The War on Drugs has long had a huge impact on America’s economy. There are thousands of people each year being arrested and even locked up for many years due to drug offenses. In 2011, the Huffington Post reported that the U.S. median annual wage was $26,364. While that is not considered to be a large sum of money, just think about how all of the people in jail are unable to support their family and/or partners. Children should have the financial support of both parents because living below the poverty line is not considered to be an ideal situation. By throwing people in jail for petty offenses like possession of marijuana is not only harming said offender, but it is also putting a burden on his or her family that he or she was trying to support.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy “estimates resulting productivity losses of around $40 billion a year” just from people who are in jail on drug charges. It is not just the families of drug offenders being impacted by the War on Drugs, but America is falling behind in terms of economics productivity. While we should be competing with the likes of China, Brazil, Germany, and Russia in the economic sector, we are continually being put at a severe disadvantage by incarcerating our citizens for drug offenses. Jail should be designed for murderers, rapists, child molesters, and other serious offenders. The United States needs to wake up and allow for the release of people who are in jail for drug offenses. Jails are a big moneymaker, however, we as a nation are losing out on many of the services that drug offenders should be providing for if they were not locked up. We need to act fast before we fall behind even more.
The Failed War on Drugs 