How America Lost the War on Drugs

How America Lost the War on Drugs

Introduction

America's war on drugs was declared in 1971 by President Richard Nixon. There was an expectation that the cases of drug trafficking in the US could be reduced significantly by family proper federal policies; however, the war still exists today which shows that it has been ineffective. The cost of this war has also been quite large in terms of money as well as lives lost since people are still dying while fighting against drug mafias. The less educated and poor are the ones most affected. However, the gains from the war are also modest as it has got rid of several notable drug traffickers (Office of Applied studies, 2009).

The war on drugs has been going on since over 40 years, but there is not much visible evidence that it is being successfully fought. Although the war has been fought on various fronts, it has not done much to resolve some of the main issues. With the drug market still booming, the war on drugs can be considered a failure for the country as it has so far lost billions of dollars (RAND, 2005).

Discussion

Consumption of Drugs

The consumption of drugs is more of an issue related to addiction rather than economics. For this reason, it has to be fought differently compared to the way it is being fought. However, the government has seemed to address this issue from various fronts but still failed. The United States is located at the hub spot of drug trafficking as Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia are home to some of the world's biggest drug mafia.

Studies show that around 20.4 million US citizens consume drugs and addiction has reached to a point where around 20% of the youth are involved in its consumption. Although there are several recovery and preventive strategies, not all the programs are effective and it totally depends on the efforts of the individual under treatment (Roel, n.d.).

Efforts need to be made in order to change the approach adopted by the government against those who consume drugs. There is a question of whether these people should be treated as criminals or abusers since they have not commit a major crime by consuming a substance that is banned. Therefore, the individuals who consume drugs should be treated in a way by which they can later return to normal life and avoid the consumption of this substance.

The War

After started by Nixon, the war gained momentum at the time Bush was president in 1989-1993. During this time, the main focus of the war on drugs was to bust the drug mafia of Pablo Escobar in Colombia. Investigations and findings from Escobar's house revealed that he was a major player of the drug industry and busting his ring would ultimately lead to a decline in the drug industry and most probably put an end to this issue (Wallace-Wells, 2007).

With the help of the Colombian police, the US government investigated in detail the whereabouts of Escobar and determined ...