Richard Nixon, the 37th U.S president, declared a “war on drugs” in June of 1971. This costly decision made certain drugs public enemy number one against the United States. This war on drugs has without a doubt been a huge failure, and one which has caused much more harm than good.
Impact
It has increased incarceration rates exponentially for non-violent offenders since it’s introduction, taking millions of human beings from their families. Robbing them for the precious years of their lives, locking them away in a cage along with rapists and killers, and treating them like animals all the while. Today, thanks largely in part to the war on drugs, the united states houses more inmates than all other developed countries combined. Both by per capita, (size of population vs. amount of that population in prison) as well as in straight up numbers, we have the most in the entire world.
The war disproportionately effects lower income and minority communities. That means blacks, latinos, and poor whites as well. Even after these individuals are locked up, there is no real intended effort on the actual rehabilitation of these people. The rate of recidivism for drug traffickers was over 30% in 2017.
As was seen with the 13-year prohibition of alcohol in 1920, the policies that were meant to prohibit illicit drugs since 1971 have presented a paradox. These policies are defended by those responsible for creating them by claiming they are a necessity for maintaining the health and safety of the public. Although this sounds good to the ear, there is clear evidence that suggests these same policies have both directly and indirectly contributed to lethal violence, transmission of communicable diseases, discrimination, forced displacement, unnecessary physical pain, and the undermining of people’s right to health among other issues.
This war on drugs has failed to put an end to the occurances it is meant to prevent. Things such as overdosing, people resorting to desperate crime for drug money, rabid violence related to trafficking of drugs, and millions of people taking drugs everyday are still issues that go on today.
We have failed to disencentivize drug use, failed to reduce the demand of drugs, failed to keep drugs away from teenagers, failed to be a justifiable cause according to the constitution, and we have failed to be cost effective in our anti drug programs. We have managed, however, to further corrupt our law enforcement, giving them the ability to frame, bribe, and be bribed easily themselves. The halting of research on these “illicit substances” hinder the option for it’s medicinal application to people who could benefit from them tremendously.
Medical Possibilities
Today there is an emerging popularity and administration of psychedelic assisted psychotherapy aimed at utilizing psychedelics to people with mental illness. Illnesses in question being depression, addiction, and past trauma to name a few. As research has developed, it seems promising that there is real long term benefit for patients who are allowed to legally access these substances in a safe and controlled therapeutic environment.
Contradictions
Programs could be created to truly educate people on what drugs are, what they do, and how they can be used responsibly amongst willing individuals. Instead we have largely spread nonsense propaganda in the past, saying things like weed will kill you after two puffs. Meanwhile, we have respected professionals such as David Nutt, the US government’s former chief drug advisor, getting fired for publishing findings that suggest alcohol is more dangerous than LSD and Ecstasy.
No one tells you (anymore) that you can’t drink 15 shots of liquor and go dancing because it’s harmful to your body, even though it most certainly is. No one tells you it’s illegal to buy a pack of cigarettes each day, and smoke yourself into a state of lung cancer. No one demands you not eat cake, pizza, and drink soda because it’s unhealthy, even though it is. No one tells you you can’t have sex before marriage, and watch porn since those things are considered immoral and addictive, even though that is the common belief.
Today, marijuana is still labeled as schedule 1 substance at the time of this writing. This means it is federally considered as being of high abuse potential with no recognizable medicinal value. At the same time, it has been legalized in over 18 states for recreational use. Tobacco and Alcohol, are both drugs that kill tens of thousands of people every year, and yet neither has been scheduled at all.
Conclusion
I believe, from a standpoint of individual freedom, that all drugs should be legal. However, I also believe that there must be a change in narrative towards drug use, and drug addiction. Addicts must be treated as victims, not criminals. Such people are in need of, and deserving of professional help to recover themselves.
There are other countries who have decriminalized most and even all drugs, choosing to focus on reform. Countries such as Australia, the Netherlands, and even Mexico, to name a few, have all adopted their own models of drug decriminalization. These efforts have born very surprisingly favorable results such as decrease in use, and lower cases of HIV and AIDS. Why not follow their example?
People who are addicted are victims in need of help, not a criminal record that ultimately makes life even harder for them. Such circumstances may even draw these people back towards drug use in an effort to cope. It should not be up to the government to tell someone else what they can and cannot put into their own bodies when that individual is making the conscious decision to do so. It is a personal choice, not a political one.
One must assume this war is not about keeping the people safe. If it was, then we are surely ignorant as to what the enemy is, and how to fight it. I could argue for hours about why this war on drugs has no place in the so called “land of the free”. I am pleased to do so because it is important to have the discussion. It is forever important to ask ourselves, why we do the things we do? Why do we put up with the things we put up with? To quote social theorist, Thomas Sowell, “Freedom ultimately means the right of other people to do things that you do not approve of.”
As long as your actions do not negatively affect another directly or intentionally, no one has a “right” to stop you, fine you, and lock you away. That is how I feel.
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