Illegal Drugs as Problematic Issue - Essay Example

Americans are losing the War on Drugs Introduction Illegal drugs are a problematic issue that has caused political and cultural divides among all nations of the world in addition to the societies within them. The problem is too large for citizens alone to alleviate the situation. It will require the government to take a proactive role in altering legislation regarding the criminalization of drugs and by supplying treatment centers that are open to those that need it most. However, the political debate regarding drugs is usually based on emotion provoking rhetoric and not the facts or realistic solutions. Politicians understand that ‘tough talk’ on drugs gains votes by tapping into the parents’ natural instincts to protect their children. A politician’s promise to eradicate drugs is a popular sentiment amongst parents who wish to shield their kids from drugs. It is interesting that the debate on drug policies is simply that, drug policies, without distinction for the different types but youths certainly realize that there is a difference. This is evidenced by the fact that the great majority of youths who use illegal drugs choose the least harmful. The debate combines heroin with cannabis when attempting to find a solution to the problem but different drugs include widely different issues which require widely different solutions. America’s war against recreational drugs is an example of good intentions gone terribly wrong. While this country squanders over billions of dollars annually on the efforts to stop illegal drugs, trafficking and use continue as the related violence escalates. Those that want to continue the ‘war’ say that it is well worth the effort and money to try to stop the trafficking and use of illegal drugs because the practice increases criminal activity causes more pregnancies, suicide and disease especially for teens. Stop the ‘War’ Violence The U.S. fights the ‘war on drugs’ by trying to inspect all cargo and passengers entering along any of the country’s 9,600 miles of land and sea borders, aboard any of the 200,000 ships, 900,000 aircraft, 135 million trucks, trains, buses or automobiles, in any of the 16 million containers or in some non-recorded boat, plane or other mode of entry (McCaffrey, 2005). It does this through search and seizure conducted by a variety of different agencies, depending upon the mode of transportation and port of entry. These agencies include the U.S. Customs Service, the U.S. Border Patrol and the Coast Guard as well as numerous state and local organizations and initiatives. Although it is reported that the Customs Service seized 1,309,863 pounds of marijuana, cocaine and heroin in fiscal year 1999, the fact that it represents a 17.4 percent increase over seizures in the previous fiscal year (McCaffrey, 2005) does more to underscore the inability of these efforts to curtail further smuggling than it suggests more drugs are now off the street. A confusing aspect of the war on drugs is its seeming shift in the past decade or so to a focus on the individual marijuana user over the more addictive and violent nature of other drugs. A study by Ryan King and Marc Mauer (2005) into the characteristics of the war on drugs between 1990 and 2002 revealed to them that this decade was, for all intents and purposes, a war on marijuana. They support this conclusion with surprising statistics that demonstrate how enforcement of anti-marijuana laws have become disproportionately central to law enforcement as well as representing a inefficient use of funding. “Law enforcement has focused disproportionately on low-level possession charges as a result of the nation’s lack of the thoughtful strategy about how best to address the consequences of marijuana use. Consequently, police spend a significant amount of time arresting marijuana users, many of whom do not merit being charged in court. This diverts efforts away from more significant criminal activity while having no appreciable impact on marijuana cost, availability or use” (King & Mauer, 2005). The results of the King/Mauer study indicated that at least half of the drug-related arrests taking place in the United States, at least half of them are made for marijuana possession by predominantly low-level users whose cases rarely result in felony conviction. Nevertheless, the country spends approximately $4 billion per year processing these arrests, prosecutions and any subsequent incarceration of these offenders. Clearly, threat of imprisonment is not sufficient to keep citizens from partaking in the drug, nor is it effective in ensuring the drug is not available on the street. Overcrowding Over half of the prisoners in jail are there for drug ‘crimes.’ This causes overcrowding which results in the early release of dangerous, violent criminals. This creates more of a public safety problem than does drug use. It has been suggested that the multiple and complex issues surrounding the association between crime and drugs could be better understood so that laws and policies could be better constructed thus serving society’s best interest. Neither crime nor drugs are going to magically disappear from the earth because both are deeply sewn into the fabric of society. Therefore, both issues, together and separately could be dealt with in a more reasonable manner than at present. There are those who suggest that the crime rate would be reduced if drug use was decriminalized. Of course it would, by at least 25 per cent because that percentage is in prison for drug-related crimes which would no longer be valid. Seriously though, because of the over-burdened prison system, violent criminals are serving shorter sentences to make room for new arrivals including non-violent drug offenders. Violent criminals who are released are a much greater threat to the general safety of society that is the non-violent drug user. If violent offenders served their entire given time in prison, crime most certainly would be reduced. Hypocrisy and Counter Intuition It is illogical from a societal view and inhumane to individuals who are marked as a criminal for life for activity that causes no harm to others. Those who are addicted receive little or no therapeutic help in prison. Instead of imprisoning people that need help, rehabilitation programs are a much more effective method to treat the problem but a rehabilitation system will not succeed if drugs continue to be illegal.  The hypocrisy of the drug war is apparent. Legislators will not ban smoking because they indicate regulation regarding what adults do in privacy including what they can put into their bodies is clearly unconstitutional and an infringement on personal liberties.  All illegal drugs combined account for about 4,500 deaths in this country per year while tobacco is responsible for the deaths of 400,000 people annually and alcohol ends 80,000 people’s lives every year. While those that harm others certainly deserve the label ‘ex-convict,’ a student who shares a joint with their roommate in the privacy of the dorm room certainly does not. (Fu, 2006). The results of the King/Mauer study indicated that at least half of the drug-related arrests taking place in the United States, at least half of them are made for marijuana possession by predominantly low-level users whose cases rarely result in felony conviction. Clearly, threat of imprisonment is not sufficient to keep citizens from partaking in the drug, nor is it effective in ensuring the drug is not available on the street. This complete lack of any kind of tolerance for the casual marijuana user and its effects on funding, relations with the populace and inability to accomplish its objective in the United States can be contrasted with the more relaxed legal structure adopted in other countries such as England and Holland. While marijuana remains illegal in the UK, it is no longer mandatory that casual users of the drug must be arrested when caught. Instead, arrest can be detained until exacerbating circumstances arise, such as the use of the drug in the presence of minors. This move was made, according to Home Secretary David Blunkett, “to free up police resources to fight hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine” (King & Mauer, 2005). Economy This country squanders over $50 billion dollars annually on the efforts to stop illegal drugs, trafficking and use. The costs of prohibition go far beyond the mere funding of legal authorities and transportation for search and seizures. Economists who are actively involved in the drug policy in some way found three key issues upon which a very general consensus could be found. “First, most economists found the current policy to be somewhat ineffective, very ineffective, or harmful. Second, most economists agree that the current policy should be changed. Third, most economists agree that the policy should be changed in the general direction of liberalization. Disagreement is generally based on the direction and degree of liberalization” (Thornton, 2002). Other costs include additional ‘drug-related’ crime that is the result of users attempting to gain enough money to fulfill their demand in response to artificially high prices thanks to the lack of supply. “Public health problems like HIV and Hepatitis C are all exacerbated by zero tolerance laws that restrict access to clean needles” (Drug Policy Alliance, 2006). People who are at most casual users of drugs are arrested and incarcerated for mere possession charges, actions that do not take more drugs off the streets or encourage more people to stop using the drugs. At the same time, arresting possessors of drugs creates an encumbrance on society as tax dollars go to support these people no longer free to hold a job outside prison walls and bringing more children into the welfare system, contributing to their subsequent failure and dependence on society. “In the United States, drug use is illegal and the police hunt down drug users to throw them in prison. Four thousand people died from illegal drugs in the US last year and we now have more than 600,000 people in prison on drug charges” (Schaffer, 2006). By comparison, Liverpool’s heroin and cocaine addicts suffer few medical problems, are gainfully