Forty- two years ago, in 1970
President Richard Nixon created the Drug Enforcement Administration and
declared War on Drugs. He believed it was time to stop the flow of narcotics
into the Americas and ruining the streets of our nation.
Today, however, he would be
embarrassed to see the development of his proposal and to be associated as the
father of this war. Ever since Nixon’s proposal on drug policy, Americans have
seen an abysmal paradigm of government policy. There are several examples of
failed government proclamations; however the War on Drugs remains one of the
most notorious. After 40 years and over 40 million arrests, the United States has witnessed the failure
of this policy. Incarceration rates have rose astronomically and police
officers in high drug traffic areas are afraid to do their jobs because of how
powerful cartels are. This policy has achieved nothing in terms of eliminating
the ease of obtaining these drugs. Furthermore, when we look at the public’s
perspective of these drugs, one can conclude that the people know drugs are
here to stay. Trying to dismiss them for society is an obvious failure, so that
leaves us with one option. That is to make them part of our nations identity. Government
policy and federal charges are not doing the job, thus, leading to the
consensus of many Americans these days. It’s time to legalize drugs. Not only
am I referring to marijuana, but other narcotics such as cocaine,
methamphetamines and heroin should, too, be legalized. In the following
paragraphs, I plan to open one’s mind in attempt to show individuals and non
–believers that change is what we need. The United States has filled our
prisons, and young people’s lives are being tainted with charges. With this,
one will see how morality plays a part in the legality of drugs as well as the
simple fact that people do not want to use these stimulants. Too much money is
being wasted and it’s time for the people to do something about it.
The Great Incarcerator,
more widely known as the USA, currently has the largest inmate population in
the world. Although I’m being a tad facetious, this title is not one that we as
citizens should stand by. In the past 25 years, drug related arrests have
tripled to 1.8 million in 2005 and of that, 82% was due to
possession. In continuation, an alarming 42% was marijuana related. If we look
at the total population in America for inmates, there are roughly 2.2 million
people behind bars. If we step aside for a moment and compare the US to other
countries, for instance the European Union, we can truly see how overpopulated
our prisons are due to drug related instances. The European Union, which
consists of Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark and Estonia, has
100 million more citizens than the US. Contrary to what
one would think, they manage to arrest 100,000 people less per year. How is
this possible? Isn’t the US supposed to dominate every aspect of other
countries? The answer is simple. America’s drug policy doesn’t work; the use in
our nation has lead to a losing battle. Knowing this, I acknowledge that when
we compare other countries to the US we are making an assumption that these
countries have similar drug policies.
 Table
from Beckley Foundation |
Given that there is a disparity in the
population, the percent of comparison does not abide by the bias. Looking at a
country that has decriminalized marijuana, we see how this drug alone has
reduced the amount of people behind bars. Thus, leading to the conclusion that
marijuana has beneficial implications associated with the penal system. With
the overflow in prison population, US citizens are paying an overwhelming price
to keep these people in jail. It is costing taxpayers billions, and I repeat,
billions of dollars.
While Amsterdam
has decriminalized marijuana they still prohibit the transportation.
Nonetheless, the Netherlands is a fantastic example of how, at bare minimum,
legalizing marijuana can have a positive impact. The Dutch rate of
incarceration is 112 citizens per 100,000 capita. Of this, only 19% are drug
related. In comparison, the US has an astounding 756 citizens per 100,000
capita and an embarrassing 53% are due to drug related instances.
Paul Armentano states,
“According to the new BJS report, "Drug
Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004," 12.7 percent of
state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for drug
violations are serving time for marijuana offenses. Combining these percentages
with separate U.S. Department of Justice statistics on the total number of
state and federal drug prisoners suggests that there are now about 33,655 state
inmates and 10,785 federal inmates behind bars for marijuana offenses."
Armentano goes on saying that this estimates
to about 1 billion US taxpayer dollars, annual and not to mention, only for
marijuana offenses. In addition, this is only taking into account for state and
federal incarcerations. Another 8 billion US taxpayer dollars are spent in
criminal justice costs. With all this money being spent on a seemingly
worthless cause, Americans have a reason to be upset.
Image
from Leftwing Nutjob
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Morality
The Right to the Pursuit of Happiness means man’s right to live for himself, to choose what constitutes his own private, personal, individual happiness and to work for its achievement, so long as he respects the same right in others. It means that man cannot be forced to devote his life to the happiness of another man nor of any number of other men. It means that the collective cannot decide what is to be the purpose of a man’s existence or prescribe his choice of happiness.
