionately filled with people of color and the poor.
Drug abuse has been a hot topic for our society due to how stimulants interfere with health, prosperity, and the lives of others in all nations. All drugs have the potential to be misapplied, whether obtained by prescription, over the counter, or illegally. Drug abuse is a despicable disease that affects many helpless people. Majority of those who are beset with this disease go untreated due to health insurance companies who neglect and discriminate this issue. As an outcome of missed opportunities of treatments, abusers become homeless, very ill, or even worst, death.
drugs to this day. One of the reasons the war on drugs is lasting so long is because of the cost; the war on drugs is a very expense war. In the past, the government has spent arou...