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War on drugs spech
How the war on drugs started
How the war on drugs started
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Drugs have been around for thousands of years and were used for a variety of reasons. They were used for healing aliments that one might have and for recreational reasons. However, as time went on and society advanced so did its outlook on any form of a controlled substance and their uses. We began to see the benefits they had and developed other ways to use them for everyday illnesses, which wasn’t anything new, but we finally had the ability to understand why they helped. In the late 1800s Coke-a-Cola marketed their drink, or tonic, as having healing properties and claimed that if was a cure all. But, as time wore on we began to see the negative side and decided to control it for fear of what would happen, which lead to Prohibition and the war on drugs. We saw a threat and had to act for fear that it would become a problem that could no longer be contained. People who once used the drugs as a tonic to cure a cough discovered that they could be used for pleasure and would develop a “habit.” Yet the more society said it was wrong the more appealing it seemed to be to the people who wanted to use drugs for fun and saw no harm in it. The government tried to put a ban on any substance that they saw unfit for the people, which made the desire to obtain it that much greater. Drugs come in many forms and are called by many names. Some are worse than others, but they all have the same effect, they can destroy the mind and body. They cause problems within the person that can spread beyond just the individual taking them. They have been known to rip families apart and destroy relationships, yet people still choose to use them. It seems that the need to keep one from using drugs only drives them to want it more. The need to go agai... ... middle of paper ... ...out there and all we have to do is put the time and effort into finding it. Once the medium is found it will open up new doors and possibilities that we may have never thought possible for ourselves. We can stop this ongoing war and help save lives and put money back into the community and economy. We can provide a means to an end if we really wanted to. There are endless possibilities and all we must do is look. Invest our people’s money into being productive and finding ways to make this work. Until that happens though, we will continue to live in fear of the man who smokes pot down the street. We will continue to look down on the men and women who have to sell drugs just to get by and feed their families. If we wanted to we can end this violence and begin to restore not only our people but our nations as well. It will not be a simple task, but it is doable.
The wonder-drug of the early nineteenth century was finally being recognised as a dangerously addictive substance, although the interests of imperial traders kept it legal for another five decades, until the Dangerous Drugs Act was passed in 1920. This Act made it illegal to possess opiates without a doctor’s prescription.
Drug use and abuse is as old as mankind itself. Human beings have always had a desire to eat or drink substances that make them feel relaxed, stimulated, or euphoric. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B.C.; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to 2737 B.C. in China. But it was not until the nineteenth century that the active substances in drugs were extracted. There was a time in history when some of these newly discovered substances, such as morphine, laudanum, cocaine, were completely unregulated and prescribed freely by physicians for a wide variety of ailments.
Christian organizations had a meeting with congress and made a claim that drug abusers were hazardous, wicked individuals. These groups thought that the drug use among foreign individuals like the Chinamen and corrupt Mexicans were a threat for the American born individuals. These groups convinced Congress to criminalize drugs. One-hundred years ago some drugs was legal to possess and even children could buy drugs like morphine, opium, marijuana, and cocaine. These drugs if got caught with them today could result in a life sentence it today’s society.
In the anti-drug material that was being distributed by the American government (mainly through the provocation of Harry Anslinger, chief of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics 1930-1962 (Anti Narcotic Campaigns)) there were implications that various drugs were coming from different regions of the world with the either purposeful or nonpurposeful intent of corrupting the social order of the United States, or even the political system and the stability of the nation at that time. Some even went as far as to say “of all the plagues visited upon our land, drug addiction is by far the most horrible and the most deadly… It is inconceivable that the greed of two or three countries should be permitted to corrupt and destroy the civilization of the world” (Anti Narcotic Campaigns). This only furthered the policymaker’s and public’s belief into the idea that drugs and also alcohol needed to be seriously controlled. It would turn out, “controlled” would go on to mean
Drug use has been around since the B.C. era and will continue until the extinction of man. Humans have a history of using drugs that affect the mind and vision and that aspect of humanity still continues to this day. “Since the dawn of history, mankind has found ways to relieve the daily grind of life.” The earliest known use of drugs dates back to the ancient city of Mesopotamia where the farming of wheat and barley came a product known as beer. The ancient Mesopotamians would indulge on the beer and get drunk creating a problem with alcoholics for the ancient city. This is not uncommon to see, mankind has always had an experimental side. If it wasn’t for that experimental side civilization would not be where it is today. Humans used drugs in the past in the medical field, such as cocaine to alleviate toothaches, or opium which was also cultivated by the Mesopotamians as a relaxing plant. Even ancient Greece used a special mixture of beer to induce hallucinations, or they would also partake in using opium to stimulate their minds and get the creative flow started. Ancient Rome was also known to be a civilization that had a large population of drug users. Drugs in the past weren’t always used just for recreational use; they did have a part in the medicinal field. Doctors of ancient times would give the patients a prescription depending on their ailments. Opium was used as a headache medicine, pain reliever or even a stress reliever. The use of opium has even been used up until recently in the civil war in the United States, even former President Harrison was given opium to try and help with pneumonia. Opium is also the plant that morphine is derived from, which is used in the medical field today as a powerful pain reliever. Drugs ...
Drug use as well as drug abuse is on a constant rise. There is a wide spread misunderstanding about drugs. Many believe a drug is something that the government has said is illegal to use or consume. However this is not entirely true. A drug is any chemical you take that affects the way your body works. Alcohol, caffeine, aspirin and nicotine are all drugs. A drug must be able to pass from your body into your brain. Once inside your brain, drugs can change the messages your brain cells are sending to each other, and to the rest of your body. They do this by interfering with your brain's own chemical signals, I will discuss this further later on in the paper.
