War_on_Drugs

Samantha Byrd Keri Withington Engl-1010-WO3 October 23, 2012 . The War on Drugs The war on drugs policy was declared in 1971 by President Richard Nixon (msnbc.com). Source' Where did you get this information from' A policy that his administration implemented as part of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, which was a continuation of drug prohibition policies in the U.S. Pay attention to subject-verb agreement. Nixon noticed that hippies were dropping acid and smoking pot or marijuana and the servicemen were returning home from Vietnam addicted to heroin. With ten to fifteen percent of the servicemen addicted to heroin, that’s where the Nixon administration coined the term War on drugs (msnbc.com) Nixon stated the way to win against drugs was to fight drugs like soldiers would fight a war. If this is a direct quote, it needs to be in quotation marks. If it’s not a direct quote, you can’t use the word “you” as it should be in third person. Many may think that the war on drugs is with other countries and the illegal drug trade, but in reality it is in everyone’s own back yard. Again, in a third person paper, you can’t say “our.” Drug use or drug addiction is very much out of control. It affects so many people, if someone is not a drug user or addict, then they know someone who is or has struggled with addiction. Addiction is in so many communities, schools, churches, and even their homes. So it is so easy to see that the war on drugs has failed. With facts being that three out of four American voters say the “war on Drugs” is a failure (Zogby International, 2008). With all the money the government has spent to prevent drug use, some will question has it been worth it' That’s not mentioning all the taxpayer’s money that has been spent to house prisoners who are serving sentences for nonviolent offenses. This sentence doesn’t actually make sense. With all the people on probation and parole, treatment centers are now being offered as an alternate to a prison sentence. With drug use being treated as a health issue many addicts are more likely to get treatment for their disease of addiction. Treatment can range from an intensive outpatient program, a twenty eight day inpatient or even a six month to a yearlong inpatient program. There is also, a drug court program, where recovering addicts are monitored by the court system which is pretty much an alternate to going to jail. Please pay attention to comma usage. What is your thesis statement' From this, I have a clear idea that your topic is about the war on drugs, but I’m not entirely sure what to expect from the rest of the paper. Also, where are your sources' All of the information you use should be cited! Nixon’s initial drug fighting budget weighed in at just 100 million, in 1972. That may seem like a lot of money but when compared to what has been spent in the past few years, 100 million is like pocket change (msnbc.com). If you don’t acknowledge your sources (tell us where this information came from), it is plagiarism. Right now you are stealing these facts and ideas. You must include all sources of information or ideas on the works cited page, and you must cite them within the paper. At the end of the sentence, you should put in parentheses where the information came from. In 2011, the Obama Administration approved the projected budget for the war on drugs to be a whopping $15.6 billion. Out of the $ 15.6 billion dollar budget that President Obama asked for, only about 5.6 billion would be spent on prevention and treatment. That is leaving about two thirds of it for law enforcement. All in all, over the past 40 years the United States has spent almost a trillion dollars in the war on drugs. So how was this much money used to do so little to stop drug abuse' Well, $20 billion went to fight the drug gangs in their home countries, which is where the U.S. goes into another country to fight help stop the illegal drug trade with the U.S. $33 billion went to marketing “Just Say No” styles and other messages used for prevention programs; this is to pay for billboards, to educate the younger generation at schools, etc. $49 billion for law enforcement along America’s borders to cut off the flow of illegal drugs, this is to pay for better equipment, better protection gear, weapons and so on. $121 billion to arrest more than 37 million nonviolent drug offenders, which include the officer’s salary and the extra, pay for overtime to set up the operation to go in and make the arrest. Then another $450 billion just to house those people in federal prisons, which is really tax payer’s money. At the same time, drug abuse cost the country in other ways. The Justice Department estimates that the consequences of drug abuse as an overburdened justice system, a strained health care system, lost productivity, and environmental destruction (drug policy.org/drug war statistics). Retired Deputy Sheriff, Mackenzie Allen said “the so called war on drugs has been waged for 40 years at the cost of a trillion dollars and thousands of lives, with nothing to show for it but, increased supplies of cheaper drugs and a dramatic increase in violence associated with the underworld drug trade. (CSB News, 2012) So over the past 40 years and all this money spent it is very apparent that the war on drugs policy has failed. In the U.S. there is over 1.7 million human beings behind bars. Well over sixty percent being federal prisoners, and a significant fraction of state and local prisoners are non-violent drug offenders, mostly first time offenders (U.S. Department of Justice, 1997) This is largely due to misguided drug laws and mandatory sentencing requirements that were set into place in 1970. Over 1.6 million people are arrested, prosecuted, and incarcerated, placed under criminal justice supervision and/or deported each year for a drug law violation (Time.com, 2012). Many of these arrests were for simple possession and nearly half were for possession of often tiny amounts of marijuana. With most of these low nonviolent marijuana possession convections many people think that the drug should be legal. Thirteen states have already legalized marijuana and the state has really shown an increase in taxes. Many states spend in excess of 50,000 a year to incarcerate each prisoner in a state prison or facility (U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Prisons. Feb, 2011). It also cost on average $25,251 to incarcerate a federal prisoner for one year (U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Prisons. Feb, 2011). Recently, a methamphetamine dealer/cook was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison, so that would be $1,136,295 just to house this one person (Scott Co. News 2012). The consequences of any drug conviction are life long and severe and are not experienced equally, despite comparable drug use and selling rates across racial groups. African Americans and Latinos are disproportionately punished for drug law violations. Drug violations are an easy way for police officers to meet the high arrest quotas, which is resulting is thousands of wrongful arrests that overwhelmingly victimize communities of color (drugpolicy.org/facts). In 2009 there were 582,759 adults on probation and 261,666 on parole for drug law violations (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statics, Dec. 2010). Many states have expanded the probation and parole