War on Drugs Research
Drug use and abuse is an expensive problem in the United States, both financially and socially. The War on Drugs has been an ongoing effort to combat drug abuse, drug use and crime associated with the drug trade. It's a war without a clear enemy. Anything waged against a shapeless, intangible noun can never truly be won — President Clinton's drug czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey said as much in 1996. (TIME 2009) Despite the trillions of dollars waged on the war on drugs and the countless arrest made related to drugs, it appears that we are fighting a losing battle. The drug battle is not a new concept it’s a battle that has been around since President Eisenhower coined the phrase “War on Drugs”. In 1954, President Eisenhower established the U.S. Interdepartmental Committee on Narcotics, made up of 5 committee members to battle drugs nationwide. Since his reign, many Presidents that followed took an oath to stop the drug trade and gain control of drug entry into the states. President Nixon established the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1973, which was initially created to eliminate drug smuggling in the US. Today, as the number one agency in drug combats their sole responsibility is to combat drug rings and domestic drug rings both at home and overseas along with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
With a long list of anti-drug agencies and programs, drugs continue to play a major role in our society. So much so that recent polls show that the consensus is we have officially lost the “War on Drugs”. On drug policy, 76% believe the US war on drugs is failing. That included the vast majority of Democrats (86%) and Independents (81%) and even a majority of Republicans (61%). The most current statistic shows that among President Barack Obama supporters, 89% agreed, and among John McCain supporters 61% agreed. While it is clear that a belief that the war on drugs is failing suggests support for drug reform -- (Zogby 2008) Legalization of drugs,
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With a long list of anti-drug agencies and programs, drugs continue to play a major role in our society. So much so that recent polls show that the consensus is we have officially lost the “War on Drugs”. On drug policy, 76% believe the US war on drugs is failing. That included the vast majority of Democrats (86%) and Independents (81%) and even a majority of Republicans (61%). The most current statistic shows that among President Barack Obama supporters, 89% agreed, and among John McCain supporters 61% agreed. While it is clear that a belief that the war on drugs is failing suggests support for drug reform -- (Zogby 2008) Legalization of drugs,
has
Bibliography: Transform Drug Policy Foundation. (2009, November 12). Retrieved August 12, 2010, from After the War on Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation: http://www.tdpf.org.uk/blueprint%20download.htm Transform Drug Policy Foundation. (2010, February 3). Retrieved August 13, 2010, from Regulations: Safe livings vs. Personal Freedom: http://transform-drugs.blogspot.com/2010/02/regulation-saves-lives.html Nadelman, E. (1995, Spring). Rethinking the War on Drugs: New Approaches to Local Policy. NASRO Brief, 1(1). Powell, K. (2005, November 18). Retrieved August 12, 2010 Smith, P. (2008, October 3). Stop the Drug War. Drug War Chronicle(554). TIME. (2009, March 25). (C. Suddath, Ed.) Retrieved August 13, 2010, from http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1887488,00.html#ixzz0wW3XIK4L New York Times (2010, August 9). Mexico President Seeks Crime Answers. Associated Press.