War On Drugs Research Paper

Has the war on drugs been a success?

According to Iacocca the United States has spent 40 billion dollars on fighting drugs for the past 36 years. We as a nation have spent about one trillion dollars against drugs. What do we have to show for it? How can our nation spend forty billion dollars a year and not have any results? If we are going to spend forty billion dollars on something wouldn't you think that there would be a major crackdown on our nations problems? I would and I want something to be done about it. Every year we lock up two million people, mostly drug users. (pg 30) The forty million dollar budget only covers trying to stop the drugs but what about the people that they actually stop. Keeping two million people in jail per year
can't be cheap either.
Drugs in our nation have been a problem for a really long time.
It hasn't gone away and I don't think that it is getting any better. Drugs are an issue from Los Angeles all the way to my small town of Lake Odessa Michigan. In my town there is a huge problem with Vicodine being abused and sold. There are new drugs always popping up on the market or new medicines that are being abused. That is a really big problem that doesn't have an easy answer on how to resolve it. Many people in our nation for very legitimate reasons need prescription drugs but many people are using them improperly.
So that's where the leaders of our nation need to step up and do something about it. George Bush is more worried right now about what is going on across seas than what is happening in our own country. We are struggling with many problems in our own nation that aren't being addressed, oil alternatives, economy, job shortages, illegal immigration, drugs and many other pressing issues. "We have got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life support, and we've run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag in Iraq." (pg 10) So think about the things we could do to improve our own nation with half a trillon dollars. Don't get me wrong I know that we must stop the terrorists but are we going about it the right
way?
Why don't we try something different? "After thirty-six years, we have not reduced the quantity of drugs or the consumption of drugs one lousy percent." (pg 30) So since what we are doing now obviously isn't working, why don't we try and come up with new ways of stopping the drugs. Starting with new ways of trying to stop the drugs from being produced and brought into our country. I think that the consequences should be harsher for people doing drugs and or being caught with them. That would help turn people away from drugs if they knew that the consequences would be bad for getting caught. Most of the time drug users get off with just going to rehab or doing some community service or something. So new programs should be put in place to because AA and rehab programs like that don't work for most people they always go back. If they go back to the drugs then lock them up. Most of the drug users have issues of some sort and that is why they are taking the drugs. So why not make them go to some kind of therapy or counseling to get help with their issues.
Drugs in our nation is a pressing issue that needs to be resolved so why not get a leader in office that will do something about it. So in the upcoming election I want to know what the upcoming presidents have to say about controlling the drug problem because throwing away 40 billion dollars doesn't seem like a very efficient way to spend our money. We might as well put that towards education because they aren't getting anything done with what they are doing right now.