employed taxpayers who cause little additional crime and manage to raise healthy, well-adjusted children. Continue the ‘War’ Crime The majority of people who use illegal drugs, both adult and youth, do not become habitual, daily users nor are they involved in criminal behaviors that are related with the use of drugs. Following their assessment of various studies, (Osgood, 1998) concluded that “among youths who engage in both predatory crime and substance use, the onset of crime most often comes first.” This assessment in effect eliminates the likelihood that drug use leads teenagers to criminal activity. Alcohol use by young teenagers was, however, an indicator of violent behavior later in life. Cocaine and marijuana use were unrelated to violent activities. This evaluation did not present confirmation that an underlying link existed between cocaine or marijuana use and violence or vice-versa. It is a fallacy to suggest that teenagers commit crimes at a higher rate simply to support a cocaine or cannabis habit. Studies that have shown a relationship between drug use and an increase of criminal activity have usually focused on adults addicted to heroin. “Other than in periods of physical addiction, for most people, changes over time in individuals’ use or non-use of drugs are not systematically related to changes in criminal activity” (Osgood, 1998). A study found that users were not motivated to steal in order to purchase more drugs. The level of criminal involvement for a particular individual and type of crimes perpetrated was generally found to be a separate causational issue, independent from that person’s use of drugs. Sex The interrelation between drug use among teenagers and an increase of sexual activity is a widely accepted fact by researchers and the public alike. Many studies have consistently demonstrated a correlation between risky sexual behavior and drug use by the same students. Drug users are more inclined to take risks than do students that do not use drugs. This may be an obvious statement but a propensity to take risks with their health combined with a loss of inhibitions while on drugs and the need of all teenagers to be accepted by their peers leads to an increased level of sexual activity. This problematic scenario also increases the likelihood of students having sex at an earlier age, having multiple sexual partners and decreases the chances that they will use contraception than those that do not use drugs. “Teens 15 and older who use drugs are five times more likely to have sex than are those teens who do not use drugs and teens who have used marijuana are four times more likely to have been pregnant or to have gotten someone pregnant than teens who have never smoked pot” (The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 1997). Suicide Teenagers experience more emotional fluctuations than do younger children or an adult which explains why the suicide rate is higher in that group. Teenagers that use drugs and alcohol are more likely to attempt suicide. According to a study of teenagers that attempted suicide, alcohol and drug abuse was the most frequently shared characteristic. Of the teenagers that took their own life, 70 per cent were frequent users of drugs and/or alcohol. However, current research does not demonstrate that drug and alcohol use actually instigates suicide, just that these behaviors are connected.  Teenagers that experience emotional problems to a higher degree than others have a greater propensity to consider suicide and to use drugs. However, drugs and alcohol could possibly magnify a pre-existing emotional problem and “may impair the judgment of teens considering suicide, making suicide attempts more likely” (Shaffer et al, 1996). Disease Illegal substances most frequently linked with drug-related fatalities include opiates such as heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and barbiturates. Alcohol, particularly when used in combination with harder drugs, is also linked with drug-related deaths. Cannabis and hallucinogens (i.e. L.S.D.; mushrooms) do not share this link. Heroin and other drugs that are injected into the bloodstream are often associated with the deadly disease HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus. HIV causes AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Besides being spread from the use of shared, contaminated syringes, AIDS is also contracted by sexual contact, from transfusions by contaminated blood and in the prenatal stages from mother to baby. Solution The most recent and most successful campaigns interestingly combine alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana as opposed to other types of drugs and tend to focus on a new slogan – “Be Under Your Own Influence” rather than the old “Just Say No” program of the 80s. “Strong fear appeals regarding alcohol and marijuana, we’ve learned over the years, are typically not effective with teens” (Slater, 2006). Decriminalization is the answer but this term implies different meanings to different people. To some it means simply legalization which takes the profit, thus the crime, out of the drug