Billions of Dollars Lost

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.

Young Adults’ Perspective

This is a news segment provided by BBC in their “Free Speech on” series. This clips discusses British young adults’ point of view when it comes to this war on drugs, and how the government should deal with it.This somewhat coincides with another video clip found on BBC expressing America’s perception of the War on Drugs. There seems to be some points that match, but others that have their own version of a solution.

The Consequences of the War on Drugs

The song featured in this video is a satire about winning the War on Drugs. From watching the video, you can see many facts on the bottom of the screen about the consequences of the War on Drugs. Specifically stated are the differences in arrests between white people and African-Americans and Latinos. It is a racist system that the government has set up, and the for-profit jails were created to not only make money, but to set people up for failure.

The War on Drug’s Stigma

This photo depicts Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) views on drugs and the War on Drugs. Most people can agree that taking drugs like cocaine or heroin is a bad idea, but the important thing to keep in mind is that society places a stigma on people who abuse drugs. Drug addicts need to get the help they deserve, and this is not happening since the United States is convicting so many petty drug offenders.

An Economist’s Thoughts

In this video clip, famed economist Milton Friedman explains the reasons why drugs should be made legal. One compelling argument from this clip is that crack cocaine was created due to the high cost of cocaine. By making drugs illegal, this allows for people to create new drugs, some such as crack cocaine, that are highly addicting and dangerous. The War on Drugs has a profound effect on society. Legalizing drugs would reduce the number of prisoners, the amount of homicides, among other things, according to Milton Friedman. Friedman continues arguing that the government shouldn’t impose a ban on drugs, as it is immoral for them to do so. If someone wants to do drugs, it is not directly harming other people, just the individuals using them.

Reform Now

Global News Post published an article on the good of the War on Drugs. The authors of this post argue that prohibition of certain drugs such as marijuana or alcohol for example, create a bigger problem. Jeffrey Miron, a Harvard lecturer writes, “Prohibition creates violence because it drives the drug market underground. This means buyers and sellers cannot resolve their disputes with lawsuits, arbitration or advertising, so they resort to violence instead.” He then proceeds to add, “Violence results from policies that create black markets, not from the characteristics of the good or activity in question.”

They unfairly use the U.S. national debt cost and prison rates in their favor to essentially explain the benefits for this war on drugs. The authors write of how prohibition would cost taxpayers dearly due to prison expenses, all the while education falls. Bringing up monetary values such as the amount of money taxpayers would save if the U.S. taxed them like tobacco or alcohol products is just a feeble attempt to persuade a reader using pathos. There is no true logical argument in this entire argument. Another appeal to pathos is how the article states that the U.S. has forcefully made countries like Egypt and Cambodia, who have long had traditions of smoking marijuana for example, ban that drug. This is supposed to make a reader feel bad for these other countries and want the U.S to change. However, in my opinion, these are all emotional appeals that garner a quick reaction without truly looking at the facts.

Another source I came across that was similar to this Global Post article was on Taki’s Magazine. Some of the arguments for not banning drugs is the nature of the criminals that engage in illegal drug activity. The magazine states, “Their [drug dealers] violation of the drug laws is not so much an expression of their natural rights as it is the manifestation of their naturally anti-social characteristics.” Other arguments include that before the drug war began, there were less SWAT and police shootings. They also argue that the reason for all the steam this war on drugs receive is because it is much harder to It’s much harder to prove burglary, rape, and murder than it is to prove a drug offense. This kind of thinking makes an argument not credible. One cannot deem which crimes are more difficult to process and use that as a reason for disbanding such a heavy topic.

 

Throughout all of this however, I was able to come across arguments that greatly refuted majority of the claims made by these pervious sources. This came from one of my favorite sources in Counter Punch. They laid out numerous benefits to the war on drugs included but not limited to the following: “Via programs like DARE, it has turned kids into drug informants who monitor their parents for the authorities” and “It has enabled local police forces to undergo military training, create paramilitary SWAT teams that operate just like the U.S. military in an occupied enemy country, get billions of dollars’ worth of surplus military weaponry.”

Overall, these arguments, though rich in text, the content seems to draw solely on the emotional effects it has on readers. These appeals are aimlessly attempting to drive a wedge between what we as a country need and what we have, falsifying information that makes at look at the wrong picture.

Drug Cartel Violence (WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW)

Fans of the TV crime drama Breaking Bad will recognize the violent images and deaths below. For those living under a rock, Breaking Bad centers on the story of a former high school chemistry teacher, Walter White, who changes his life drastically after discovering he has cancer. He starts to cook the schedule II controlled substance, methamphetamine and becomes involved in a drug cartel that results in many violent and disturbing deaths, like the ones below.

Although Breaking Bad is a fictional story, the violence associated with drug cartels is, unfortunately, very real. According to Bas Van der Bossen of the Bleeding Heart Liberatarians, Drug cartels tend to “to decapitate their rivals, mutilate their corpses and dump them in public places to instill fear into the general public, local law enforcement, and their rivals.” Warning: The images below are actual, very graphic representations of the violence resulting from the War on Drugs

Ending the War on Drugs would mean ending the bloodshed as a result of drug cartels. According to the FBI, there were roughly 400 to 600 drug-related murders annually between 2007 and 2011, which doesn’t even include gang violence. It is has been proven over and over again that prohibition increases violence. Yale Law professor Dan Kahan explains, “Illegal markets breed competition-driven violence among suppliers by offering the prospect of monopoly profits and by denying them lawful means for enforcing commercial obligations.” From human trafficking to death of innocent children, the brutality resulting from illegal drug trade is truly sickening.

There will always be drugs among us and there will always be people who use them, but banning them is not the solution. It is not the government’s responsibility to play the role of strict father to its citizens. By restricting the freedom to do drugs as we please, the government is making the situation worse by causing psychological reactance, a proven theory by Jack Brehm (1966). Taking away our freedoms results in defiance, which is evident through the increased violence that has resulted from the ban and the ironic increased drug usage. The only way to put an end to this corruption of the drug cartels is by getting rid of them and the only way to get rid of them is by ending the War on Drugs and legalizing all drugs.

Drug Bless America

 

Created by Rehabs.com, this infographic explains in great detail the statistics associated with the War on Drugs. The fact that the United States has spent one trillion dollars since 1971 on the War on Drugs is mind-boggling. Just think what else the government could have put that money to use on. The amount of people incarcerated on drug charges is simply staggering as well. We as a nation can take the majority of the blame for this widespread epidemic, and now is the time to put an end to the War on Drugs.

Aspirin More Dangerous Than Cocaine

This photo shows the actuality of a harsh drug such as cocaine. There are many myths apparent in the War on Drugs. The statistic shown in this photo lets us know that Aspirin is deadlier than cocaine. We are not trying to dismiss the harms that illegal drugs can cause, however, over the counter drugs and prescription drugs can be dangerous as well. So tell us again, if Aspirin has a higher fatality rate than cocaine, why is Aspirin legal while cocaine is not?

Drug Mules

Drug mules, people who smuggle drugs across borders, come in all ages, genders, ethnicities, etc. In this video from the show “Locked Up Abroad,” we see a young adult male who finds a kilogram of hashish for the low cost of $250 while traveling abroad. He decides that the price is too good to pass on, so he purchases the product. Soon thereafter, he figures that the only way to smuggle a kilogram of hashish is to wrap small pellets into saran wrap and swallow each piece individually. This video is about a man looking for a profit and to have some enjoyment from the hashish, however, many times children are forced to become mules. The War on Drugs should protect everyone, especially young children. Many people are vulnerable to falling into this dangerous endeavor, and it has to stop before more people die.