Thursday, April 19, 2012

The War on Drugs: Is it Worth the Fight?

       The issue of drug prohibition is a very touchy subject which has a strong polarizing effect on people who discuss it.  While many, if not all, people would agree that there are very harmful drugs out there, there is a growing number of people who do not agree with the current drug enforcement strategy.  As April 20th, a day that has become an unofficial holiday for the use of cannabis, draws near, the DEA and other law enforcement officials responsible for the enforcement of drug prohibition legislation will step up enforcement to deal with this increased use.  This hike in enforcement happens every year, but every year the people who celebrate this unofficial holiday are still able to find and use this drug with almost no problem.  How does this happen?  Every year, the U.S. alone spends about $69 Billion domestically and internationally to keep drugs out of the country and off of our streets, but drugs are still very easy to come by.  This enormous cost of drug enforcement which leads to a very small reduction in the drug supply has led many people to believe that the war on drugs as it is currently implemented has failed.

       One of the groups that has emerged to promote drug enforcement reform may surprise many of you who read this because it is made up of current and ex-law enforcement personnel.  The group is called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and contrary to the stereotype of anti-drug prohibition activists, they are not just a bunch of hippies.  The law enforcement professionals that have joined LEAP have done so for a number of logical reasons, they may not necessarily support the use of drugs, but they have seen first-hand the failures of the current war on drugs.  I have managed to get a copy of a LEAP pamphlet and decided to read it in order to see what this organization was about.  In the pamphlet, they describe why they believe that a system of regulation and control is far more ethical and effective than one of prohibition.  For example, they state that "the membership of LEAP believe that to save lives, lower the rates of disease, crime, and addiction, as well as to conserve tax dollars, we must end drug prohibition".  To be more in-depth about their reasoning, they explain how the above-mentioned changes would come about from drug-enforcement reform.

       One of the main reasons that LEAP gives for ending the war on drugs is that it has created an underground market which is free from quality regulations, which would be enforced through the Pure Food and Drug Act to keep out harmful cutting agents, as well as artificially inflates the street price of the drugs by 17,000 percent to make up for the risks of producing and transporting the drugs.  While the price of drugs is not important to the members of LEAP, the effects of that price on the community are what matters.  The LEAP pamphlet says that "as long as marijuana is worth more than gold and heroine more than uranium, we will continue to have people willing to kill each other to control the market; willing to kill police charged with fighting these useless wars; and willing to kill children caught in the crossfire".  No matter what your opinion of drug use is, that statement is a rational description of the current negative effects on the communities and people who get caught up in the turf wars and cops who are in danger when  they encounter these individuals.

       For the people that do not believe that the illegality of drugs causes way more problems than it fixes, it is time for a history lesson.  Around the year 1920, the U.S. experienced a temperance/prohibition movement that sought to remove the evils of vice from our nation.  While most of the things that were criminalized involved gambling and prostitution, the most surprising victim of that movement was alcohol.  Almost immediately after the law prohibiting the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol was enacted, crime syndicates arose to stake their claim on this new and extremely profitable market.  During this time, the price of alcohol rose dramatically which lead to the crime syndicates fighting over turf.  Gangsters like Al Capone and John Dillinger, to name a couple, fought each other which lead to one of the bloodiest gang murders this country has ever seen which became known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre where seven gang members from Capone's competition were lined up and shot in a firing squad fashion with Thompson sub-machine guns.  Not only was the bloodshed from gang on gang violence, but the gangs were killing the non-corrupt police officers who were supposed to be arresting these individuals.  This led to a rise in police corruption from officers that felt that it would be better to get paid off by gangsters than be shot and killed in the streets.

       Increased crime and violence were not the only negative side-effects from prohibition; gangs which wanted to increase their already massively inflated profits would also cut the alcohol with different additives such as wood alcohol which caused many people to go blind from consuming it.  This practice can be seen today with drugs being cut with different additives varying from less-harmful things such as caffeine in cocaine to dipping low-quality marijuana in embalming fluid to provide a greater high for an inferior product.  These cutting agents are extremely dangerous since the people using these drugs are completely unaware of their use in the drugs they ingest.  This causes accidental overdoses, unpredictable reactions which lead to increased violence levels in the users, and many other harmful things.  It has been almost 80 years since alcohol has been legalized and we now have a fairly effective system of preventing underage individuals from getting it.  While they may still be able to have someone else buy the booze for them, there are no longer any turf wars associated with alcohol anymore, police corruption has gone down, and the quality of the product is ensured because, since it is no longer produced in bath tubs and other black market ways, production falls under the jurisdiction of the Pure Food and Drug Act which keeps people from cutting  their product with a cheaper but more dangerous ingredient.


This video is a little long, but it brings up a lot of great points which explain why, regardless of your opinions of drugs and drug use, LEAP is a great organization which could save us billions of tax dollars and many lives.  For some more perspective, check out this war on drugs clock at http://www.drugsense.org/cms/wodclock

If you would like to learn more about LEAP and what they stand for, visit www.leap.cc where there is plenty of content which may cause you to be reassured or even change your beliefs.  It's time that we began to focus our resources on crimes that matter instead of blowing billions of dollars on failed policy.