Typically, almost everyone in the world has taken drugs at some point in their life. Whether it be over the counter medication or prescription drugs. People get sick, they have illness, allegories, sexually transmitted diseases or other aches and pains. As you may already know, there is medication for each aforementioned problem. This is called drug use, which is using drugs for its intended purpose. However, the real dilemma happens when people began to misuse and abuse drugs.
In the early 1980s, policymakers and law enforcement officials stepped up efforts to combat the trafficking and use of illicit drugs. This was the popular “war on drugs,” hailed by conservatives and liberals alike as a means to restore order and hope to communities and families plagued by anti-social or self-destructive pathologies. By reducing illicit drug use, many claimed, the drug war would significantly reduce the rate of serious nondrug crimes - robbery, assault, rape, homicide and the like. Has the drug war succeeded in doing so?
The solution is to decriminalize all drugs. Decriminalization is not legalization; there would still be penalties such as a fine for drug possession, but there would no longer be a criminal charge. We should change prohibition laws that have proven ineffective and try a different approach. The benefits to decriminalization are obvious: Less money spent enforcing drug laws that don’t work means more money for other more pressing law enforcement challenges. Fewer drug arrests mean fewer individuals with a criminal record who may struggle to find a job. Current addicts would no longer need to fear persecution and could instead receive the help they desperately need. Law enforcement could regain the public’s trust and respect. These are all reasons why we shou...
The 1920s was a period of time known as the Prohibition, in which alcohol was outlawed. The reason for this was that alcohol was thought to have created a wide variety of social ills. Workers were less productive, some addicts spent much of their money on fueling their drunkenness, and families were torn apart. In addition, alcohol was known to cause various health problems such as liver failure and sclerosis. The outlawing of alcohol, however, did far more harm than good. Criminal gangs were formed and murder rates soared as crime lords started bootlegging. These issues caused prohibition to be repealed mere years after it was enacted. Following prohibition, it was seen that many people could, in-fact, use alcohol responsibly and in moderation. The prohibition era provides a very relevant lesson for the present day. Drugs are outlawed, and because of this gangs can use them to fund themselves, resulting in a proliferation of violence. The excuses for their outlawing is the same as well: they can cause addiction and health issues if used unwisely. If they were to be legalized, there would be a decline in crime, the prison population, and the amount of funding needed for the police force. The drugs in question which are referred to in this paper illegal ones such as marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, heroin, methamphetamine, morphine, shrooms, and oxycontin. All of these drugs should be legalized and regulated, just as alcohol is today, in order to mend the societal and moral problems caused by outlawing them.
To begin with, the people who are addicted to drugs are hard to get rid of taking. Normally, a lot of people assumed that because of the lack of moral principles and willpower, the drug abusers cannot stop abusing through changing their behavior (NIH 2012). But in the real world, giving up abusing takes more than strongly will, because the ways of brain is changed by drugs that enhance the compulsive drug abuse. As a result, it is difficult of drug users to stop abusing the drugs.
For nearly 85 years, the government has prohibited pscychoactive drugs. American leaders attempted to do the same to alcohol with Prohibition in the 1920?s. In any society, drug use plays a part in the people?s culture. Whether it be a native taking hallucinogens for a religious ceremony, a destitute alcoholic drinking on a city street, or a group of teenagers smoking marijuana, drugs and alcohol have the same effects in any culture. The question of ?why do people use drugs? has been a dilemma which American medical experts and government leaders have fought to answer for years. Recently, many institutions and organizations have formed in order to fight the war on drugs and help diminish the percent of Americans who use dangerous drugs and excessive amounts of alcohol.
This is because most of the drugs in todays society are naturally produced which gives humans easy access to obtaining them. They have become so common in which they are now used for celebrations and other things such as religious ceremonies. Alcohol, which is considered a drug, has become so accepted in todays society that people view other drugs the same way. Some consider this an issue in our community because the access to drugs is gradually becoming easier as we legalize drugs. Many people use drugs for pleasure and celebrations today because they have the right to live as whatever seems good to them as long as there is no harm done to others. Thomas S. Szasz is for the right to recreational use of drugs, he stated, "I favor free trade in drugs for the same reason the Founding Fathers favored free trade in ideas. In an open society, it is none of the government 's business what idea a man puts into his mind; likewise, it should be none of the government 's business what drug he puts into his body." This issue is very controversial because the right to freedom justifies drug use only when there is no harm done to
From the very beginning of human history, drugs have been used for medicine and recreation, some of these recreational uses have been good while others have been lethal. The first known uses drugs comes from the time of the Sumerians around the year 5000 BC. Thousands of years went by before the next recording of drug use with people in Switzerland eating poppy
Illegal drugs are used by people as a way out when feeling down about themselves. As the effects of the drugs may stay the same throughout, causes show that there are a large number of reasons for use. Being lonely, isolated, and frustrated in life help start off the drive to escape. In many cases, using drugs is a coping mechanism, especially in teens. Emotions become numb as people try to escape the pain of reality. This is seen in the youth of today as they deal with everyday pressures.. Drug abuse can make people think they are re-creating their former negative self image. This rebellious action gives the attention that is desired. From trying to fit in to hiding from problems, people will always have a choice. In the end, the reality of drug use is damaging to the user's body, mind and relationships.