Throughout U.S governmental history, policies have been known to affect the way of life and every aspect. The topic it choose to research is about “The War on Drugs”, the impact policies have on society and if it does help the public or tend to extent social inequality. This topic is very important to me in the sense that, I look at the community I live and see how drugs have affected people lifes, broken up families and also destroyed the community itself. I wanted to know if the “war on drugs” stop our neighborhood from being flooded with drugs or it just over shadow the real problems that needs to be tackled. It is also very important for people to know about this topic because the issue is not only about drugs but also the growth of inequality between the rich and poor, black and white, upper class and lower class in this country. The war of drugs deals with issues about why they were passed through congress and if there were motives that deals connect directly to black communities. The issues where brought about in Dan Baum book entitled “Smoke and Mirrors” where John Erlichmann, the chief domestic affair advisor talk about how the Drug War fever has been escalated and manipulated from its modest beginnings at the start of the Nixon administration and clarifies the various interests which that escalation has served. He talks about the Drug War on “blacks” and “hippies” but politicians could not say that so had to say the War on “heroin” and “Marijuana”. He also said that “We knew drugs were not the health problem we were making it out to be, but there were political benefits to be gained." This shows that there is more to the war of drugs that the government is letting on. This topic is very controversial topic because it deals with a growing body of citizens whose lives have greatly been affected by the United States government drug policies. In order to tackle the problem effectively, we need to look how it relates to economic problems, health issues, the criminal justice system and etc in our communities I look at bureau of justice statistics for statistics on National Drug Budget control, National household survey on drug abuse, prison statistics and book written by scholars on the issue. My preconceived expectations prior to conducting this research was that the “war on drugs” is no... ... middle of paper ... ...y on Drug Abuse: Summary Report 1998 (Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, 1999), p. 13; Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 1998 6. Meierhoefer, B.S., The General Effect of Mandatory Minimum Prison Terms: A longitudinal Study of Federal Sentences Imposed (Washington DC: Federal Center, 1992), p. 20. 7. Marger, Martin. Social inequality: pattern and processes / martin N. Marger – 2nd. p.202 8. Thomas, P., "Study Suggests Black Male Prison Rate Impinges on Political Process," The Washington Post (January 30, 1997), p. A3 9. Marger, Martin. Social inequality: pattern and processes / martin N. Marger – 2nd. p.169) 10. Reid, Sue Titus. Crime and Criminology/ Sue Titus Reed.—10th .p.311-312 11. Key Recommendations from Punishment and Prejudice: Racial Disparities in the War of Drugs (Washington, DC: Human Rights Watch, June 2000), from the web at http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/drugs/war/key-reco.htm.
The War on Drugs is believed to help with many problems in today’s society such as realizing the rise of crime rates and the uprooting of violent offenders and drug kingpin. Michelle Alexander explains that the War on Drugs is a new way to control society much like how Jim Crow did after the Civil War. There are many misconceptions about the War on Drugs; commonly people believe that it’s helping society with getting rid of those who are dangerous to the general public. The War on Drugs is similar to Jim Crow by hiding the real intention behind Mass Incarceration of people of color. The War on Drugs is used to take away rights of those who get incarcerated. When they plead guilty, they will lose their right to vote and have to check application
Drug use has been an ongoing problem in our country for decades. The use of drugs has been the topic of many political controversies throughout many years. There has been arguments that are for legalizing drugs and the benefits associated with legalization. Also, there are some who are opposed to legalizing drugs and fear that it will create more problems than solve them. Conservatives and liberals often have different opinions for controversial topics such as “the war on drugs,” but it is necessary to analyze both sides in order to gain a full understanding of their beliefs and to decide in a change in policy is in order.
The biggest question people ask is if the “war on drugs” was successful. According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), “The goals of the program are to reduce illicit drug use, manufacturing and trafficking, drug-related crime and violence, and drug-related health consequences.” The best way to measure the effectiveness of the “war on drugs” is to focus on these basic questions; Is drug use down? Is crime down? and Are drugs less available? Since 1988, drug use by individuals ages 12 and over has remained stable according to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). The number of individuals reporting any drug use has increased by approximately 7 million and the number of those who reported drug use in previous months or previous years has remained unchanged. The Organization Monitoring the Future studies drug use, access to drugs, and perspectives towards drugs of junior and senior high school students nationwide. Results of a study conducted in 2005 showed a minor decline in substance abuse by older teens, but drug use among eighth graders stopped remained the same. However, the changes were not statistically significant and ultimately there was no reduction in substance abuse among young students. Crime in the United States has decreased significantly since 1993, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. On the other hand,
When it comes to the topic of war on drugs,most of us will readily agree that the war on drugs is not about the drugs But about the people. Many Politicians and law enforcement will argue that the war on drugs is about our nation's wealth and safety.however they don't see the destruction the war on drugs has caused; The war on drugs has recreated this new system of discrimination among the minority community, individuals and communities are being profiled,their rights as citizen are being seized ,individuals being stripped away from their families. They’re being locked up with no hope to live the American dream in their our country.
