Exploratory Paper
How Well Has The ‘War On Drugs’ Worked?
Christopher Warminski
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Abstract
This is an exploratory research paper looking to see if the war on drugs has worked. It will cover the topics of the cost of the war on drugs, people incarcerated because of drugs, how much of an illegal substance is seized at the borders, and hard core drugs. Has the war on drugs worked? I personally think that it is a lost cause and that it is costing more than it is gaining.
HOW WELL HAS THE ‘WAR ON DRUGS’ WORKED?
In our world today you always hear about this so called ‘War on Drugs’. Living in Southern California, close to the Mexican Border I hear about this all the time. With always hearing about this so called war and seeing shows about cartels and drug smuggling, it began to spark my curiosity. What exactly is this so called ‘War on Drugs,’ are we winning, and what exactly is this all about? I began researching my topic and looking up information to see if the war on drugs is working. The first bit of information that I ran into is all of the costs of this so called war. The war on drugs costs us taxpayers more than I ever imagined. I stumbled upon a book that was about the impact that the budget would have if we ended this war on drugs. This ultimately sparked my interest and in this book Miron and Waldock (2010) stated that “The federal government spends about $500 per second on the war on drug effort”. I did the math, and that is 1,800,000 dollars an hour and 43,200,000 dollars a day. This numbers absolutely made my jaw drop! Now that I know what the cost of this war on drugs is, I need to find out how this is affecting our law system and if we are getting these drug pushers and users off of the streets. Now I want to see if all of this money is putting drug offenders behind bars. I came across a website that numbers for people that are incarcerated. This web page had nothing but
Christopher Warminski
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Abstract
This is an exploratory research paper looking to see if the war on drugs has worked. It will cover the topics of the cost of the war on drugs, people incarcerated because of drugs, how much of an illegal substance is seized at the borders, and hard core drugs. Has the war on drugs worked? I personally think that it is a lost cause and that it is costing more than it is gaining.
HOW WELL HAS THE ‘WAR ON DRUGS’ WORKED?
In our world today you always hear about this so called ‘War on Drugs’. Living in Southern California, close to the Mexican Border I hear about this all the time. With always hearing about this so called war and seeing shows about cartels and drug smuggling, it began to spark my curiosity. What exactly is this so called ‘War on Drugs,’ are we winning, and what exactly is this all about? I began researching my topic and looking up information to see if the war on drugs is working. The first bit of information that I ran into is all of the costs of this so called war. The war on drugs costs us taxpayers more than I ever imagined. I stumbled upon a book that was about the impact that the budget would have if we ended this war on drugs. This ultimately sparked my interest and in this book Miron and Waldock (2010) stated that “The federal government spends about $500 per second on the war on drug effort”. I did the math, and that is 1,800,000 dollars an hour and 43,200,000 dollars a day. This numbers absolutely made my jaw drop! Now that I know what the cost of this war on drugs is, I need to find out how this is affecting our law system and if we are getting these drug pushers and users off of the streets. Now I want to see if all of this money is putting drug offenders behind bars. I came across a website that numbers for people that are incarcerated. This web page had nothing but
References: Gettman J. (2007). Lost taxes and other costs. Retrieved from www.drugscience.org/archive/bcr4/5Supply.html Martin Bright Home, A. E. (2005, July 3). Secret report says war on drugs has failed. The Observer. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/250306073?accountid=27203 Miron, J. A., & Waldock, K. (2010). The budgetary impact of ending drug prohibition. Washington DC, USA: Cato Institute. Prisons & Drug Offenders | Drug War Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Prisons_and_Drugs#sthash.T0i4eIA5.dpbs Sledge, M. (2013, April 8). Is the war on drugs nearing an end?. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/drug-war_n_3030040.html