trade. When speaking of the decriminalization of drugs, prohibition policies should be examined to determine their costs in relation to benefits, and then compared with other options. Many citizens believe that the best combination of costs and benefit may look much the same as legalization. Varying degrees of decriminalization is often confused with total legalization. Alcohol is legal, for example, but it is not legal to operate a car under its influence or to sell it to those less than 21 years of age. Conversely, people speak of cocaine and the opiates as illegal, but doctors prescribe these drugs every day. (Slater, 2006). Conclusion Although the issue of what to do about dangerous, possibly addicting drugs such as heroin and cocaine have long been issues within many countries, the approaches taken to stem the tide have had widely varying results. Particularly, the prohibition approach taken by countries such as the United States have led to an astronomical increase in the rates of crime and numbers of incarcerated individuals as a result while having little to no impact upon the actual availability and usage rates within the country’s borders. The statistics regarding the numbers of individuals currently using drugs at least as a recreational activity remain stable even as drug busts and numbers of people incarcerated for drug possession continue to rise, indicating greater quantities of drugs being smuggled into the country and greater degrees of organization within the crime syndicates that accomplish this. Rather than dissolving the demand for these substances, the attempted block on supplies not only fails to adequately block trafficking, but it leads to greater degrees of violence and corruption by ensuring this industry remains in the hands of criminals. Although the issue of what to do about dangerous, possibly addicting drugs such as heroin and cocaine have long been issues within many countries, the approaches taken to stem the tide have had widely varying results. Particularly, the prohibition approach taken by countries such as the United States have led to an astronomical increase in the rates of crime and numbers of incarcerated individuals as a result while having little to no impact upon the actual availability and usage rates within the country’s borders. Rather than dissolving the demand for these substances, the attempted block on supplies not only fails to adequately block trafficking, but it leads to greater degrees of violence and corruption by ensuring this industry remains in the hands of criminals. Other countries, such as the Netherlands and England, have demonstrated that a reduction in the prohibition approach can lead to very positive results in terms of both health and safety of its citizens. By bringing lower-level drugs such as marijuana and other Class C drugs within the context of the law, prices are stabilized and reduced, distribution points are available yet closely monitored, client base remains restricted to a higher degree and law enforcement is freed to pursue more harmful and dangerous crime. In addition, by shifting the focus off of the lower-level drugs, the citizenry ceases to view the use of such substances as a form of resistance and use levels have been seen to drop over the long term. Outline: I. Introduction II. Stop the ‘War’ A. Violence B. Overcrowding C. Hypocrisy and Counter Intuition D. Economy III. Continue the ‘War’ A. Crime B. Sex C. Suicide D. Disease IV. Solution V. Conclusion References Drug Policy Alliance. (2006). “England.” Drug Policy Around the World. Accessed December 4, 2009 from Fu, Edward. (March 8, 2006). “Should Drugs be Legalized?” Drug Policy News. Drug Policy Alliance. Accessed December 4, 2009 from King, Ryan S. & Mauer, Marc. (May 2005). “The War on Marijuana: The Transformation of the War on Drugs in the 1990s.” Washington D.C.: The Sentencing Project. Accessed December 4, 2009 from McCaffrey, Barry. (2005). “The National Drug Control Strategy: 2000 Annual Report.” Office of National Drug Control Policy. Washington D.C. Accessed December 4, 2009 from Osgood, Wayne D. (August, 1998) “Drugs, Alcohol and Adolescent Violence” University of Nebraska Accessed December 4, 2009 from (The) National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. (1997). “Substance Abuse and the American Adolescent” A Report by the Commission on Substance Abuse Among American Adolescents. New York. Accessed December 4, 2009 from Shaffer, D.; Gould, M. S.; Fisher, P.; Trautment, P.; Moreau, D.; Kleinman, M.; & Flory, M. (1996). “Psychiatric Diagnosis in Child and Adolescent Suicide.” Archives of General Psychiatry. Vol. 53, pp. 339-348. Accessed December 4, 2009 from Slater, Michael. (March, 2006). “New Anti-Drug Program Shows ‘Phenomenal’ Success by Focusing on Positives.” Medical News Today. Sussex: MediLexicon International. Accessed December 4, 2009 from Thornton, Mark. (November 2002). “Prohibition vs. Legalization: Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Drug Policy?” Paper presented to Southern Economic Association Convention. New Orleans, LA. Accessed December 4, 2009 from Read More