The war on drugs in our culture is a continuous action that is swiftly lessening our society. This has been going on for roughly 10-15 years and has yet to slow down in any way. Drugs continue to be a problem for the obvious reason that certain people abuse them in a way that can lead to ultimate harm on such a person. These drugs do not just consist of street drugs (marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy), but prescription medications as well. Although there are some instances where drugs are being used by subjects excessively, there has been medical research to prove that some of these drugs have made a successful impact on certain disorders and diseases.
PRESTON, Keith (2001). “The Political Economy of the War on Drugs”, Free Republic,. Online at: < http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b1106274d1b.htm>, March 30th, 2004.
The War on Drugs, as previously stated, was first introduced by Nixon and reinforced by its preceding presidents. It is a campaign that was launched in 1971, by President Richard Nixon during his time in office, but was not enacted into full force until the 80s when Ronald Reagan was in office. Between 1980 and 1984, FBI anti-drug funding went from eight million to 95 million dollars. During the same time, funding for treatment and prevention was reduced (Florio 2016). As a result, convictions for drug offenses, after the announcement of the War on Drugs, are the single most important cause of the explosion of incarceration rates in the United States (Alexander 2012:60). That is to say that if the War on Drugs was not introduced and reinforced following Nixon, the United State’s prison system could have avoided mass incarceration, exceptionally for people of color. To illustrate, nothing has contributed more to the systematic mass incarceration of people of color in the United States than the War on Drugs (Alexander 2012:60). Sadly, it is more than obvious that it appears that the War on Drugs was a certain phenomenon that was distinctly formulated to target individuals of color. Although the War on Drugs was in reality created to diminish the drugs and punish those that were located with them, it did absolutely the opposite. Few would guess that the
Small, D.( 2001) The war on drugs is a war on racial justice. Social research, 68(3) 896-902.
In all parts of life there are periods of adversity that we must face, the real challenge however, is what and how we gain from conquering those trials. There have been many times that I have been faced with adversity, it has happened in all aspects of my life at one time or another. Whether it is dealing with the ups and downs of hockey or balancing the pressure that comes with an elite hockey schedule and high school, there are always obstacles. Some of these challenges can bring about positive effects that influence the path of one’s life. In one such experience of mine, the amount of adversity was not near as great as the positive out come that came from my experience.
Marger, Martin N. Social Inequality: Patterns and Processes. 5th ed. New York, N.Y: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.
In life, we all encounter adversity. In my own personal definition, adversity is a state of difficulty or misfortune. The level of adversity you face is not equal for any individual, and it is personalized to everyone, such as life is. Each of you, as well as I have faced adversity. Today, I am going to tell you about a time in my life when an adverse situation created momentum for change within me and my aspirations for life.
In life, many are faced with obstacles that challenge them. The challenges can be simple or large. No matter the obstacle or challenge the person is facing, it is to them a great battle. There are two very important people that I admire that faced adversity and similar struggles, they overcame them in their own ways. I will try to compare their journeys even though they were different ages and of a different time period. I will try to relate how through prayer, faith and family support they were able to overcome their adversities in similar ways. These are two different people who inspired me through their strengths, weaknesses and family values.
“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” (C.S. Lewis) Adversity is a difficult situation, it happens in everybody's life. It is something you cannot control but it is something that you can overcome, whether it is a big or small problem there is always a way to get over it. I believe that everyone has a characteristic to overcome adversity you just have to find it, mental toughness, determination, physical strength. Without characteristics like these it would be a lot harder to overcome.
In the early 1980s, policymakers and law enforcement officials stepped up efforts to combat the trafficking and use of illicit drugs. This was the popular “war on drugs,” hailed by conservatives and liberals alike as a means to restore order and hope to communities and families plagued by anti-social or self-destructive pathologies. By reducing illicit drug use, many claimed, the drug war would significantly reduce the rate of serious nondrug crimes - robbery, assault, rape, homicide and the like. Has the drug war succeeded in doing so?
The cost of the war on drugs has been far greater than just the billions of dollars spent by world governments on fighting cartels and drug manufacturers. Drugs took the lives of thousands of innocents and destroyed the lives of millions through addiction, drug related violence, and incarceration. It is clear that the war on drugs is not the solution to the problem that drugs create and society has to devise other methods of dealing with drug trafficking, mass incarceration, and addiction.