The Failure of the War on Drugs Essay - 1529 Words

The War on Drugs in the United States has a profound influence on both the incarceration rates and activities of the criminal justice system. Many politicians and advocates of the policy claim that the War on Drugs is a necessary element to deter criminal behavior and reduce the crime rate. However, studies show that drug deterrent policies on possession and use have been inadequate and unsuccessful (Cole Gertz, 2013). Studies also show that the War on Drugs has not attained its objectives because the policy exhibits racial discrepancy as it has led to the disproportionate incarceration of Blacks and minorities. Specifically, evidence indicates that the upper class, generally White individuals, is more likely to use powered cocaine while†¦show more content†¦The U.S. government eventually began establishing statutes against individuals possessing and using the drug. During a 1914 Congressional hearing, Congress approved the Harrison Act, which was a federal tax statute aim ed at managing cocaine and attending to the dramatic increased addiction to the drug (Davis, 2011). Initially, southern legislators objected government regulation on cocaine due to its high demand and their suspicions over the power of the federal government (Davis, 2011). Southern legislators ultimately manipulated federal legislators through racist illusions to manage cocaine restrictions against Blacks only, although White individuals were the dominant proportion of addicts (Davis, 2011). Furthermore, advocates of the Harrison Act stated that â€Å"southern employers gave cocaine to black workers . . . and it caused the workers to be violent† (Davis, 2011, p. 380). Events like this guided the social processes of drugs and drug panics as society began developing racial stereotypes on cocaine because they identified Black individuals to be cocaine users and abusers (Faupel, Horowitz Weaver, 2010). The drug panic of the 1980s led to the mass and disproportionate incarceratio n of Blacks and minorities. During the second half of the 20th century, the Regan administration established a sequence of drug statutes they called the War onShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Failure of the War on Drugs1025 Words   |  5 Pagesthe trafficking and use of illicit drugs. This was the popular â€Å"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? In Illicit Drugs and Crime, Bruce L. Benson and DavidRead More War on Drugs is a Dismal Failure Essay2868 Words   |  12 Pagesthe House recently approved a bill that included $1.7 billion to combat the drug cartels of Columbia with additional military aid.   In doing so, they perpetuated what could be one of the United States most misguided policies of recent history. At least some Republicans can give themselves a pat on the back for attempting to remove the Columbian aid from the $13 billion foreign aid bill.   Unfortunately, todays drug war is largely a Reagan-era Republican creation, so intoxicating that even theRead MoreThe War On Drugs Has Been A Well Intentioned Failure Essay1689 Words   |  7 PagesThe war on drugs has been a well-intentioned failure. The world’s desire was to keep people away from dangerous substances and to eliminate the violent practices of the drug producers and distributors. Instead of the war on drugs achieving its objectives of eliminating violent crime and reducing a number of people were taking drugs, the war has mainly just resulted in a dramatic increase prison population with little effect on the supply side of this illegal industry. Statistics collected by theRead MoreEssay about Success and Failure in the US-Mexico War on Drugs2866 Words   |  12 Pages Illegal narcotic drugs represen t a $60 billion market in the U.S., and this year alone the State and Federal governments will each spend roughly $20 billion in attempting to stifle this market. The amount of money involved in the drug trade, substantially inflated due to prohibition, makes both systemic corruption and violence inevitable. The illegal drug trade is a sophisticated international network, and while no nation’s involvement is limited to one economic function, one relationshipRead MoreAmerica s War On Drugs1539 Words   |  7 Pages On June 17th, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse to be â€Å"America’s Public Enemy #1† in a press conference in which he called for an â€Å"all out offensive† against this enemy, an initiative that would later be known as America’s War on Drugs. By giving this speech, thus starting â€Å"The War on Drugs,† President Nixon created what would eventually become one of the most catastrophic failures in United State s political history. Analysis of the historical events surrounding Nixon’s declarationRead MoreThe Flawed Drug Policy of America1691 Words   |  7 PagesAmericas Flawed Drug Policy Introduction: As a major policy issue in the United States, the War on Drugs has been one of the most monumental failures on modern record. At a cost of billions of taxpayer dollars, thousands of lives lost and many thousands of others ruined by untreated addiction or incarceration, Americas policy orientation concerning drug laws is due for reconsideration. Indeed, the very philosophical orientation of the War on Drugs and of the current drug policy in the UnitedRead 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 standard theory. The â€Å"War on Drugs† is more of a failure that placesRead MoreThe War On Drugs And Drugs1486 Words   |  6 PagesThe War on Drugs Despite an estimated $1 trillion spent by the United States on the â€Å"War on Drugs†, statistics from the US Department of Justice (2010) has confirmed that the usage of drugs has not changed over the past 10 years. Approximately $350 billion is spent per year on the â€Å"war on drugs†, only $7 billion is spent on prevention programs by the federal government. The war on drugs is more heavily focused on how to control crime, instead of how to prevent it. Not only is the war on drugs costlyRead MoreThe War on Drugs Essay1507 Words   |  7 PagesDespite an estimated $1 trillion spent by the United States on the â€Å"War on Drugs†, statistics from the US Department of Justice (2010) has confirmed that the usage of drugs has not changed over the past 10 years. Approximately $350 billion is spent per year on the â€Å"war on drugs†, only $7 billion is spent on prevention programs by the federal government. The war on drugs is more heavily focused on how t o fight crime, instead of how to prevent it. Crime prevention methods may not be immediate, butRead MoreThe House I Live By Eugene Jarecki989 Words   |  4 Pagesa 1971 press conference, which the press immediately designates the â€Å"war on drugs†. The House I Live In is a superb film detailing Eugene Jarecki’s journey on an in-depth and all-encompassing view of the war on drugs, and the immense destruction left in its wake. It is necessary to gain a better understanding of how the war on drugs is significant to a 40-year class based destruction, failure of existing drug policies and drug elimination, and the ways fear plays a starring role in the genesis of