The War on Drugs is Failing Essay - 1228 Words

The War on Drugs is Failing â€Å"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance†¦ for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation and make a crime out of things that are not a crime. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principle upon which our government was founded† Abraham Lincoln On January 16, 1920 the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified by thirty-six states and became part of the Constitution. The intention of this new amendment was to lower alcohol consumption by Americans. At the time each American consumed on average thirty gallons of alcohol a year.[1] This new amendment took away the license to do business from the brewers, distillers, and the†¦show more content†¦The War on Drugs intends to rid America of drugs, hard and soft, just as prohibition attempted to rid America of drink. The arguments against the War on Drugs are the same arguments that persuaded politicians sixty years ago to end Prohibition. Just as the movement to rid America of alcohol failed, so will the War on Drugs because social engineering works no better today than it did then. The War on Drugs has given birth to many of the modern day evils. The most widespread repercussion of the War on Drugs is the crime rate. â€Å" In 1990, the number of people sent to state and federal prisons for drug offenses exceeded the number of offenders sent to prison for violent crimes†¦. Drug offenders currently make up 62 percent of the federal inmate population, up from 22 percent in 1980.†[3] Add to this the fact that most of these prisoners are nonviolent offenders put there under mandatory minimum sentencing laws and the explanation for why this country is running out of prison space should be readily apparent. The second most prevalent, as well as disheartening, result of this movement is the death of innocent victims. The support for this result can be found in the obituary section of the daily newspaper or on the five o’clock news. Even the smallest of towns have been afflicted with death due to drugs. Back-alley heroin and basement-lab manufactured amphetamines present the same problem asShow MoreRelatedAmerica’s Failing War on Drugs and the Culture of Incarceration2483 Words   |  10 PagesAmerica’s failing War on Drugs and the Culture of Incarceration Richard B. Carpenter Adams State College America’s failing War on Drugs and the Culture of Incarceration Richard B. Carpenter Adams State College Abstract For over a century, America has waged a failing war on drugs even as it feeds a cultural apathetic and underground acceptance of drug and alcohol use. The views of the dominate group have placed blame on society’s ills on the evilsRead MoreThe United States Failing War on Drugs Essay792 Words   |  4 Pagesunderstand that marijuana is a drug that can actually help; not only people with mental and physical problems such as cancer, but the economy as well by getting rid of the hard drugs that cause real problems and benefiting from a drug(s) that that can actually help problems. When it comes to finding drugs such as cocaine, heroine, meth, etc†¦ Apart from being highly costly, drug law enforcement seems to be not doing their job as well as they could be. Illegal drugs are still finding their way intoRead MoreEssay about Counter Narcotics634 Words   |  3 PagesUnited States has a very stern policy regarding the use, distribution, and trafficking of drugs. However, it is clear that the current U.S. policy is failing, and the supply of illegal drugs as well as the demand is increasing. The U.S. government has focused for years on dealing with the demand aspect of this issue. Through government programs directed towards education and national awareness of the harm that drugs cause, the government has been attempting to severely reduce the demand for narcoticsRead MoreThe Political And Economic Factors Of The War On Drugs872 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to Michelle Alexander, why and how has the â€Å"war on drugs† developed over the last 40 y ears? What are the main political and economic factors that led to the war on drugs, and what are the main political and economic factors that shaped it as it developed over the last four decades? Draw on material from the Foner textbook chapters 25 through 28 to supplement Alexander’s discussion of the political and economic context. Many people in the United States believe that there is full equalityRead MoreEssay SHOULD WE FAVOR DRUG LEGALIZATION859 Words   |  4 Pages SHOULD WE FAVOR DRUG LEGALIZATION? nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; In the article â€Å"Drug Policy and the Intellectuals,† William J. Bennentt, chides intellectuals who believe drugs should be legalize. Bennett challenges his audience , by attacking intellectuals. However Bennett tries to win over his audience of intellectuals in two ways: by calling upon their talents and by attackingRead MoreDrugs And Its Effect On Society1645 Words   |  7 PagesThe official definition of drugs is a substance which has a physiological effect when introduced to the body. Drugs have been a part of human culture since the beginning of recorded history. People have use drugs for all sorts of reasons whether it is for a religious mind altering ritual, to save someone’s life or just to make themselves feel better, and they are still widely prevalent in today’s culture. We all know someone who currently partakes in drugs whether they choose to share that informationRead MoreEssay on Why Drugs Should be Made Legal692 Word s   |  3 PagesWhy Drugs Should be Made Legal During the 1920s, laws prohibiting alcohol sales and consumption did very little to stop people form getting their hands on a bottle of rum. Instead, the streets became the battlegrounds for organized criminals. Innocent people were being killed and public officials corrupted. Prohibition was a mistake and hopefully we are wise enough as a society not to try to repeat the same mistake. However, we are making the same mistake by trying to fight the war on drugsRead MoreThe War On Drugs927 Words   |  4 PagesIn 1971 President Richard Nixon declared a War on Drugs stating that drug abuse was â€Å"public enemy number one†. Four decades later America is still waging this war that many say can never truly be won. The goal of this campaign has always been the prohibition of drugs, military aid, and military intervention with the stated aim being to define and reduce the illegal drug trade however the tactics used thus far have done little to solve the problem of drugs in the United State. The use of militaryRead MoreWomen are being incarcerated in today’s prisons at an alarming rate. Unfortunately, disparities in1600 Words   |  7 Pageshealth issues, and drug abuse problems. It is no secret that the number one reason women are being incarcerated is due to a large rate in drug charge policies. The war on drugs has had a major impact on the lives of women in the criminal justice system. This policy has punished women disproportionately to the harm many in our society. According to Women Offenders and the Gendered Public Policy (2004), â€Å"Nationwide, about 35% of the imprisoned women were serving a sentence for a drug related crime, withRead MoreHow Successful Is The War On Drugs? Essay1001 Words   |  5 PagesThe war on drugs has maintained an accumulation of prohibitions on illegal drugs and mandatory minimum sentencing strategies for drug offenders. Incarceration rates have also increased due to the increase of laws against illegal drugs. In Eugene Jarecki’s film, The House I Live In, Jarecki states that the penalties for crack users were harsher than penalties for regular cocaine users. This suggests that penalties are more of a double sta ndard theory. The â€Å"War on Drugs† is more of a failure that places