The War On Drugs

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, although officially around for only the last thirty years, the war on drugs has been waged for the last century through various laws to decrease the use and circulation of drugs in the United States. The author points out that these prohibition laws have been aimed at everything from alcohol to marijuana; however, such laws continue to fail to change the flow of drugs into and throughout the country. The paper suggest that, as the costs of funding the war on drugs rises, there is a need for a different approach such as the legalization of the targeted drugs, similar to the repeal of the Twenty-First Amendment, which again legalized alcohol in the United States. The paper includes several quotations.

From the Paper:

"The current laws essentially have no affect on a person's experimentation with drugs. Despite school anti-drug programs and campaigns, "about half of the students in the United States in 1995 tried an illegal drug before they graduated from high school" (Boaz). One would think that the present punishments for drug use or distribution would hinder teenage experimentation with these drugs. But the statistics show that this has little to no effect. Ironically, the things that are illegal seem to be the easiest to come by these days."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Arguments for and against drug prohibition." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 7 Dec 2006, 12:40 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 8 Dec 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arguments_for_and_against_drug_prohibition&oldid=92685580>.
• Boaz, David. "Drug Legalization, Criminalization, and Harm Reduction (Excerpts)." 2006. Cato Institute. 29 Nov 2006 <http://cato.org/dailys/06-16-99.html>
• Greer, Mark. "Drug War Clock." 2006. Drug Sense. 29 Nov 2006 <http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm>
• Johnson, Gary E. "Stop Arresting People for Bad Choices." 2006. Cato Institue. 29 Nov 2006 <http://www.cato.org/pubs/policy_report/v21n6/johnsonspeech.html>
• Ostrowski, James. "Thinking About Drug Legalization." 2006. Cato Institue. 29 Nov 2006 <http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa121.html>

More papers on The War On Drugs:

• Essay # 72050 : "Pablo Escobar and the War on Drugs"
• Research Paper # 3000 : "The War on Drugs: Fighting a Losing Battle"
• Essay # 5276 : "The War On Drugs"
• Comparison Essay # 6627 : "The War on Terrorism and the War on Drugs"

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