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| Your Choice |
Society today
revolves around the inalienable rights of individuals and the ability for
people to choose what is best for them, regardless of the situation. Since the
Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, our nation has been granted
entire freedom for its citizens. We have the ability to own property and lead
the lives we have believed to be best for us. However, the government has
restricted this right when it comes to legalizing drugs. One would deem it immoral
to hinder the happiness that drug users associate with these prohibited
stimulants. In addition, not only are we given the right of happiness, but the
right to choose poorly comes intertwined with these rights. “If we want a free
society to function, we must permit people to make bad decisions and suffer the
consequences. People have the right to ruin their lives” (Miller 127). Rights can be inferred as moral concepts and
that they should not be interfered with by the government. Given the
circumstances legislation has set, essentially, we haven’t had the right to
live freely as stated by the Constitution. It truly boils down to the zealots
in legislation who have so much invested in the drug laws having too much
pride. The idea of legalizing would explicitly and directly illustrate the
errors connected with drug laws and the legislation behind it. No one wants to
admit they were wrong and to a certain extent, one has to realize that.
However, it has become a situation of immorality and an infringement on the
inalienable rights of our nation’s citizens.
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| Embrace |
The juxtaposition of the US’s
identity with drugs and its true identity must be altered and clarified in
order to create the legality of these substances. Miller states, “Drugs need
not be embraced…but drugs themselves must be accepted as part of the nation’s
identity-just as a criminal cousin or in-law” (139). He suggests that we must
face the evil associated with drugs and take away the temptation it
presents. By fully implementing these
drugs into society, and that means all methods such as transportation and use
etc. we will have dissected the immorality that government has attached to
drugs and in turn obtain free status to choose as we wish.
One of the main concerns
related with legalizing drugs is the fear of an increase in use of the
substances, where some people believe addicts will be everywhere. However, this is completely and utterly
false. The intense zealotry some people have surrounding this topic is a clear
sign of ignorance and citizens needs to me educated. Drug addiction in the
United States is around 4.6 million American and when compared to the entire US
population, that is roughly four percent. Four percent of Americans have made
the decision of that kind of lifestyle. Although I do not support that
lifestyle, I am in no position to tell another citizen how to live their
life.in addition, a study was conducted by the MTF or “Monitoring the Future” organization
where they studied the prevalence and use of illicit drugs in 8th,
10th and 12th graders. The goal of this study was to
determine the availability, popularity and overall usage of these harsher
drugs. The sample size was about 57,000 adolescences. Upon the completion of
the study, they had determined several key distinctions with usage. In the
category of cocaine, approximately 90% of 12th graders disapproved
of using once or twice. In 2011, less than 4 % of the entire sample population
had used cocaine.
The general trend of use in cocaine
has even reduced over the past 40 years. Although this study is specified to
only 57,000 students, trends tend to be consistent with the general population.
The results go on to prove that trends in use of heroin, crack,
methamphetamines, inhalants and prescription drugs have all reduced over the
years. Continuing with the idea, students have acknowledged that one
time use is dangerous and awareness will prevent the theory of an increase
in usage. Not only is there a study in high school students, but MTF has completed
a similar study for college students. Full time college students have
significantly lower trends in usage according to the graph below suggesting
that not everyone will jump to using when they become legal. One can conclude
that these studies show a positive outlook on people who know of the dangers of
these drugs and won’t make that choice to use.
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| Graph taken from Monitoring the Future |
It becomes clear, therefore, that the
United States needs to do something about this failed War on Drugs. The
government administration surely isn’t doing an effective job, so the people
need to raise their voices and change these laws on prohibition. Our prisons
are over filling and it is costing Americans their hard earned money.
Comparisons have revealed alarming results and we can’t shy away from these. The
inalienable rights of US citizens combined with the morality factor that people
have the right to choose poorly represent two perspectives the government has
ignored and set aside due to pride and that is no longer an excuse. The right
to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is blatantly expressed in our
constitution. Finally, the trends of use and addiction in America point to the
positive side, observing that only 4% of Americans abuse drugs and that general
trends have shown decrease in use of the harsher drugs. As for marijuana, one
knows its effects have minimal damage, thus, not discussed when we note
punitive drugs. By this, we can exact a conclusion that legalizing drugs, there
won’t be an increase in use amongst citizens of all ages. It is time to do
something about this issue. As stated before and throughout the argument, the
War on Drugs has failed and drugs are becoming easier to get. Save the American
people money and undeserved charges. Conform to the general consensus of the
public and do what is morally right. I believe Norman Zinberg says it best, “When change is
offered freely and rationally, it is not permissiveness or defeat of authority,
but the fulfillment of the highest function of that authority: the common
good.”
Notes
1.) Miller uses Norman Zinberg's quote as a cover page before his own argument.
Works Cited
"Legalizing Drugs." (Book, 2006) [WorldCat.org]. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.worldcat.org/title/legalizing-drugs/oclc/58843023?referer=list_view>.
Miller, Richard Lawrence. The Case for Legalizing Drugs. New York: Praeger, 1991.
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