War On Drugs
The world we live in has various obstacles and issues that negatively affect society and the way in which we live our lives. The war on drugs is one of the most violent and controversial issues in the United States current political system. Drug abuse is linked to issues such as racism, crime as well as economic discrimination. The “War” was properly declared in the 1970’s by President Nixon due to the server abuse of illegal substances. President Nixon in an interview stated this war as “Public enemy number one” and proposed new laws in order to try and prevent the constant importation of narcotics in and out of the country. Throughout the United States, there have been a number of policies that have been put into place to try and resolve
…show more content…
The War on Drugs has been extremely unsuccessful. This raises the question as to whether or not the United States really aim at reducing substance abuse or is its goal to separate society and slam the disadvantaged. A combination of required minimum sentencing and other discriminatory laws has lead to the vast increase in the United States prison population. According to an article in the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “60 percent of the federal prison population consisted of nonviolent drug offenders as of 1999. In 1997, about twice as many people were arrested for drug offenses as for violent crimes”. The war on drugs has a negative effect on the lower income families adding to the barrier between them and economic success. A lot of the underprivileged generation turn to the illegal drug trade as a way of earning money in order to escape the harsh living conditions they currently live in. Instead of America extravagantly spending millions of dollars on the relentless drug war, the American government should focus on educating the poor and disadvantaged youth. This would give them insight and provide ways in which to gain economic and social success without having to take part in illegal activities. This would decrease the number of children involved in the drug business. Lower income families associate themselves with drugs as a way of starting a better for themselves and their families as it is a relatively easy job that comes with great financial rewards. However, these families in due course start to become addicted to the drugs and commit a crime as a way of satisfying their addiction. As of today in America, approximately eleven percent of white people live in poverty compared to the thirty-four percent of blacks living in poverty. Due to this statistic, black people living in poverty tend to be more involved in illegal
The War on Drugs has been extremely unsuccessful. This raises the question as to whether or not the United States really aim at reducing substance abuse or is its goal to separate society and slam the disadvantaged. A combination of required minimum sentencing and other discriminatory laws has lead to the vast increase in the United States prison population. According to an article in the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “60 percent of the federal prison population consisted of nonviolent drug offenders as of 1999. In 1997, about twice as many people were arrested for drug offenses as for violent crimes”. The war on drugs has a negative effect on the lower income families adding to the barrier between them and economic success. A lot of the underprivileged generation turn to the illegal drug trade as a way of earning money in order to escape the harsh living conditions they currently live in. Instead of America extravagantly spending millions of dollars on the relentless drug war, the American government should focus on educating the poor and disadvantaged youth. This would give them insight and provide ways in which to gain economic and social success without having to take part in illegal activities. This would decrease the number of children involved in the drug business. Lower income families associate themselves with drugs as a way of starting a better for themselves and their families as it is a relatively easy job that comes with great financial rewards. However, these families in due course start to become addicted to the drugs and commit a crime as a way of satisfying their addiction. As of today in America, approximately eleven percent of white people live in poverty compared to the thirty-four percent of blacks living in poverty. Due to this statistic, black people living in poverty tend to be more involved in illegal