Forty- one 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, he would be
embarrassed that he was the man who declared 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 worst. After 40 years and over 40 million
arrests, one could make the assumption that this policy has failed.
Miserably. Incarceration rates have rose astronomically, police officers in
high traffic areas are afraid to do their jobs because of how powerful cartel
are now. In addition, this policy has
done nothing in terms of eliminating the ease of achieving these drugs.
Observing these overwhelming facts, we the people need to do something about
it. 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. In
addition, 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 with crushing statistics and
attempt to show individuals and non –believers that change is what we need. 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 little 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 and 42% was marijuana related. At this rate, the entire US will be
behind bars. The total population in America for inmates is roughly 2.2
million. If we step aside for a moment and compare the US to other countries,
for instance the European Union we can see how truly 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 entire US, yet they
manage to arrest 100,000 people less per year. How is this possible? Isn’t the
US the greatest country on earth? Aren’t we supposed to be the ones dominating
every aspect of other countries? Furthermore, when we compare other countries
to the US we are making an assumption that these countries have similar drug
policies.
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| Table from Beckley Foundation |
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.
Of this, only 19% are drug related. In comparison, the US has an
astounding 756 citizens per 100,000 and an embarrassing 53% 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. For one, it hasn’t worked for four decades
and for two, the only thing it’s truly affecting is the lives of people.
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| Image from Leftwing Nutjob |
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.
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.
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.
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| Monitoring the Future |
As clearly illustrated by the graph, 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.
 |
| Graph from Monitoring the Future |
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.
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. Norman Zinberg states, “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.”
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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