11 comments:

  1. I agree with the experts when they say that marijuana is not as dangerous to the body and society as alcohol is, but I do not think we should legalize it either. My reason for not wanting to legalize non-narcotic drugs is simple and very selfish; criminal justice careers are already competitive enough as it is. Take away non-narcotics from the mix and there will be less need for police officers. I agree that the current method of drug enforcement is insufficient and more needs to be done to improve domestic safety while maximizing efforts without breaking the bank.

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  2. This was a great and well written article! I do not agree with you completely with this topic, even though there are great dangers associated with drugs, drug use, and other controlled substances. They must remain illegal for many reasons, the harm that these drugs can do to people has been seen from all angles. Even habitual users know what they are doing is not good for their bodies and that it is not good for their minds. They only problem that I have with the war on drugs is the fight against marijuana, I believe that it should be legalized and regulated by the government. A lot of money has been wasted on this losing battle against marijuana and maybe its time that we try something new, possibly try some of that double loop learning we have been talking about.

    Andrew Serena

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  3. I think the war on drugs is not as effective as we all hoped it would be. In reality I think the way the government is fighting the war on the drugs is a little bit insane, by attacking the drugs with the same tactics and expecting different results. Its going to be very hard to try and reduce the drugs in the U.S. by just doing drug busts and getting ride of the drugs because when there is a demand for a product someone out their will always supply it. I think if there is more focus on the source of the drugs then we an begin to solve the drug issue.

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  4. I also agree that drugs are illegal for a number of reasons and should stay that way. I have never been one for the legalization of marijuana. Maybe if it was our prison systems wouldn't be that overcrowded, but why should we make it legal? The war on drugs hasn't gone the way we had all planned it to go. I agree with Andrew above that we have wasted tons of money on the marijuana issue. The article was well put in a number of ways, but there is just a high demand for any type of product in general, even with cutting the drugs and making the substance even more dangerous than what a lot of the substances are already.

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  5. The "War on Drugs" is a joke. It should be called the "war on we know what's better for you than you do." It is a classic example of the few in power imposing their morals on the rest of society. I am not for free reign and letting anyone who wants to do any drug they want, far from it. I am however a realist. There should be control and management and regulation and taxation of some drugs. I do not think there is any reason for legalizing heroin or meth but to say these are the same thing as marijuana is far from the truth. It has been shown that marijuana is actually less harmful than cigarettes and some studies have shown it to be less harmful than alcohol but that is arguable. I believe the only reason it is illegal is because of the alcohol lobbyists. They do not want it legalized because it could cut their profits slightly. As a future officer though I have to realize that I have to enforce all laws whether I agree with them or not. I just think the government tries to dictate too much of our life. It is just the people in power imposing their values on the rest of society. Well not everyone shares your views and as an adult in America they should have the right to choose what is right for them.

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  6. I agree that the government should not limit people’s freedoms; however illicit drugs are proven to be harmful. The war on drugs has been blown out of proportion but the side effects of the war are the real problems. The intent of war on drugs is not the government deciding what people can and can’t do, but the recognition of holding people responsible for their actions and taking away the ability for them to do harm to themselves. The punishment for using marijuana is relatively small compared to cocaine. The problem is that the drugs people can still get come from untrustworthy sources, many of which the money funds more crime.

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  7. There is a lot to be said about if some drugs should be legalized. For example marijuana I believed should be legalized, for the reasons in this article. Too many police officers are being killed over a drug. No one should have to loose their life because of drugs in law enforcement but it dose happen. I like this article a lot shows aspects from both side and makes you think.

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  8. The topic of "war on drugs" will always be the center of any type of talk. It is a relentless battle between the law and drugs. I don't really have a concrete opinion on the idea of legalizing marijuana. The reason being is I can understand both sides of the argument. Each side of this argument bring up good points, so as I said before I am indecisive with this topic. Going back to the topic of is war on drugs worth it, I would have to say yes it is. If we did not have any sort of laws to control the usage of drugs, this country would be complete mayhem. Having no rules on drugs could ruin our country, and I believe you would see a lot more crime because of it.

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  9. This is an interesting article that brought to light more logical reasons for drug reform. The war on drugs clearly is not working in our nation or probably anywhere else in the world. Some countries like Portugal have completely decriminalized the use and possession of drugs and the overall consensus is that it is working! I would just like to see the large scale crime and trafficking go way down and by legalizing and CONTROLLING it federally you will start to see gangs and cartels lose millions or perhaps billions becauase people will buy their drugs from reputable companies as opposed to shady dealers.

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  10. I feel that the War on Drugs is not necessarily as important as other things that we should be focusing on as future criminal justice professionals, but I certainly do not think that it should be made legal or completely forgotten about. More man power could be focused in other areas such as ending domestic violence or other common crimes. This would also cut down on the overcrowding of prisons if people were not being arrested for certain drug crimes.

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  11. I believe we should continue the war on drugs. I believe that if we ended the war, drugs and crime would sky rocket compared to where we are today. I also agree with Chris, if we legalize marijuana then it would lower the standards for police departments hiring. I also think that legalizing non-narcotic drugs would slow down our countries progression. Just look at the other countries who have been smoking peyote for the last thousands of years. Non of them have progressed. They are still getting around on donkeys, and living in mud homes. All in all I believe we should continue the war on drugs, and even step up on the war.

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