It’s been 40 years since President Richard Nixon declared a “War on Drugs,” which means we’ve had 40 years of a pointless propaganda scheme that has achieved little and may have even made the situation worse.
This war has been fueled by serious misconceptions about drugs, those who use them and the best process to eliminate the problem of abuse. The government has responded to what is a complex, multi-faceted and evolving problem with a simplistic, flashy response of guns, money and stereotype-based legislation. The misdirected efforts of the “War on Drugs” have led to violence, ever-increasing spending and prison crowding.
Although the government has poured about $20 billion into such efforts, the decade-long conflicts such as those between the United States-supported Colombian government and the Medellin drug cartel or between U.S. troops and Panamanian General Manuel Noriega have not eradicated drug-related violence. For an example near to home, more than 35,000 people have been killed in the past four years due to violence between the Mexican government and Mexican drug cartels. “Drug lords” and drug cartels will exist as long as money can be made by illegally selling drugs. The harder it is for them to make the drugs and sell them, the more money they’ll charge for it. The more money they’re paid for drugs, the more they’ll have to spend on weapons and violent means.
As for legislation, bills such as the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 have obviously been written without proper knowledge on drug related issues. The bill, which created mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses, has contributed to demographic disparity in prison populations by creating different sentences for the similar drugs cocaine and crack. The majority of crack users are lower income individuals because crack is cheaper than cocaine, and the sentencing for crack is much harsher.
This “War” is costing a lot of money. The first drug-fighting budget was $100 million, and is now 150 times that amount. Experts estimate approximately $40 billion is spent per year on the “War on Drugs.”
In 2009, the federal government spent more than $2 billion housing drug-related prisoners. About 51 percent of federal inmates and 21 percent of state-level prisoners are a direct result of a drug conviction, and every 19 seconds someone in the U.S. is arrested for a drug violation, 82 percent of those for possession alone. Imprisoning drug users will not decrease drug abuse, drug production or drug usage. Neither will it target the causes of drug usage. The old stereotype that drug users are low-income individuals is false. Drug usage is widespread: in a 2009 poll, 47 percent of Americans over 12 admitted to using illegal drugs. Arresting users, treating them as criminals and spending a lot of money doing so does not reach the heart of the problem.
The heart of the matter concerns the systemic cycle of imprisonment and return to drug abuse that the government has turned a blind eye to. We imprison drug users, or people who may not even have used drugs but just possessed some, and then eventually turn them most of them back out on the street to fend for themselves. With a felony on their record, they’re not likely to either find a job or be welcomed back into society with open arms. So back to drugs they’ll go. Then those people are more susceptible to commit crime and acts of violence. Others are sent to rehabilitation centers, but the point is they have to be arrested before they can receive help to stop abusing drugs. With that arrest comes those negative stigmas.
This is because the “War on Drugs” focuses on the actual substances of drugs rather than the abuse of drugs. Let’s face it: people will use drugs whether or not they’re legal. This is not a reason to decriminalize drugs, but wanting to help prevent abuse and its negative effects on society is.
Efforts should concentrate on rehabilitation. When people come out of prison for drug-related issues, they’re viewed as criminals. When people come out of rehabilitation centers for drug-related issues, they’re viewed as good examples.
It’s much cheaper to send someone to jail, but it’s a short-term fix to what has proven to be a long-term problem. Missouri is a huge offender in this issue: state government has continuously cut funding for mental health institutions.
It’s extremely disappointing that after 40 years, drug abuse is still a huge problem in the U.S. For years, government has opted for simple short-term actions that have done little to nothing. The issue will not disappear anytime soon. As drugs like marijuana continue to be decriminalized by individual states, eventually the federal government will have to rethink its response to marijuana usage. Meanwhile, at the federal level, and at the level of states like Missouri, there are no options for drug users but incarceration and condemnation.
Perhaps, as some say, the justification for this is that drug usage is caused by bad morals. This doesn’t help, given the issue is not likely to disappear. After all, it’s been 40 years.
The thing is, you can’t fix bad morals, but you can fix bad policy.