Prohibition In The 1920s

The alcohol prohibition in 1920 was a government effort to stop the manufacturing, distribution, and consumption of alcohol. To say the least, the prohibition only made matters worse causing the consumption of alcohol to increase significantly. The addictive properties of alcohol forced citizens into find alternate and dangerous routes to getting their fix. After the defeat of prohibition, one would believe the government would learn from their mistakes. However, the 1950’s proved differently when the president of the United States, Richard Nixon, declared the unprecedented campaign, the war on drugs. Although this ongoing campaign is meant to clean up illegal drug use, it goes on to cause political destabilization, corruption, mass incarceration,
The issue arose when the supply of drugs was decreased significantly by the government, without taking into account the demand. While supply decreased and demand stayed constant, it caused prices to spike. The government did this through mass incarceration of drug dealers rather than users and regulating the sales of chemicals to make drugs. This caused millions of small scaled drug dealers to use different chemicals, ultimately making far more potent drugs. Furthermore, drugs will continue to be used regardless of the cost so distributors had an incentive to raise prices while increasing production. Manufactures will always find a way to distribute their merchandise regardless of law enforcement intervention, and this exactly is what makes the supply of drugs around the country constant. At the point the United States of America managed to regulate enough chemicals to finally get the production of drugs under control, a third party was introduced. Mexico had better quality of drugs and experience with smuggling, so once again, the supply of drugs is the United States stayed the same as it was illegally brought into the country and distributed. In the end, this caused far more potent drugs and no decrease in
This mindset is increasing poverty rates, suicide and crime. The laws the government has placed around drug users has caused people with issues that could have been solved, to slip into a downward spiral in which they are abandoned and only getting worse. This is counterintuitive, and begins with the loss of family, friends and one’s job and likely ends with homelessness, disease and death. With thousands of people stuck in this predicament, the government is not providing help to those who need it, but rather scaring them away with the strict laws and punishments surrounding drugs. The issue could be resolved if the same steps were taken in the United States as were taken in Switzerland. Switzerland was able to drastically reduce the number of drug addicts and diseases caused by drugs, such as AIDS, by providing facilities for users to be rehabilitated instead of