Domestic War On Drugs

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The War on Drugs
The domestic war on drugs began in the year 1971, during the Nixon presidency. Due to this legislation, the prosecution of drug charges was pushed to the forefront of law enforcement. Since this declaration, the question has arisen as to whether or not this program has been effective, if it should be terminated, and the possible solutions to the strain on the country it brought.
The controversy surrounding the usefulness and necessity of law enforcement in drug crimes is a main point of dissent. In fact, the United States currently has the highest incarceration rate in the world, largely due to the 1.5 million arrests for nonviolent drug charges each year (Drug War Statistics). One major point of opposition is the decriminalization
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The Drug Policy Alliance estimates that if illegal drugs were taxed at the same rates as tobacco and alcohol, the country would retain $46.7 billion in tax revenue (Drug War Statistics). Former chief of police, Joseph McNamara, claimed, “About $500 worth of heroin or cocaine in a source country will bring in as much as $100,000 on the streets of an American city.” This stands to reason that the legalization would have profound economic impact on the American people. In addition, “Drug legalization would reduce drug expenditure by about $41.3 billion annually.” (Miron, …show more content…
The basis of this argument resides in the basis that the revenues would be enormous and that the laws limiting drug use are already constitutionally dubious (Miron). Also, the Drug Policy Alliance has a fancy ass website and a bunch of fancy facts that show how our government would prosper if we were to legalize drugs. Legalization would also help to give offenders a chance to live their lives free of a possession record. Over 200,000 students have lost either their financial aid eligibility or their scholarships (Drug War Statistics). Further justification includes proposing syringe access programs. This would promote clean needles and syringes as well as teaching about use. Studies have shown that these programs would reduce incidences of HIV/AIDS in drug users by about 80% (Drug Policy