Prohibition is Destroying America

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The war on drugs began with good intentions, but it is becoming clear that this battle is a failure. Not only do drug laws violate American’s freedoms, but they further complicate the lives of drug users. These laws have inadvertently been responsible for the deaths of thousands through bad drug deals and dirty drugs, which leads one to ask the question, “Is this a war on drugs or a war on drug users?” Body bags and HIV are becoming the most widely known side effects of drug prohibition. Contrary to what many may think, drug use will never be eliminated. Only through legalization and strict state-controlled regulations will the violent and deadly consequences of drug laws be controlled. By making these substances available, the drugs themselves will be safer and cheaper, government spending and prison population will decrease, and most importantly, Americans will be freer. In 1920, the federal government outlawed a substance they felt was destroying America, alcohol. Millions of Americans would shutter at the idea of not attending mid-week “happy hour” after a long day of work. But, the right to drink alcohol was stripped away from Americans by the federal government under the Volstead Act of 1920 (Behr). Over the next thirteen years, over $733 million, of today’s money, was spent putting Americans behind bars for minimal delinquencies, such as having a martini at a local speakeasy (Barbour). Since alcohol was no longer manufactured by trusted companies like Anheuser-Busch, it was now in the hands of black market racketeers, like Al Capone (Behr). Due to the diminishing availability of alcohol, more potent forms, like moonshine, became wildly popular and in New York in 1926, “bad liquor” claimed the lives of 750 people (Behr). ... ... middle of paper ... ...on. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc. 2000. Print. Barnett, Randy E. “The Harmful Side Effects of Drug Prohibition.” Utah Law Review 2009.1 (2009): 11-34. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. Behr, Edward. Prohibition: Thirteen Years That Changed America. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1996. Print. Gerdes, Louise I., ed. At Issue: Legalizing Drugs. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc. 2001. Print. Miron, Jeffrey A. and Katherine Waldock. “The Budgetary Impact of Ending Drug Prohibition”. CATO Institute. CATO Institute, 27 Sept. 2010. Web. 22 Mar 2012. Rogers, Douglas. “The Fiasco of Prohibition.” Freeman: Ideas on Liberty 61.1 (2011): 25. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. United States. Dept. of Justice. Office of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Drug and Crime Facts. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Dept. of Justice, Mar. 2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2012.

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