United States Drug Policy

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US Drug Policy Introduction Drug policy is a crucial topic in the country today. Substance abuse, as well as drug-related crime rates, are a huge problem. This is a fact. The way to fix the problem of substance abuse, however, is widely disagreed upon. Some think that stricter laws regarding drug possession and use would solve the problem, while others believe that loosening the restrictions would be a better option. The issue of legalizing drugs, especially marijuana, is one that is debated all the time. In fact, in 1995, a survey was conducted on the most important policy issues and eighty five percent of the country placed drugs at the top of the list (Falco 1996). Many states are actually beginning to decriminalize, and even legalize, marijuana use for medical perposes. In fact, two states, Washington and Colorado, have legalized the recreational use of marijuana for anybody over the age of twenty-one since 2012. (Hawken, Caulkins, Kilmer, and Kleiman 2013) The legalization and regulation of marijuana would greatly minimize crime and solve many problems including overcrowding of jails and prison, lowering the tax dollars that people need to pay in order to support these incarcerated criminals, and regulating the economy. Importance of Drug Policy Debates Most Americans would agree that the debate over whether to legalize drugs and which ones to legalize is an incredibly important topic. Whether you are a conservative, liberal, or anywhere in between, it is likely that you have thought about this issue and have some sort of opinion on it. It is not just a political issue it is a social one. Drug use and abuse affects countless people and their families and friends. This issue does not affect only the drug users and deal... ... middle of paper ... ... Marijuana: Physical, Psychological and Spiritual. Pennsylvania: Lifeservices Press, 2008 Boyum, David and Peter Reuter. Are We Losing the War on Drugs?: An Analytic Assessment of U.S. Drug Policy. AEI Press, 2005 Falco, Mathea. “U.S. Drug Policy: Addicted to Failure,” Foreign Policy No. 102 (1996): 120-133 Hawken, Angela and Jonathan Caulkins and Beau Kilmer and Mark Kleiman. “Quasi-legal cannabis in Colorado and Washington: local and national implications,” Addiction No. 108 (2013): 837-838 Inciardi, James A. The Drug Legalization Debate. California: Sage Publications Inc., 1999 Nadelmann, Ethan A. “U. S. Drug Policy: A Bad Export,” Foreign Policy No. 70 (1988): 83-108 Reinarman, Craig and Peter D. A. Cohen and Hendrien L. Kaal. “The Limited Relevance of Drug Policy: Cannabis in Amsterdam and in San Francisco,” Am J Public Health No. 94 (2004): 836-842

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