programs so that the offender will be able to receive some kind of treatment which can include inpatient, outpatient, counseling, or a drug court. A violation for probation would be testing positive for drug use which would send them back to prison or jail. An inpatient treatment can be a twenty eight day program, or a halfway house that can be last 6 months to a year. Outpatient treatment is where an addict will go to a hospital or mental clinic 2 to 4 times a week to have group sessions and one on one session. The drug court programs are new to a lot of state and seem to have a very positive outcome. The offender is monitored closely by the Judge and his staff through drug screening, group sessions, going to AA and NA meetings and so one. A violation for probation would be testing positive for drug use which would send them back to prison or jail. Drug courts have been established in so many states and counties. Court personnel have discretion to order drug treatment and community based programs where offenders must receive counseling and drug education. Drug courts have had a very good outcome for people who are willing and ready to accept the help that is being offered to them. Drug court participants can avoid a criminal record and all the disabling collateral consequences associated with a criminal record. Incarcerating people for nonviolent drug offenses just destroy lives, because with a criminal conviction, it isn’t easy to get a job, and you’re not eligible for student loans, which doesn’t leave a lot of legal options for a productive life. Punishment for a drug law violation is also perpetuated by policies denying child custody, voting rights, employment, business loans, trade licensing, student aid, and even public housing, and other public assistance (drugpolicy.org/mass-criminalization). Drug use is not a violent crime and the consequences are much too harsh. Some have received a sentence longer than a murderer would. Someone really needs to look over this war on drugs plan that is in place and see that most drugs users need help, they do not need to be locked away for years with no treatment or education on how to get and stay clean and sober. President Obama has stated before that drug use and addiction is more of a public health issue than a criminal issue (msnbc.com). The Drug Policy Alliance is focused on reducing the number of people who are in the criminal justice system for a drug law violation, while promoting policies that will improve individual and public health (drugpolicy.org/drugpolicyalliance). According to the federal government 23.5 million Americans are in need of substance abuse treatment, but only one in ten receive it (U.S. Department of Health). Every day, more than 50 people die of unintentional drug overdoses in the U.S that is an extremely large number (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2007). The government should be paying attention to this tragic problem that is going on right next door. “Our Nation’s drug problem should be treated as a public health issue not just a criminal issue. Too many laws and regulations that were established for the person of punishing or deterring drug use makes no distinction between the person who continues to use and the person who is on the pathway to recovery. As we work to expand treatment centers, we must also remember the millions of Americans who are already in recovery and deserve our support in removing unnecessary obstacles that are placed in the way of receiving housing, gaining employment, obtaining drivers licenses, or even getting a student loan” (Gil Kerlikowske, ONDCP). Over 650,000 inmates being released back into the community each year and have not received any of the much needed treatment services for their addiction (drugpolicy.org/facts). With their addiction left untreated, drug abusing offenders can relapse to drug use and return to criminal behavior. This jeopardizes public health and public safety, which leads to being re-arrested and re-incarcerated, and further taxes an already overburdened criminal justice system. Would it not be cheaper to offer treatment before locking people with a disease of addiction away' Maybe one day someone will notice the epidemic that is going on and something different will be done. So in conclusion, to the war on drugs there has been little or no effect. Three out of four voters say that the war on drugs is a failure. The war on drugs has cost almost a trillion dollars for nothing but overcrowded prisons and overburdened Justice Department. Prison and jails are not the answer to a continuous end to the war on drugs. Treatment is clearly the correct solution for a long a term recovery. Nixon might have had good intentions but, it has turned out that the war on drugs has hurt the U.S. and its people more than it has helped. There are too many tax dollars being spent and too many lives taken due to the disease of addiction. With the way the disease of addiction has taken over it is very clear that the United States needs a new and improved plan. President Obama has said that it is a public health issue, but there hasn’t been anything done about it. It’s like when it comes to addiction it is on the back burner compared to other issues, while addiction is just as rampited as any other issue. A war on drugs whose objectives is to eradicate the drug market, to stop drugs from arriving in the United States and stop Americans from swallowing, smoking, inhaling, and injecting them, is a war that cannot be won. Sources 1. U.S. Department Of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (September 2010). Results from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health P. 84 2. Mackenzie Allen, CBS News, 2012 3. Kerlikowske, Gil, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Speaks at the Betty Ford Treatment Center, Monday June 11, 2012. 4. Zogby International. (October 2008). Zogby/Inter-American Dialogue Survey: Public Views clash with U.S. Policy on Cuba, Immigration, and Drugs. www. Zogby.com 5.U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Prisons. ( February 2011). Annual Determination of Average Cost of Incarceration. www. Federalregister.com 6. U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics. (December 2010). Prisoners in 2009. P.30, Table 16c; p. 33, Table 18. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/p09.pdf 7. U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics. (June 2010). Jail Inmates at Midyear 2009. P.4, Table 1. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/jim09st.pdf 8. U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics. (December 2010). “Probation and Parole in the United States 2009”. P. 31, Table 10; p. 41, Table 20. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/ppus09.pdf 9. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (March 2007). “A Minute of Healing With The CDC: Drug Overdoes Deaths” http://www.2a.cdc.gov/podcast/media/pdf/mmwr1_030907_transcript.pdf 10. Mendoza, Martha “America’s War on Drugs Drives High Incarceration Rates.” NBCNEWS.com, Associated Press, Web. (May 2010) 11. Zakaria, Fareed “ Inarceration Nation.” TIMEMAGINIZE.com, Time Inc. Web. (April 2010). 12. Drug Policy Alliance. www.drugpolicy.org/mass-criminalization, www.drugpolicy.org/drug-war-statistics, www.drugpolicy.org/drug-law-convictions-and-punishments Please review the course information on MLA format.